What I liked
Since arriving at Penn I had always wanted to try Investment Banking. Mainly because I wanted to get to take a deep look into the financial side of as many different firms as I could. However, I had heard horror stories about the job, so I knew I had to be careful about where I decided to work. I did a lot of research and was ultimately attracted to Clearsight for the following reasons:
• The firm was small and everyone knows everyone. I grew up on a farm in rural Idaho and so I felt much more comfortable and able to succeed in this kind of environment.
o With the firm being small, we have a so much more valuable and well rounded experience. We get to participate in pitches, communicate directly with real clients, and work on live deal work that senior bankers value and depend on.
• Clearsight’s mentorship program and open door policy. This is consistent with my learning style and allows me to learn quickly and thoroughly.
• Client Culture: Everyone treated me as a human being. I was able to really see this from my interviews. This was pretty drastically different from other interviews, especially the bulge bracket ones. Everyone here seemed kind, down to earth, and were much less cocky.
• Relatively healthy work-life balance. I am definitely not afraid of working hard. I’m used to 16 hour days on the farm starting at 4:30am. But I do value other things in life. These include religion, my family and other relationships, being outdoors, exercise, journaling, music, and other things. I am more of a “work to live” kind of guy as opposed to “live to work” one. What is the purpose of life?
