JP Morgan puts Baruch up 'front'

Thursday Nov. 8 marked a monumental day for Baruch students. It was the first time that a major investment bank has designated Baruch College as target school for recruitment in investment banking and sales and trading. JP Morgan came to the Baruch campus to give a thrilling presentation about the internship opportunities within their Investment Banking and Sales and Trading divisions. Baruch students were excited for the chance to impress JP Morgan recruiters and eagerly awaited the event. The room was packed with students eager to learn more about the prestigious firm. The event featured six distinguished JP Morgan employees, including multiple recent Baruch graduates.

The presentation started with a video of JP Morgan analysts, each expressing the benefits and responsibilities of working in their respective jobs. The video was done from a global perspective, and featured talented young employees from several continents. One employee featured in the video was Melissa Acosta, a recent Baruch graduate currently working in the New York office. The format of the presentation was creative and interactive, allowing students to vote for questions via a remote control. Catherine A. Flax, a managing director in the Global Currency & Commodities Group, hosted the panel discussion. After a formal half-hour Q-and-A period, students were given the chance to informally network with recruiters.

Baruch students first inquired about the reason that members of the panel picked their particular business area. Melissa A. Smith, an executive director in the Debt Capital Markets group spoke passionately about the chaotic atmosphere, the energy and the flat structure that made her decide to move to her current group. Although she started in public finance, Smith ended up in Debt Capital Markets because she realized the atmosphere on the trading floor was more aligned with what she wanted to do on a day-to-day basis, "I wanted to do something that was closer to the markets, and had transaction execution in so much shorter time frame than maybe something on the M & A side where you may have to work on a deal for a year before you can see it come to fruition."

Evan Geronemus, who trained at Goldman Sachs before making the move to the Equities Derivatives team at JP Morgan, spoke about how he got into his career. Gerememus landed an internship as a sophomore at the New York Stock Exchange, and realized that he enjoyed the fast paced nature of the trading environment. "I liked seeing a revenue number next to my name, or going out and selling the product to a client, then five minutes later the client calling you back with the trade." Geronemus also praised the flat structure and remarkable culture at JP Morgan.

The next set of questions pertained to the interview process. Chintan Dholakia, an analyst for the Real Estate Gaming and Lodging Group gave advice about preparing for the interview process. Dholakia, a Baruch alumnus, recommended reading the Vault guide to Finance Interviews. He emphasized being prepared for questions such as "What is a DCF model?" and "Can you explain to me what an investment banker does?" He also spoke about the importance of being able to tackle the ever-dreaded brainteaser questions.

Melissa Acosta, another Baruch alumnus, expanded on the discussion by describing the skills and qualities that are important for being successful in the recruiting process. Acosta considered it critical to be able to demostrate that you can give all you can to your job and show a strong work ethic. She went on to list her top three qualities for a successful candidate. First off, be hardworking. Second, give it all you can. Finally, be able to work in a team. "On your own it's going to take you 20 hours, but if you ask a neighbor the work can be done in 20 minutes," Acosta explained. In addition, Acosta stressed the importance of being proud of your team. Melissa Smith gave her own advice from the perspective of someone who has given a lot of interviews. She stressed the need to not be nervous about the technical questions. "We don't expect you to have the perfect answer … it's fine to pause and think through a question and present how you would think through the problem. It doesn't necessarily have to be the right answer."

Smith also emphasized the need to come in with an educated viewpoint as to why you want to work at JP Morgan specifically in the Investment Banking industry.

So what exactly does JP Morgan offer new hires? Geronemus emphasized the 90 day training period that allows you to work with managing directors and co-workers, Acosta lauded the global network that JP Morgan provides all its workers, and the strong bonds with co-workers that the training program offers.The importance of maintaining client relationships and being aware of your surroundings are factors that are critically important to an investment banker. James Adams, an executive director in sales and trading, spoke of the similarities to his career in structured finance.

"Finance is really applied economics, and in some ways applied mathematics." Developing a useful skill set through work experience and school meant being able to make a department change and this experience served him well.

The panel then tackled the challenging question of whether you can have a life outside of work. Dholakia admitted that a work/life balance can sometimes be difficult to attain, but also mentioned that it is not so bad that he needs to miss major family occasions.

Acosta said that the workload depends on the week; some weeks can be "super hectic," while others are relatively light. Acosta also emphasized that fact that eventually if you love what you do, you don't necessarily see your work and life as being two separate things, instead your work becomes your life. Eric Chung, a first year analyst in Short Term Fixed Income, said that unlike other banks, face-time is not emphasized at JP Morgan. If you have finished your work, you are free to go home.