Investment Banking Networking: How to Break In
Ah, networking into investment banking.
No other topic creates so much confusion – so let’s dive right and see how you use networking to break into the industry.
Definitions
There are 2 main approaches to networking:
- Developing Relationships – Meet bankers at information sessions, during weekend trips, and get to know them over time.
- Cold-Calling – Find a list of local boutique banks and go down the list, setting aside an hour each day for calling firms.
Method #1 – developing relationships – works better if:
- You have at least 6 months between now and the start of recruiting season.
- You attend a “target” school that many banks recruit at.
- You’re aiming for bulge bracket banks rather than boutiques.
Cold-calling works better if:
- This is a last-minute effort and you need a job ASAP.
- You don’t have access to on-campus recruiting or similar channels.
- You’re going for boutique and middle-market firms.
- You’re an undergraduate or recent graduate.
How to Meet Bankers and Develop Relationships
Both processes are similar, but developing relationships takes more time because you don’t want to contact the banker and say, “Give me a job!”
Here’s what you should do to develop relationships:
1. Make Your List
Start with alumni, family, friends, professional contacts, anyone you’ve met at information sessions, and then think about options like student groups, professional organizations, volunteer groups, professors, and even religious groups.
Nothing is “unfair” when it comes to your starting list – if you have Capital IQ access, use it. If you need to “sneak into” other schools’ information sessions, do it.
Aim for 20-30 names before you start your outreach.
2. Make the Initial Outreach
Email each of your contacts and ask for a 15-minute informational interview.
Keep your email to 5 sentences at the most, and introduce yourself by giving your school name, explaining how you found them, and summarizing your work experience.
Then propose 2-3 specific dates and times to speak with them.
3. Follow-Up If You Don’t Get a Response
Follow-up within a week if you haven’t heard back. If you don’t hear back after another week, move to the phone.
Keep these emails very short – 1-2 sentences at most.
And if you haven’t heard back after 5 or so attempts, put the person on the back burner and move onto other contacts.
4. Do Additional Research
Once you’ve set up your call or meeting, spend 20 minutes doing some simple Google and LinkedIn searches of the person’s name and see what you can find.
Don’t go crazy with this – just do enough research to properly frame your questions.
5. Make the Call / Attend the Meeting
Start by asking about the person’s background and interests – always keep the conversation focused on them.
They may “test” you but never preempt this by bragging about your accomplishments or showing off how smart you are.
6. Make Your “Mini-Ask”
As your conversation is drawing to a close, ask them if it’s ok to follow-up with any additional questions you have, ask for referrals, and suggest meeting in the future.
You do this to condition the other person into helping you out. If you never ask for anything in the beginning, it’s weird when you do so later on.
7. Follow-Up
Only follow-up when you actually have something to say. If someone wasn’t helpful or if you have better contacts, don’t feel pressured to stay in touch with everyone all the time.
Referral requests, advice about job offers, and news of an upcoming weekend trip are all good reasons to follow-up.
8. Make Your “Real Ask”
Once you’ve had your initial conversation and followed-up at least a few times, ask for what you want:
“I hope all is well. With recruiting season approaching, I wanted to follow-up and ask you how I could best position myself for an interview with your firm.”
That’s all there is to it. If you’ve made a good first impression and they like you, they’ll help you.
Otherwise, don’t dwell on it – focus on the bankers who are most helpful.
Even More Relationships
The process above shows you how to set up informational interviews and win interviews like that – but there are other ways you could develop relationships.
Information Sessions
I’m not going to repeat everything here because there’s already a full-length article on investment banking information sessions.
The short version: focus on the bankers with the fewest students surrounding them, chat for a few minutes, collect business cards, and then make an excuse and go off to meet the other bankers.
Quick follow-up is essential because these sessions usually take place just before interviews.
Weekend Trips
There’s no better way to network like a ninja than traveling to New York, London, or any other financial center and spending the weekend there.
Aim for 10 meetings per day (30 minutes each), and make sure that your meetings are in close proximity – you don’t want to be hopping around from Midtown to Downtown Manhattan every 30 minutes.
Even More
If you want even more on this process, check out The Networking Ninja Toolkit for email templates and sample informational interviews – and step-by-step detail on how to do everything listed above.
And Read These Articles:
- Top Investment Banking Networking Mistakes
- How to Network Like a Ninja
- How to Network Your Way Into Investment Banking in 5 Simple Steps
Cold-Calling
The cold-calling process is not much different from developing relationships: it’s just an abbreviated version. Here’s what you do differently:
1. Perfect Your Pitch
You need a concise 2-3 sentence pitch that introduces yourself and explains why you’re calling – give your name, your school / where you work, and say that you’re calling to find out how to best secure a position at their bank.
