by Kevin
In our continuing mentoring series titled, “High on Investment Banking”, I am documenting an ongoing mentorship with Jackson High to hopefully provide some encouragement and action steps for your mentorships.
Mentoring Tips found within this post:
- Be proactive with setting up meetings within your network
- If possible, participate in the meeting to provide introductions and feedback
- Separately ask your contact for constructive criticism or advice.
- Encourage mentee to send thank you notes
- Schedule a follow up meeting with your mentee to debrief.
Jackson and I followed our action plan to meet with two investment bankers--one currently working at Goldman Sachs and the other who began his career at Goldman Sach, yet is now managing an investment fund. I reached out to both of these individuals to schedule a zoom meeting that was convenient for all involved.
Our first call was with Ricky Grant, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, followed by a call with Blake Trippet, Chief Investment Officer at MetaFund. I participated on each of these calls, primarily to make the appropriate introductions but also to clarify any inquiries, if needed. It was also very helpful to observe the interaction between Jackson and these accomplished finance professionals. Ricky and Blake provided meaningful responses to Jackson’s questions and additional guidance and encouragement along the way. A few of my takeaways from these calls were as follows:
- Find a way to connect with recruiters on a personal basis
- Be persistent until you are successful
- Use LinkedIn to find connections
- Pursue JD or MBA if you desire to raise your profile
- Internships are still primary way to land full time jobs
- Find a champion or mentor for career development
- Be prepared to work hard with long hours
After the meetings were over, Jackson and I agreed that it would be appropriate to send thank you cards to Ricky and Blake.
In addition, I separately asked each of these professionals to provide me with feedback on the call, such as presentation style, content of his questions, or any other thoughts that might be helpful for Jackson’s development. Based on this request, the overall feedback I received was very positive, but also constructive. I set up a meeting with Jackson to pass these thoughts along.
Stay tuned for documentation of this debrief with Jackson...