An Exciting Ride. And Now, Back Up the Hill. Accelerated Learning Resources

An Exciting Ride. And Now, Back Up the Hill.

Walking out my front door on Dec. 28 was surely a sight to see. My busy street was under a sea of white, with over 20 inches of snow on the ground and no traffic up or down. The all too familiar noises of a jet engine in the sky, a fire engine in the distance, or your typical crazy New York driver barreling down my street was replaced by silence. Blizzards of this nature in New York City aren’t necessarily common, and they used to be my favorite form of severe weather.

Nothing could beat meeting up with some friends at Silver Lake Park for a day, or night, of sledding after hearing school had been canceled. The glee and joy of this snowstorm had been immediately removed, being that on this day, the day after the sixth-most severe blizzard in New York City history, I had to be in Midtown Manhattan for an interview.

While my street had barely been touched by a snow plow, the major thoroughfares of my borough were not much better. Against the advice of our mayor, I opted against public transportation and had my dad drive me to the Staten Island Ferry in our 02 Chevy TrailBlazer. (With new snow tires on, we felt there would be little chance it would get stuck, in case you’re reading, Mr. Mayor.) I made my way to the boutique investment bank I’d be interviewing with on Madison Avenue, trudging through the snow, Hong Kong suit, parka and all, only failing once or twice to misjudge the slush-puddle depth on the walk from the 6 train.

The position was not initially what I had been looking for, but it was interesting and would be a great way to get my foot in the door and ultimately on the sell-side of a major Wall Street firm. I met members of the board, a few sales traders and my mother’s friend, who got me in there in the first place. I became really excited, and learning about the position got me even more into it.

The position was one I hadn’t heard of before, and would be a combination of two roles. I’d be editing analyst research that went out in the morning to institutional customers, and then the rest of the day I’d be focusing on their many up-and-coming no-deal road shows that would provide corporate access to the small-cap stocks the company follows. The more I heard about it, the better it sounded.

The next day I headed into the city for another round of interviews with other members of the board. I thought it went well, and for a moment I believed I had locked down my post-graduation dream job, and would be heading back to Florida to just relax for a few months before entering the real world.

And then the bad news came.

The sole reason I had been interviewing with this company was that they were looking to fill a position that would be vacant soon—in March, not May. The role would involve a lot of training, and the only reason I had this interview to begin with was through my mom. My contact there had informed me that after speaking with other members of the board, they decided that they would need someone who has experience in the field this job would cover, and would need that someone sooner rather than later, which I understood.

Looking back on this, I’m not that upset. It was great to see an alternative path to my ultimate career objective, and now I can keep my eyes peeled for similar roles that require less experience. I thought my interviews went well, and I can’t say that I didn’t give it my all. I made sure I thanked everyone I had been put in contact with, and thanked them for their time as well.

What is unfortunate is that this was my most promising lead, at least in my eyes. I have other opportunities available right now, but this was the most interesting and would have given me the most responsibility, and perhaps a shorter period of time before I’d be in a role I’d deem fit.

But this was just one opportunity, and more will be out there. For now, I just have to keep plugging away.

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