GETTING YOUR FOOT IN THE IR DOOR
In late 2021, I assumed I would live in the perpetual loop of not having enough experience for a job, but being unable to get a job without experience. I had my eyes set on investor relations, but as a university student, I was constantly told “no one goes to school to be an Investor Relations Officer”.
Like many other university students looking to take the first strides in their careers, I found the various choices of career paths in finance daunting on many levels. I was absolutely terrified of dedicating my life to a career where I couldn’t see the change or value that my work would contribute to the world around me. I studied economics and finance and loved everything about the capital markets, but even more, I loved surrounding myself with people who are at the forefront of change. It was clear that there were other careers in finance where I could bury my head into a computer for a few decades in a cushy job. I then might wake up to start searching for a position where I could contribute real value to a vision I cared about. But I don’t want to sulk away in a job I wouldn’t enjoy, waiting for what might be.
Unfortunately, the first job always feels like a scramble to get some form of work experience. And as my fellow students know, applying on job listing boards feels like an endless process where your resume is dumped into an ocean full of thousands of other students’ resumes. I knew that if I didn’t want to end up with a generic internship, I would have to search and turn over stones where the masses of students were not.
But how are we supposed to find the industry that best aligns with our goals when we don’t really know the ins and outs of what industries we will enjoy and where we will want to kick off our careers?
So, I took to the tool every millennial knows best, LinkedIn.
I scoured and cold-emailed anyone I had the slightest connection to on LinkedIn in hopes of just stealing a few minutes of their time to hear their story. Everyone has a story, and I found, more often than not, people want to help the younger generation so long as you come from a place of humility, genuine curiosity, and have no expectations built into your conversation. Trust me, nothing is worse than a conversation that turns into an interview where you are reading off an agenda full of questions followed by a “So, can you help me out with a referral?” Be organic and be yourself.
Through my networking, I was able to eventually find areas that sparked my interest. I leveraged and spoke with anyone and everyone who was willing to give me 5 minutes of their time. Those conversations were instrumental in shaping my way into investor relations. I spoke with intelligent people working in investment banking, private equity, real estate, asset management, equity research, wealth management, and eventually found my conversational grapevine leading me to Alyssa Barry, my now-supervisor and mentor.
My initial conversation with Alyssa in September lit a fire under me as I began to discover what investor relations was really about. I loved that IR was the glue between everything the capital markets and people – the perfect balance of what I was looking for (though I would be lying if I said it was smooth sailing once I met Alyssa). I had a handful of initial conversations with Alyssa to really break down and learn what investor relations was and what irlabs does, all of which suggested there might be some potential for a future with irlabs. Unfortunately, as a matter of bad timing, there was no immediate fit for me at irlabs. But the combination of Alyssa’s lasting impression on me and perhaps my monthly [slight exaggeration] hounding her to stay in touch, I eventually got an email to discuss my potential future at irlabs. That was 4AM on the first Thursday of February. And as they say, the rest is history.
Chris with irlabs team members at the Capital Markets Comeback Tour – Vancouver
