The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that a good college education is not going to do it. In many cases, you will discover that you are in a place where you can get the internships at the leveraged finance firms before you even graduate. When you get an internship, you may be a little disappointed at the work that they are asking you to do, but the truth of the matter is that you should always do the work willingly and with a thorough understanding that you could move forward if you wished to do so. Remember that in many cases, an internship is just going to be a lengthy job interview and you should treat it as such!
Take some time and make sure that you are ready for behavior based interviews. Even firms as conservative as financial firms are beginning to realize that they are in a place where they need to move forward and where they need to look into how they are going to be able to get the results that they need. Take some time and make sure that you start looking into the work that they are asking you to do. The more time that you spend looking into how to take care of this interview, the happier they are going to be with you. Remember that they are going to be asking you open ended questions and that you are also going to need to consider what experiences you have that put you above the rest.
Similarly, more and more firms are looking into people who are well rounded these days. What do you have to offer them and where does your education take you? Are you someone that has an eye on the global markets or do you have a good sales capability that will put you ahead in the place where you want to go? It is important to remember that you need to think about how your experiences set you apart. In this competitive job market, you are going to discover that there is not going to be any benefit at all to looking into how you are going to be able to blend in!
Finding the right financial jobs for you can be a little trying, but it is far from impossible. Consider what your choices are and how you can move ahead with the right kind of attitude.