I had zero connections in finance. Nobody in my family worked in the industry and this is exactly what I did. Step 1: I worked at a local business back home and spun it into a finance internship. I didn’t wait for a high finance interview. I found a small business near me and created my own financial project. Built a budget model, helped with their books, whatever I could get my hands on. You can literally find an uncle you know that runs a local business and offer to do this for free. Now you have “finance experience” Step 2: Use that experience to get a real internship in your area of focus whether that’s corporate finance, investment banking, etc. It does NOT have to be a prestigious firm. I worked an unpaid internship for a local investment bank. You need direct exposure to the actual role you want. Being able to discuss experience is GOLD during interviews Step 3: MOCK INTERVIEWS!!! Find one technical guide, master it and then find a friend you can literally call on the phone and mock interview with. I used to do exactly this. Don’t wait until you feel ready because you never will. I learned more from a couple mock interviews than I did from months of looking through practice questions by myself. Step 4: Find friends or mentors that are just one year ahead of you. Not 5 years. One. They remember exactly what events to go to, what resources matter, what to ignore. Upperclassmen in the business school or recent grads are the most underrated advantage in recruiting. - @faizsirl