Practice a few times in front of a mirror, then practice again by calling companies you don’t care about quite as much at first.
2. Make Your List
Focus on local / boutique firms. Actual people are ideal if you can find them, but if not, just settle for the main lines of companies.
Where should you find this list of boutiques?
- This thread on WallStreetOasis
- Ask a friend with Capital IQ / Bloomberg / Factset access
- Random Google searches
- The Networking Ninja Toolkit (Best source – 10,000+ firms)
3. Refine Your List
Before you start calling places, verify that the information you’ve found is accurate – check out each bank’s site first and make sure it exists and that you have the right numbers.
4. Place Your Calls
Now start placing your calls. If you hit gatekeepers, try early morning or early evening – before they get to work or after they leave.
Don’t take “no” for an answer until you speak with someone who’s actually in charge of recruiting – always answer their objections with another question.
“They’re not hiring” – Is it money? Lack of time/resources? They already have someone?
And then offer to work for free, train yourself, or check back next month.
5. Follow-Up
Follow-up at least once a week until you receive a definitive response. Even if it’s “no,” follow-up with the bank once a month to see if anything has changed.
This is just stupid, persistent effort – think like Rocky.
6. Rinse, Wash, and Repeat
Keep at it until you win interviews and offers. If you’re out of local firms to contact, expand your scope and do some traveling.
If you read through all the networking and cold-calling case studies on this site, you’ll see that it really is just 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
Networking Like a Ninja
So that’s how you break into investment banking via networking – whether you want to develop relationships or cold-call your way to success.
For even more ninja tactics and for email templates, video instruction, and real informational interview and cold call transcripts with analysis and commentary, check out The Networking Ninja Toolkit.
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Hey Brian,
I have a question re: sending out emails requesting a informational meeting. In my emails I say that I can meet up at anytime that is convenient for the other person. I got two replies saying that they would be happy to meet up and that I should email them next week.
I sent a follow up but haven’t heard back (only been 1 day and I figure they are busy so not too worried right now). However, I am hesitant to send out new emails to new bankers incase they schedule a conflicting time?
How would you recommend I got about this?
You need to give a specific date and time, otherwise nothing ever gets done. That is how the real world works – propose something specific, or don’t do it at all. Specific date/time = “I’m free on Tuesday between 1 PM and 3 PM or Wednesday between 10 AM and 12 PM.”
Hi Brian,
Something crazy just happened and I really need your help! I’m going into my 2nd year of University, studying engineering. So, through a family friend I just got a contact with one of the top bankers in the country (I’m in Canada). This is definitely the biggest contact I could have hoped to get. However I’m really new to the whole networking thing, can you please tell me what I should say to him on the phone call? I need any help you can give me! I really don’t know what to say to him, what to ask, etc., especially for a man of his influence. As some background I’m really looking to get either an IB or a S&T internship for next summer.
Thanks for all the help!
Cheers,
Matt
Just be casual and follow the informational interview guide here… it’s no big deal, just treat him like anyone else. http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-informational-interviews/
Hi, Brian! A great website! Really appreciate your delication and contribution!
I have a question to your claim in investment banking informational sessions to “focus on the bankers with the fewest students surrounding them”.
Conventional wisdom has it that people are economicly rational, which means that candidates will spend more time on those bankers who are most helpful. For example, I want to go IBD as a finance graduate. It seems pointless for me to talk to a technological chief.
Does it make sense? Wish to hear from you soon!
Well of course they have to be actual bankers… I am assuming that the set of people is 100% bankers, no tech people etc. People at top schools are silly and often socially retarded, so they don’t always act rationally / suave (in fact, they rarely do) at networking events and you can take advantage of that.
Hi M&I
I tried using linkedin for networking, I am unsure that will contacting a recruiter is a good idea or not?
Thanks much
Raj
Linkedin is another form of networking. Similar to you emailing someone as long as you don’t invade their privacy I think its fine. Make sure your profile is presentable though.
Hi! I am recruiting right now for summer internships and I have a granted patent under my name. How can I leverage that more than just having it as a one liner at the end of my resume? Thanks!
Interesting experience – do spend one or two lines highlighting why and how you got that granted patent on your resume in my opinion. Also focus on industry groups that might need your previous experience (that granted you the patent)
Hi M&I,
I talked to a middle market banker sometime during the summer and asked him in the thank you email whether it would be appropriate to send him my resume and asked for referrals, and he still didn’t got back to me. So I got thinking whether it was appropriate of me to ask for referrals only in the second correspondence….
