Below is an open letter I wrote to the two VPs of Investment Banking in the Old Ezra Finance Club here at Cornell Johnson. They led Johnson's class of 2020 through the recruitment processes for IB internships, and it was necessary to recognize them for all the sacrifice and dedication they demonstrated through this grueling process. Its not every day you have the opportunity to work with high function individuals with tremendous levels of accountability. Lauren and Josh took ownership for the broader goals of the organization and were ambitious enough to add their own initiatives, to push our program to higher highs.
2019 Old Ezra executive board (not picture Lana and Kevon)
Lauren/Josh,
Now that life has slightly slowed down, I want to take this opportunity to thank both of you for the tremendous time and effort you’ve put in this past year. Without all of your hard work, we would not have realized the level of success we have with the class of 2020. Some key highlights:
51 individuals with IB internships (through January 15th)
~25% of the class going to Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley
Nine of 12 women having landed IB internships
Four of the nine have received substantial scholarships from their banks
Placing into 21 different banks across seven different cities
Maintaining or increasing our presence within key banks (Evercore, Moelis, Citi, UBS, RBC, etc) – in a turbulent economic environment where banks are cutting internship seats
What is overlooked in the excitement and chatter of the results is the process that you both undertook to help the class of 2020 achieve these results. Like most first years MBA students in August, this class was extremely raw and rough around the edges. Their skills and backgrounds matched well to IB recruiting, but they needed significant support and work to reach the level of polish needed for IB Superdays*. Week in and week out, every Sunday night you both stood in front of the room lead them step by step. These “students” are people who stepped away from their careers and many took on debt to have the opportunity to switch into a career in banking. Understanding the gravity of this, you both:
Took calls after 1:00AM / before 8:00AM
Skipped class/classwork to help 1st years coordinate/properly schedule all the various banks – maximizing the opportunities a candidate has
Spent hours (each day) strategizing/comforting 1st years
Sacrificed precious time that could have been spent with classmates at Ruloffs, significant others, family, or on your own personal health
Worked with faculty and administration to ensure schedules were optimize for both academics and recruiting
Josh – you always responded to fire drills, conflicts, or my useless banter within seconds of anything arising
Lauren – you would individually messaged 50-60 students Friday nights to check-in on their spirits and morale, providing students an outlet
However, the thing I am most moved by was your use of social and political capital to protect candidates. This involved confronting our classmates to defend individual first years around rumors or slow/poor starts to recruiting. Also, you would both spend hours with struggling individuals with 1 on 1 interview prep and story crafting. These same candidates have gone on to land top internships at Evercore, Citi, RBC, and Morgan Stanley.
This email could be 10x longer, filled with stories of what you’ve both (and our classmates) have individually done to support the class of 2020, but you get the point. I believe the school absolutely made the right choice by naming you, Josh, a Fried Fellow and you, Lauren, a Park Fellow. I couldn’t be more proud to call you both classmates and even luckier to call you both my friends. It has been truly inspiring working beside both of you, and I know we will look back on the “the process” and reminisce about the stories for years to come.
Sincerely,
Guo
These results wouldn’t be possible without the help of many others beyond Lauren and Josh. My focus on them shouldn’t be misconstrued for a lack of appreciation for the entire community that supports the Johnson banking recruiting process.
Lana your patience around the educational programing and dedication to their preparation was awe inspiring
Marcus your organized, steady hand in leadership was tremendously crucial
Harry for working with classmates to open doors at other banks and geographies
The rest of the Old Ezra Board for triaging issues and dealing with the craziness
The HYRx board for pushing a deeper command of knowledge
Career Work Group leaders (CWGs) and all 2nd years for the time/effort/care that went into mentoring the first years, the backbone to all the success and the gears that make it possible
The 2nd year JPM crew, Alexei, Vinay, and Aaron- thanks for stepping up and doing all the mock interviews and interview preps and for dealing with my mental instability
Professors for their flexibility and patience with missed classes and makeup exams
Admissions for assembling such a stellar class
David and CMC for guiding us through this grueling process
Drew for spearheading our program and inspiring us never to settle for anything less than perfection
My fellow JP Morgan summer associates - Vinay, Aaron, and Alexei
This ecosystem is the same one that allowed the class of 2019 to achieve our success, and it will be the same ecosystem thatpushes our program to the next level.
*Superday- terminology used to describe a final round interviews, typically for positions within the financial services industries. Candidates will go through anywhere from one to sometimes more than 5 interviews in one day. The structure of the interview could be a case study, behavioral, technical, or conversational. Typically one or two interviewers will be assessing the the candidate on both cultural fit and technical aptitude.
2019 Investment Banking Immersion Class