For those in IB, cold emailing question

Generally, I have basically had my cover letter as my cold email and probably had about 25% respond back. My resume and GPA are not stellar by any means and I am a non target. My cover includes my info, background, why I am interested and a request to set up a phone call for more info. It is about 3 short paragraphs.

In general, I know everyone says keep it short and simple.

Do you find it annoying when people send 3 short paragraphs?

2 Comments
 
Best Response

If you mention everything about yourself in your initial cold email they have no reason to speak with you, because what else will they learn about you?

Keep it very short, sweet, and simple.

Use your subject heading to grab their attention with how you're connected with them. I do this format:

"Interest in firm - school undergrad reaching out" (If alumni) "Interest in firm - fraternity chapter undergrad reaching out" (If same fraternity)

Your greeting should be about one sentence long - it'll include your name, major, and university. Then follow up with how you found their information/name who referred you to them.

After that you should go into your request to speak with them.

My cold email format is about 5 sentences long and separated into 3 sections to make it look shorter. I prep my emails the night before, and then wake up at 8AM and hit send. Weekdays only. I've gotten about a 50% same day response rate, and about 75% total response rate with my emails. But then again I'm hitting mostly boutiques/MM.

Personally, I leave my GPA out of the equation unless specifically asked because I'm only a freshman and I got a 2.0 first semester (lol pledging) and have a 3.4 now for a cumm of around 2.7. But I did get my offer without even talking about my GPA and just being very personable.

 

Reiciendis quasi aut minima sed et fugit. Optio molestias occaecati tenetur est eligendi eum. Deserunt rerum quasi ducimus rem. Consequatur aut perspiciatis voluptatem sed minima provident eos. Aut labore nam quaerat non. Vero iure ducimus aperiam vero perferendis voluptas voluptates.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.6%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.6%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (70) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”