Non Target Junior breaking into investment banking

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February 22, 2023

by an member from Pepperdine University in Calabasas, CA, USA

Does anyone have experience breaking into investment banking a junior/senior who started the recruiting process late, do you have any tips on what to focus on (networking/concepts/modelling), how did you make yourself competitive with all the candidates from target schools who started early?

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Reply by a searcher
from The Ohio State University in Chicago Metropolitan Area, USA
Laura and Tad give good advice above.

I had a what sounds like a similar road to you - was a bit late to the recruiting game and didn't even land IB immediately after graduation. Eventually worked my way to a small MM firm where I did my analyst/associate stint.


Luckily you are located in southern California where there are a lot of investment banks. Like Laura and Tad mentioned, you have to hustle and reach out to people - people like to help people that are taking initiative. I would go to New York and Chicago and post up to meet people for coffee but phone calls work well too.

You may need to start at a lesser known IB but I found the lateral opportunities to be there if that is the path you want - and I am guessing you might be since that is the raging consensus on websites like Wall Street Oasis that shape a lot of the recruiting plans for people in college. I ended up staying at my smaller firm due to increased responsibility/development, (slightly) better lifestyle, and more entrepreneurial culture that allowed junior people to lead deals (maybe why I am on Searchfunder right now...). Name brand certainly goes a long way in finance but would encourage you to do your research on culture if you can, bearing in mind that beggars can't be choosers.

It is somewhat of a numbers game so keep pounding the pavement and reaching out to as many people as possible - you will eventually get pretty good at the informational conversations. A whole range of people helped me along the way, not just alums from my school so get creative on what you might have in common with someone based on their LinkedIn profile.

Good luck and feel free to reach out.
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Reply by a professional
from Villanova University in West Chester, PA, USA
While I’m in the legal field, something that stands out to me in hiring is someone who is proactive. Building relationships with different people at firms, asking to shadow professionals, asking if they know of any internship opportunities, bad building a portfolio even if it’s for hypothetical clients. If you have a Google drive folder or website for your portfolio, it’s not a must but it really does stand out. Good luck!! You’ll do amazing if you work hard and create an environment for success for yourself so the result is inevitable.
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