Andrew Schwarz

Drew Schwarz, an Isenberg graduate of the Class of 2007, took the time to speak with me and, reflecting on his college experience, could relate to many of the things undergraduates are currently going through. He shared his stories and offered some great advice to try to ease students through their four years.

Drew completed his first internship at Merrill Lynch. He described it as "un paid, un-glamorous, and a typical freshman internship." Though he may have not been doing what he wanted to, it was an eye-opening experience for him to learn this side of the business. He noted that it wasn't difficult to get this internship - another member of the Finance Society helped him secure the opportunity. He spoke with an Alumnus who passed along his resume; he went through an interview process and landed the position. The process was relatively painless for Drew but would have been much more difficult had he not had a contact to initially speak with.

The following summer, Drew took a position as a golf caddy. At first he admits to having done this to be able to golf for free, but later realized he could develop some great contacts from the golf course. His advice - never underestimate the opportunity to speak with people - being able to connect and relate to intense intelligent people is a skill applicable to any job.

The summer going into his senior year, Drew interned at Piper Jaffray, a middle-market investment bank and securities firm. After completing his summer internship, he was offered a full-time position and returned in the summer of 2008 where he is currently an Investment Banking Analyst. He splits his time between the Clean Technology and Renewables group and the Technology Media and Telecom group. His group raises money and sells companies who have an interest in being sold to other companies or private investors.

What skills do you need to succeed as an investment banking analyst? "Perfection, great attention to detail, multi-tasking, and being "hungry" to get all your work done," says Drew. He talked about the tasks occupying his time (even during my interview!) over the past few days. His group was preparing for a Clean Tech conference and he was busy supporting six different bankers who were all having meetings the same day. "I support the bankers in any projects that need my support."

Drew relayed internship and networking advice for us current students - speak with as many people as possible. Speaking coherently and comfortably is an under appreciated skill! As you speak with more and more people you will build confidence and become a much better speaker. NEVER forget to follow up. Drew believes that most people do not follow through enough. To follow up you send a "thank you" but it doesn't end there - keep in touch! Email your contact every so often and talk about a news article that you found interesting, or ask them to recommend a book for you to read, to which you would then follow up on your thoughts and feelings about the book. You have to work hard at building a relationship and this only comes through continued communication!

The last bits of information Drew left us with are: 1. Be comfortable at interviews. If you are comfortable, the interviewer will be comfortable back. If you show that you are nervous, it will make the interviewer uncomfortable. 2. Don't be negative. No one ever wants to be around someone negative. A lot of people become negative when the business they want to work at doesn't recruit as UMass, or the Chase Career Center doesn't hand over a job for you, which isn't solely the responsibility of the Career Center.. You don't need those negative people, take the approach of what can I be doing, and what about this situation gives me an advantage.