Andy Au

Finance recruiting can feel incredibly confusing when you don't come from a school or family where everyone already knows how the process works. I remember that feeling very well. When I was at Baruch, there wasn't one person who handed me a roadmap and told me exactly which internships to pursue, who to network with, how to tell my story or what I needed to do to eventually reach investment banking. I benefited from people who were willing to take a coffee chat, answer a question or give me candid advice along the way, but a lot of it was also trial and error. I sent the networking emails. I prepared for interviews that went nowhere. I questioned whether I was competitive enough for certain opportunities. I had to figure out how to turn experiences that weren't traditional investment banking internships into a story that made sense. And I had to go through recruiting multiple times — during college, for full-time roles, lateraling into investment banking and eventually recruiting for private equity. Over the years, students and recent graduates started reaching out to me for coffee chats and recruiting advice, particularly people from non-target schools. I kept taking those calls because I genuinely enjoyed them. I know how much a candid 30-minute conversation with the right person can help when you're overwhelmed by conflicting advice and don't know what you should actually be focusing on. That's really why I'm coaching. I'm not interested in selling someone a magic formula for breaking into Wall Street. There isn't one. I also won't promise interviews, offers or shortcuts. What I can do is be an open book about my own experience, listen to where you are today, and give you the type of direct and practical feedback I would have wanted when I was in your position. Sometimes that means completely reworking a resume. Sometimes it's fixing your networking approach or interview story. And sometimes it's simply telling you that you're doing more right than you think and helping you figure out the next two or three moves. If you're coming from a non-target or unconventional background and feel like the odds are stacked against you, that's exactly the type of candidate I most enjoy working with. I've been there, and I'd like to make the path a little less confusing for the next person.