When do you think is safe to ask them about available job positions or ask them for referrals/contacts? It’s already FT recruiting season and I don’t know if I should continue networking like this (I’m feeling it may already be too late).
I would call and ask him instead – emails tend to get ignored. Asking for referrals is fine but at this stage you need to be more aggressive since recruiting is already upon us.
Hey! This is my short bio:
- Graduated May 2011 from relativelly unknown American university in Eastern Europe with BA in Business Administration, BA in Economics, GPA: 3.8
- Did two internships at large local banks, one at Corporate Clinets dept., the other at Financial Markets dept.
- Now I study MSc in Finance at top Dutch business school
I would like to purse a career in asset management (sell-side at BB, buy-side in mutual fund, hedge fund, etc.) in the UK or in The Netherlands. I have just started networking.
Question: Should I just go ahead apply online without having done any networking to the BB banks based in the UK since most deadlines are in October 2011 or is there a better strategy if I want to get an interview? Maybe apply ASAP and try to find some contacts at the banks before the deadlines?
Yes apply online ASAP. Yes, do what you can to network now!
Thanks! Don`t you think it may be a better idea to try to network first, and then apply online (there are still 1-2 months until most deadlines)?
As you like. It honestly doesn’t matter. I told you to apply first just so you don’t miss the deadlines. You can network in the meantime and tell people you submitted an app. As long as you have solid credentials, it shouldn’t matter. And if you don’t, then you should network ASAP and make a great pitch. But always network wherever you go and whenever you can.
Hi M&I,
So for the past 2 years, i’ve tried to position myself to enter into either sales/trading or FA. I’ve worked at Bloomberg, and as a research analyst at dealogic/mergermarket/capiq(one of the above), now i’m currently a consultant that meets with bankers, lawyers, corporates and trains them on how to use my firms product.
So the person i replaced as a research analyst moved into investment banking but i’ve applied to 30+ positions and sent emails to over 40 individuals and i’m not making much headway(i’ve talked to the former analyst and they told me I should be able to get interviews). October is coming along and I haven’t gotten an interview yet when i’ve been applying since august/sept.
I’m assuming that 2 week max is probably around how long it takes after applying. My initial plan was to move to HK directly but i’ve cut it down to NY first to get experience than move to HK. I’m not a finance background major but I am business, if i don’t break in this coming year, i’m thinking about going for an MBA to strengthen my finance background and go from there.
I’m not the greatest at networking but i would think since that I meet with bankers every week that would increase my chances but I haven’t been able to make much of it yet. Any opinions or advice on this?
-mergerman
Yes, an MBA could possibly help you out in your case.
Yes networking should help. However, you need to know how to pitch yourself too. I’m not sure how you present yourself so I can’t give you concrete advice other than keep on speaking to bankers, sending out your resume and be patient–You’ve only been applying since Aug.
Well since it is part of my job to network and build relations i do a good job i guess in the sense of business. I’m not the greatest at small talk unless there’s a point of interest that I stumble upon.
I’ll give it some time though, I was just a little anxious as I was told hiring season is September-December and I’m assuming if I haven’t gotten any interviews/offers during this time, I didn’t make the cut. Do you know if they recruit off season? i’m told a lot of banks have a structured recruiting process. That was specifically what one of the VP’s i spoke with said.
Yeah you should be interviewing b/ now and Nov. Banks do recruit off season but probably not for the formal analyst/associate training programs. You’ll have to go through other ways like your contacts or try boutique banks.
Hey,
This article is very helpful! Thank you!
I met with a MD a few days ago. He is very nice and helpful, but he is not working at a group that I am interested in joining. Can I ask him to refer to me to someone else? I feel hesitant to do so, because I only met him once. What shall I do to build up the relationship and when is an appropriate time to ask for referral? Thanks a lot!
Is he looking? Do you think you can learn a lot from him? Sometimes the people you work with matter more than the job itself. are you really not interested in his group or you have some sort of interest?
If you have some sort of interest (even if you are more interested in another group), i’d try to see if he’s hiring and see if he is interested in you. It isn’t always easy to find someone you click with during the whole job search process btw. If he isn’t hiring, great ask him to refer you
However, if you absolutely don’t want to work for him or in his group, go ahead, ask. There is no appropriate time. Just ask.
Thank you Nicole! I feel it’s hard to follow up after the initial meeting. I sent him a thank you email. What else shall I do to follow up? I feel it is awkward to just send him a random email. But if I don’t follow up, then will it be weird if I ask for help when the recruiting season comes? Thanks a lot!
