Last week, we saw yet another outstanding feat take place – Tom Brady attaining his 7th ring, that too not with the Patriots.Being born and brought up in Boston, it was sad to see Brady without Belichick – but this brought up the question, player or the coach? Did Brady surpass the knowledge transfer from his coach OR was he coached so well for two decades that when he left on his own, he was able to carry forward all his practice and knowledge?Being a coach is no easy task – nor is listening to a coach. It requires an individual to understand what they’re good at, but also where they can improve. If you ask the Buccaneers, they’ll tell you they feel like they have a coach under center in the offense. “Tom Brady is a mentor and an endless resource for information – You can never have too many words of wisdom from him.” A good coach almost seems like they have answers to the test.
Where coaching gets involved with your career is relatively similar. If you’re looking to pursue a career in high finance, why not take on a coach who has followed the path that you are looking to follow? Many of our customers are investment banking analysts looking for jobs on the buyside (i.e. private equity, growth equity, hedge fund, venture capital, corporate development, etc.) – who better to explain how they transitioned to the buyside than the individual themselves?What you have to be open to when signing up with us?
1. Two-way open communication
2. Potential for critique and criticism
3. Trust that your coach and we know what is best for you1. Two-way open communication: This might be the single most important thing between a coach and mentee. Coaching requires homework and prep for conversations and it’s natural that homework and prep happens on both ends. If your coach recommends reading some specific literature or practicing a modelling test focused on an EBITDA-negative business model and that’s something you don’t do, it’s tough to measure progress. Our coaches are vetted through a rigorous process on the backend and are not only successful on the buyside, but have coached and mentored in the past. Their process in tandem with the guidelines from OfficeHours works as they explain to you how recruiting works, what they recommend you do, and what steps to take to maximize your potential.2. Potential for critique and criticism: You aren’t hiring a coach to tell you how good you are, you’re hiring a coach for them to critique where you can do better and what they’ve seen work. Mentees coming into our program have to understand this – if a Coach thinks that your resume needs work, they’re saying this for a reason. If you think your resume is fine, but it’s not getting you past headhunters or in the door at private equity firms – something needs to change.
3. Trust between a coach and mentee: Your Coach isn’t Elon Musk nor is he/she a Jeff Bezos, but they have made it to the buyside (and maybe even gotten promoted or placed at a top-tier business school). You have to trust the fact that they are there to help you and you are there to listen and absorb everything they say. There is no doubt that you will have your own style when it comes to repeating your story or when it comes to speaking about your deal, however, the basic outline that your coach outlays should be adhered to.
Various steps in our process:
- Resume Review + Your Story
- Headhunter Prep
- Behavioral Workshop
- Technical Workshop
- Mock Interview
- Modeling + Case Study
- Offer Selection + Negotiation
Percentage game: If you ask any athlete where the ball will land or where they see the puck going, they won’t respond with a definitive answer – rather they’ll give you a percentage chance of where probability will place it. Breaking into finance, recruiting for the buyside, exiting a start-up – all of these are probabilities and your job is to make sure that you’re optimizing for success as much as possible. Whether it be through our packages or another, we highly recommend getting your repetitions in before interviewing.
Interested in learning more about OfficeHours and how a Career Coach can help you? Schedule a time to connect with a Coach here or Submit your Application directly here and we’ll be in touch!