Wall Street is a notoriously cold and competitive place, but that's never stopped 22-year-old aspiring banker Joseph Maddalone from contacting prominent executives in pursuit of his dream job. It's a practice which has earned him a reputation as a cold-caller, according to Business Insider.
But it seems the self-starter might want to rethink his networking strategy in light of a cutting e-mail he received from Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, whom Maddalone emailed shortly after the New Year regarding an interview he had at the company for a sales position.
"I sent Mr. Gorman an email basically introducing myself, and saying if I joined Morgan Stanley, I would hope to meet him," Maddalone told Business Insider, adding that he sent the email on Jan. 2 -- one day after New Year's Day -- because he thought his email would be more visible.
Maddalone was certainly correct on that point -- Gorman saw the e-mail and responded same day. His response to Maddalone, however, was a surprise:
Here's Gorman's response, as seen in an e-mail obtained by Business Insider:
You need to call our recruiting team not me. That is why we have a recruiting team! Friday was the last day before New Years. if you want to work in this industry use some judgment and don't contact CEOs over the New Years weekend.
Maddalone, who started his own recruiting company, told Business Insider he applied for the sales job at Morgan Stanley because he was concerned about his company's profits and decided that he needed to take more risks.
Undeterred by Gorman's e-mail, he plans to continue his entrepreneurial efforts by focusing on start-ups, as opposed to the "'plug and play' Wall Street analyst cycle."
In June of 2011, Forbes magazine ran a piece on Maddalone after he sent an e-mail to staffer Brett Nelson, explaining that he was a loyal Forbes reader and was submitting his recruiting company to be considered for the magazine's "America's Most Promising Companies" feature.
According to the Forbes profile, Maddalone studied political science at Scranton University, graduating in three years.
While in college, he interned at UBS before setting his sites on an internship with billionaire T. Boone Pickens, which he got after calling the man's office for 30 straight days.
So it appears Maddalone's persistence has earned him some level of success, despite his most recent setback.
"Never apologize for your passion or persistence, Joe," Forbes's profile on the young entrepreneur concluded.