Why do you find it hard to follow up after the initial meeting? No, it is not awkward to send him a mail – you need to get over this “awkwardness” if you want to network & break into banking!
Follow up, say thanks for the advice and time – time is important to bankers. Always appreciate people’s time and generosity to help.
Yes, it might not be as effective if you randomly shoot him an email to ask for help without following up w him.
I mean besides thanking him for his time and help, what else I should do to follow up? Should I send him email only when I have questions? Thanks !
Send him a thank you and keep in touch. If you have other questions, send him an email
I am an American citizen, working as an analyst for a boutique bank in Sydney Aus. I’m exploring the thought of moving to Hong Kong to expand my international experience however I don’t have any connections in HK. Ideas on how to break into the industry there as an entry level analyst?
Do your colleagues have any connections in HK? Explore that. Quite a few Aussies are working in HK – I’d suggest exploring your network and reach out to them. Cold emailing/calling people in an area you want to work in would also help. Do you speak the language or know the culture? If not, it might be challenging but there are some roles which don’t require you to speak the language
Hello Brian,
I’ve been a equity trader (mostly day trading) for 4 years now. I landed a job at a proprietary firm fresh out of college (UCLA) with a Economics degree in 2007. Since I work on commission, not salary-based, it has been really tough to survive as a trader. I am considering a switch in career. I’m still very interested in finance, in particularly in IB. How should I related what I do to Investment Banking? Will IB recruiters even acknowledge my experience as a equity/day trader? In addition, my college GPA is bad (under 2.8) and I don’t know if I should really put that on my resume. Now I’m 26 years old and I’m feeling lost and confused. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks you very much.
Yes they will even though your experience isn’t directly relevant. I think you should figure out if you genuinely want to leave “trading”. You can always move firms/do other sorts of trading. If you still think IB is right for you, figure out why IB and how you can add value there w your strengths & weaknesses – these are important questions. I’d then highlight experiences in which you’ve perhaps conducted some sort of modelling, valuation work & deal experience (I understand if you don’t have any of the above). Its hard for me to help you on this comments page alone so you might want to check out our coaching/resume editing service.
Hey,
Since I am not from a target school, I was thinking of trying to go to recruitment sessions at target schools. Do you think this is a good idea, or do you think I would be wasting my time? If you do think it is worthwhile, then what is the best way to go about networking at other campuses. Should I be discreet about being from another school, or would they not care as long as my resume impresses them?
Go!
Yes, be a bit discreet because the target schools’ students wouldn’t exactly like you being there (you don’t want to be kicked out)
Focus on obtaining contacts from the banks and contact them after info session
“And then offer to work for free, train yourself, or check back next month.”
What do you mean by ‘train yourself’?
————————————————–
Is it ‘easier’ to network if I decide to work in a smaller IB firm, then move into a bigger one after amassing some experience? (I have a relative in a high tier bank.)
However my GCSE performance is weak, A-Level performance is average (I do have mitigating factors, I believe) and I do plan to apply to a target after finishing undergrad.
^- which such an entry profile, would networking help in my case?
I recently received an interview over the phone for 20 minute interviews for a ny office. i networked with some san francisco office guys a couple of months ago. would it be advisable to email them now letting them know that I got an interview and wanted to ask them about what to expect for the 20 minute interview? I am just now sure what is in a 20 minute compared to a 30 minute and thought this might be a way to follow up on my two contacts. Thanks!
Sure. I don’t think you should worry too much about it. They might ask you behavioral questions and most def why you are interviewing for that job
Is having friends in BB investment banks somewhat a replacement for target school education? If I have a friend who was or still is an md at an investment bank does this give me a much better chance of getting an internship?
Unless you have A LOT of friends at those banks, no, not really. It helps but a single friend does not help you nearly as much as going to a top school.
Hi,
I wonder if we could ask our networking contacts to refer relative? I have a twin brother who is looking desperately for an internship this summer and he goes to a non-target so hasn’t been able to land any offers. I was lucky to land 2 offers.
Is it advisable emailing the contacts saying like: i have a brother such and such and he would love to pursue opportunities?
Best,
Yes. Tell them he is your twin so he is as good as you are ;)
Hi Nicole,
So even to the places that I have declined offers and decline interviews? Would that be rude because i just refuse to join them and now i am asking them for a favor to recruit my twin?
Best,
If you were polite and did not sound arrogant and burnt any bridges, go ahead.
