R.A.I.N. Conference Call Series - January 26th Highlights

On Tuesday, January 26th, R.A.I.N Career Institute was joined by Kelvin Vo on the first conference call of the new academic year. Kelvin shared how his interest in finance originally developed as well as how he eventually became a Private Equity Analyst at NYX Capital

Highlights of our conversation with Kelvin are below for those who were unable to tune-in: 

At the beginning of the call, Kelvin described how he landed a role in Private Equity

“The third-year internship is crucial for full time recruitment once you graduate. More often than not the chances of getting a return offer are quite high and that would set you up perfectly for the future. Along with that, participating in extracurricular activities is extremely important as it shows interest and passion in the field you want to pursue. They provided me with a means to improve my english skills and be able to speak eloquently in an interview setting. Along with that having the technical skills and being passionate about the field goes a long way in helping you secure a position.” 

What he did not expect coming into Private Equity “It is a lot more working in these field than I had originally thought. The team at NYX Capital is great and are very supportive in getting me involved with various deal teams. Private Equity is more complex than I expected but it has provided me with a lot of great learning opportunities. One negative aspect of the job is dealing with big egos. I've learned the importance of staying humble instead of living in the regret of tarnishing my reputation.”  In the Q&A portion of the call, students had the opportunity to ask Kelvin questions - including any advice he could provide to help in recruiting for Private Equity: “Not knowing anyone in the industry can seem pretty daunting and having no idea about how to go about recruiting I started learning from other students and learnt how they thought and worked. Networking is crucial for getting your foot in the door. Dropping cold emails, setting up coffee chats and trying to expand your network is extremely important not only for recruiting but to also learn about the industry. Networking with analysts from the team that one is interested is also key in order to stand out from the rest of the pool. Playing the numbers game also helps, so try and reach out to as many people as possible and make sure to stay in touch with them from time to time.”