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On Investment Banking

9 tips for making a phone call that lands you a job!

26/7/2012

2 Comments

 
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by Girl Banker

Listen to the iTunes podcast instead.

This post is related to, The most effective 10-step strategy for cold calling an investment banker. However, this post is concerned only with the actual phone call not the research and data gathering.

1. Sound upbeat 
A monotonous voice will bore the person you are calling and they'll want to get you off the phone as soon as possible.

2. Work on your high-pitched voice
If you have a high-pitched voice practice talking at a lower tone. High-pitched voices are generally perceived to be irritating.

3. Before you hit the dial button, practice
You can either do this yourself using the voice recorder on your phone or with a friend/family/professional coach. Video isn't necessary because only your voice matters in this case.

4. State your name.

5. State where you got the person's details if possible
If you can say how you came to know of the person, that is very useful for building rapport. I found your details on LinkedIn is not a good line, you'll sound like a stalker. However, if you found details on the company's website, say so. 

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6. Mention a mutual contact, it will help to keep them on the phone longer
Check your LinkedIn profile to see if you do have a mutual connection. If so, call the person you know and ask them for permission to mention your name in the phone call.

7. State what you need help with.
If you have done decent research on the person you might have found out interesting things about them, think about how you can spin their experiences to make yourself sound like a knowledgeable person on their industry and their job function and why you would be a good addition to the team or bank.

8. Get a promise.
Before you get off that phone try to get some kind of a promise e.g. permission to call again, a promise that they will forward your CV to someone and, highly unlikely - but an agreement to meet or be interviewed. If you're not getting anywhere say something like: you sound very busy, I am so sorry to have called you at an inconvenient time, can I call you back at a better time? If they say, yes, ask when. Get the person's email if you do not already have it!

9. Follow up. 
If you failed to get anywhere on the first call, see what a second call might unveil. A third call is also okay but if that doesn't prove successful, that's where you need to stop. People in banking know each other and if you're branded a stalker it's not going to bode well for your job hunt. 

Happy job hunting.

​Who is Girl Banker® and how can she help you?

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2 Comments
Arion
10/8/2016 03:10:35 pm

Great tips! One tip I learned along the way was when I research their profile, develop one question for your contact that will show your true interest. In a cold call/email, you always want to come across as just wanting to know more about the industry and what its future may look like, not a job. So when you call/email, frame the question in such a way that shows you value their experience and look to them to help frame your own opinion. That's why I appreciate your thoughts on staying current on financial news. If you don't know what's going on, you won't really know what kind of thought-provoking question to ask.

Reply
Heather as "Girl Banker"
10/8/2016 03:11:47 pm

Thanks for your contribution, Arion.

You are right, staying ahead of the financial press is key and I talk about this in many of my blogs.

Good luck,
Heather

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    Girl Banker®

    I created my investment banking blog in 2012 as soon as I resigned from i-banking & published my book, To Become An Investment Banker.

    Initially published at girlbanker.com, all posts were later subsumed into my personal website under katsonga.com/GirlBanker.

    With 7 years of front office i-banking experience from Goldman Sachs and HSBC, in both classic IBD (corporate finance) and Derivatives (DCM / FICC), the aim of GirlBanker.com was to make it as straight-forward as possible to get into a top tier investment bank. 


    ​I'm also a CFA survivor having passed all three levels on the first attempt within 18 months - the shortest time possible. 
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