Hello M&I,
I have been following your suggestions on cold calling local boutique firms for almost a week. I’ve landed one interview with a boutique for next week, however the position is unpaid and about 50 miles away. I don’t know how much of the work would be “relevant” and how much would be “fluff”, this firm also offers many services outside of IB. On the flip side, I’ve got an interview for an internal audit internship at a large bank(that has a large, reputable IB division), as well as an interview for a corporate finance internship with a large corporation, both of these positions pay very well. My question is this: Suppose I get offers for all three positions. Which would be best on a resume for getting an IB job upon graduation? Thank You!
PS: I’m graduating in the fall of 2013. I will have time for another internship next summer. I could leverage this internship into a better one for next summer.
I would think carefully re the offer w the boutique because it is unpaid, unless you don’t want the money, the work is really relevant and you will be taking on lots of responsibilities, which I think is highly unlikely. If the brand name of the boutique is strong (i.e. like a Moelis), I would consider it more. You also need to figure out the probability of them hiring you full time after the internship.
B/ the internal audit and corp finance internship:
1. If you choose the internal audit internship you may be able to transfer within the bank if you network a lot with people in FO.
2. If you choose the corp fin internship within the large corp, you will gain transferrable skills. If the corporation is planning to “go public” or “issue new shares” or “expand – do a merger”, you can be exposed to quite a few bankers, esp if they are pitching to your firm.
If you do get an offer from any one of them, I’d suggest you to ask them to clarify what you will be doing for them. Needless to say, if you only get one offer, you may want to go with that one of you have no other options.
Nicole,
thank you very much for the helpful advice. I researched the boutique firm more thoroughly and it appears that their main focus is brokerage, they just have a small IB division. My sights are definitely set on one of the other two internships. One more question: Regarding the corp. finance internship and the internal audit internship. It seems that networking with bankers would be easier at the internal audit internship but I know it can be difficult to go from back office to front office. (I do have a friend that is an analyst with the IB division, same bank) Would I be right in thinking that the internal audit internship would be better overall for a IB internship next summer? Or the corp. finance because the work is more relevant? Thank you
As I’ve mentioned to you before,
1. Yes networking would be easier. But you will have to know how to pitch going from BO to FO. And working there is not a guarantee that you can move to FO
2. If you choose the corp fin internship within the large corp, the work is more relevant.
Try to figure out which team/firm/culture you like better, and which environment gives you a better “base” to succeed in your work. Does 1 or 2 interest you more? Make a decision from that space, but from what’s going to happen in the future – because you don’t know.
Hi Brian, I have a question as to what track I should take. I am currently attend the University of Miami studying Finance and Accounting. I have the opportunity to change my degree from Bachelors of arts to bachelors of science, which requires Calc 2 and two more advanced Stat’s classes. The other option is to stick with my Bachelors of Arts and add an Econ minor. I have these options because I have about 5-6 extra classes I can take before I graduate. I currently have an internship this summer at a high level firm doing the institutional side of Asset Management. What track would benefit me the most for IB or a related field?
Finance & Accounting wld be a better option I believe
So I should get the bachelors of science, which requires more quantitative classes, (instead of arts) in finance and accounting rather than stay on my current track (bachelors of arts in finance and accounting) and add an econ minor? In either case I will have finance and accounting, the decision is whether to add an econ minor or switch to bachelors of science and do a couple more quantitative classes.
Hm, I’d switch to the bachelors of science. However, since you’ll be doing finance and accounting anyway, I don’t think it makes a big difference
Hi Brian,
Thank you for your advice on networking and how to develop long term relationships! So far I’ve followed your advice and have managed to arrange a phone call next week with an MD of asset management. I intend to apply for their summer internship, and so wanted to ask in more detail about what questions I should ask?
She gave a speech at the networking event I attended, and so I already know a bit about her background, however I did not get a chance to speak with her in person. I don’t want to ask questions that lead her to repeat what she said in her speech!
Ask her questions like what got her into her role, what she likes/dislikes about her job, what her typical day is like, what it takes to succeed in her role…
Awesome website! I have been reading your articles every day for the last couple weeks. I am getting my MBA from an international university in Geneva, Switzerland in june and will be moving to NYC in august. I have have an average GPA of 3.3. What are my chances of breaking into IB? What would you recommend I do? I am completely fluent in English and have been doing all my studies in that language since 9th grade, I am also a native German and French speaker and also speak basic Russian. Will that be of any advantage to me?
Your GPA might not be strong enough because typical GPA they look for is 3.5
Your languages can help you when you deal w European companies/clients
In your case, I believe obtaining IB work experience will help you the most