Oops: College Student Sends Mass, Unprepared E-Mail to Wall Street Trying to Get a Job

Wall Street is a tricky place. It is a tightly wound, high-stakes industry that faithfully abides by its professional (and oftentimes unspoken) "do's" and "dont's."

For example, during a Wall Street job interview, an applicant should be assertive, professional, use only the industry approved terms, and dress appropriately. An applicant should not seem overeager and should make sure to give the appearance of being completely interested in that job only.

Pretty much like any interview, right?

Not really. If you make a big mistake in just any regular interview, you may not be as likely to become the butt of an industry-wide joke for having violated the sacred "do's" and "don'ts."

What should you not do?

Do not do what this soon-to-be graduate from the University of Pennsylvania did. Don’t carpet-bomb potential Wall Street employers with a rushed, un-proofread, generic e-mail asking for a job:

Click on the image for a larger version:

In the e-mail, the student writes:

Hello,

My name is ______ and I will be graduating from the University of Pennsylvania this May. I am very interested in investment banking upon graduation and I wanted to know if your firm would be hiring analysts this coming summer. I know you are busy and would appreciate any time you could give me. Thank you in advance and I hope to hear from you soon. My rsum is attached.

Best regards,

Ouch.

First of all, Bcc if you want to include multiple contacts. Many recruiters will immediately mark an e-mail as spam if it seems like it had little effort put into it (especially if it has the appearances of being a one-size-fits-all message).

Secondly, make sure your spelling is correct. Not many employers are interested in an applicant's "rsum." That will disqualify any candidate on the spot with no questions asked.

To be fair, it seems that it was out of carelessness rather than sheer stupidity that the email was sent. Scrambling to correct his error, the student quickly sent out an email apologizing for the major faux pas:

Good for him.

Although he tried to correct his error, the banking industry is infamous for being unforgiving and brutal on people who make these kind of mistakes. As a result of the mass e-mailing, the student's job request has been "making the rounds" with "everyone . . . mocking him," reports Business Insider.

Hopefully, he will have better luck elsewhere.

Update: How ironic. There was a typo in the original version of this story that has since been identified, caught and liquidated. Thank you.