I recently started a new job at a top 3 investment bank in NYC, and am beginning to have younger students reach out to me on LinkedIn to setup networking calls.
I spent the last three years of college doing exactly this, so it's so entertaining to watch it from the other side.
A recent call went something like this….
"So why don't your tell me a bit about yourself and I'd be happy to answer a few questions", I say to the student, almost rehearsed, like I'd done it before. "For sure" he remarks, I can hear the passion in his voice. Confident - perhaps a little too confident. That bothered me.
"I'm Nick and I'm a second year student at - ", STOP! I shout into the phone. That had been enough, "I'd heard it all before", I tell him, as he stutters in confusion.
Before he has time to gather his thoughts I jab "If I'm going to refer you, I need to know you're worth my time. Coverage 5x, Leverage 5x, what's your interest rate?" I've caught him off guard, his reaction to this basic technical question will precursor his future, and the future of his offspring for generations to come.
Stuttering - mumbling - utterly confused; he choked. He couldn't handle the heat. It was time for me to hang up the phone. "Thank you for your time Nicholas, we'll be in touch within the week" I lied through my teeth and hanged up.
I can imagine him on the other side of the phone, dazed and confused, stunned and discouraged. I walked back to my desk with a wry smirk on my face, and later that day I rejected his LinkedIn connection request.