Phone Call with Alum from Wesleyan Class of 2018
While browsing Wes Connect, the alumni networking site, I reached out to several people in the finance and tech industries. Andrew Daggon was kind enough to reply to my message and agree to set up a meeting. The phone call was around half an hour long and very useful in expanding my knowledge of the finance industry.
Our conversation took place on a Monday afternoon. Andrew walked me through his bio before diving into the buyer and seller sides of the finance market. He interned in the Wesleyan Investment Office twice during his time as a student. In his junior year, he accepted an internship at Centerview partners and continued to work there post graduation. Currently, he works full time at a different investment firm. Investment firms work to connect the buyer and seller sides in a deal. For example, Wesleyan is a buyer looking to invest as it has a large endowment to grow. Then, Wesleyan would approach an investment firm to have it research which investments would be best in the time frame they are looking for, which in Wesleyan’s case, is a very long one.
He also gave me insight on how the recruitment process for the industry works. The application for the finance industry starts very early on. It starts as soon as sophomore year, when applications for winter internships are sent out in the summer. Companies usually have multiple rounds of screenings and interviews before you’re offered a position, if you get through them all. Therefore, it is important that you’re confident in your career choice early on. Investment banking in particular is very competitive because the competition pool includes the thousands of bankers in big and small banks. Although one can enter the industry from a different career path or major, it is definitely a more paramount effort than other fields such as technology. I came away with the impression that the traditional career in finance is quite inflexible despite how lucrative it can be.
I was surprised to find that Andrew is a possible speaker in the class I’m taking this semester: Demystifying Finance. He knew the professor from his time at the Investment Office and was very respectful towards them. I also share the same sentiments as their class was the reason I had started considering finance as a career path in the first place. All in all, the conversation was very jovial and informative. I am grateful for Andrew and the networking opportunities afforded at Wesleyan. I hope to have many more conversations with industry professionals.
