How We Succeed: Andrew Lauck, BS’07
Flying is a very meticulous exercise, and I would argue that it's perfect for people who go into the type of career I'm in …

I look at new investment opportunities and run financial analysis to support those opportunities. It tends to be a meticulous type of field. I’m biased, but I think within finance, investment banking is one of the more rewarding and challenging jobs one can take on.
There’s no one particular formula that makes you a good job candidate except to be memorable to the person that’s interviewing you. You have to have a personality and something interesting to talk about. Of course, you need training—to get your pilot’s license, and for your professional career. It’s certainly ok to start your job not knowing everything and asking questions. But what will set you apart is your ability to learn, and to test yourself with challenges.

Every challenge you recover from will make you that much more confident. You’ll stand out as being a valuable contributor to your team and valuable to your firm—and that’s what really creates career options.
What your right next career step is will ultimately be driven by asking where you want to be. If you are memorable, and you know your long term goals, the next trait you have the most amount of control over is your work ethic and how hard you work.

There is an unspoken respect and appreciation for people who work hard—and that’s not just a finance trait, that’s a universal trait.

I am Andrew Lauck, a vice president with BDT Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm in Chicago, and I achieved more than I ever imagined with the Kelley Undergraduate Program and the Investment Banking Network.