Public bio:
- Managing Director overseeing an industrial real estate portfolio.
- Former private equity associate at a lower middle market fund covering industrial companies with prior experience in M&A investment banking at a bank that is not known for having PE exits.
- I found a way into the industry despite not having perfect qualifications by effectively communicating the projects I had worked on and my roles in each, thoroughly preparing for interviews, reaching out to mentors, and having the right mindset.
- I would be happy to pass on my learnings to help you achieve your professional goals whether that be setting yourself up for success in university, discussing finance careers, finding your first internship or investment banking position, and preparing for PE interviews.
Public bio:
A senior real estate debt and investment professional with 10+ years of experience executing complex transactions (£1bn+) at leading global investment management firms (Nuveen, LaSalle IM). My track record spans real estate equity & debt investments in the UK and Western European markets across the full deal lifecycle, from origination and underwriting through to structuring and closing.
I recruited, trained, and managed multiple analyst classes in the London CRE market - I can help you prepare for interviews and case studies for CRE roles and give you a good overview of all major players/teams in the market (contacts at Blackstone, Starwood, LaSalle IM, Nuveen, Cheyne and many more).
Public bio:
- Currently a Private Equity Associate at a mega fund in Singapore that executes leveraged buyouts across Asia
- Successfully recruited for a Private Equity role in Singapore while pursuing investment banking in New York
- Familiar with key PE recruitment agencies in Singapore, top regional funds, nature of modeling tests etc.
- Previously spent ~2 years in Investment Banking in New York primarily working on FinTech and Asset Management M&A and IPO transactions in the Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
- Graduated with an MBA from an Ivy league college in the US
- Conversational proficiency in English
Public bio:
I came into the industry through a placement year at Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs Asset Management during university, which turned into a full-time role at Goldman Sachs International after I graduated. Being inside a firm that big early on didn’t just teach me markets and risk – it taught me how large banks really work: the politics, the unwritten rules, the “snakes and ladders” of the corporate hierarchy. It also gave me a clear view of what big banks actually look for in candidates and future senior leaders – beyond the glossy brochure language – in terms of attitude, resilience, internal positioning and genuine value-add.
After Goldman, I moved into long/short equity trading at Lazard Asset Management and then Schonfeld, working directly with PMs on ideas, trade construction and day-to-day risk. I’m a CFA charterholder and, over the last few years, a founding shareholder at Blackfort Group, where I ultimately acted as Interim CIO. At Blackfort I helped design and build hedge fund and private asset fund structures from scratch – from strategy and service provider selection through to investor materials – and I led all capital-raise discussions with prospective investors and partners. Alongside this, I undertook a significant amount of financial advisory work, ranging from capital-raising solutions for start-ups to advising HNW individuals and PEPs (politically exposed persons) on trust and asset-protection structures.
Over the years I’ve been through interviews at pretty much every level, from grad schemes to senior roles, and I’ve also been on the other side of the table. I’m happy to help candidates think clearly about their next step, not just chase brand names – whether that’s staying put, moving internally, or jumping to a new platform. I can help with how to position your story on paper, how to approach the application process, and how to behave in interviews (what to lean into, what to leave out, and how to handle tricky questions).
I’m also open to speaking with people who feel stuck or unhappy in their current path and are looking for a change – including how to do that sensibly using the resources, tools and networks they already have (or could build). I’m comfortable doing mock interviews and detailed CV reviews if people find that useful, and I’m prepared to dedicate a significant amount of time to this. Where I genuinely think someone is ready for the next step, I’m also open to making introductions into my own network.
As I know many students and professionals have busy schedules, I typically keep my calendar open for sessions on evenings and weekends as well as throughout the week. Feel free to reach out to me at any stage.
Looking forward to connecting!
Public bio:
- Investment Banking Associate at a Big 5 Canadian bank
- Spent time in both Mergers & Acquisitions and Industry Coverage Groups
- Previously spent 3.5 years as an Investment Analyst at a Private Equity fund focused on healthcare, pharma, and biotech
- CFA Charterholder
- MBA from the Rotman School of Management and a BCom in Finance from McGill University
- Willing to mentor students and potential candidates, review resumes and cover letters, conduct mock interviews, and provide guidance on how to navigate recruiting and networking both at the undergraduate and graduate levels
Public bio:
Private Equity Associate with experience in infrastructure and energy investing, with a foundation in investment banking. Having navigated multiple career pivots and recruiting cycles, he mentors aspiring professionals on recruiting, technical prep, and navigating non-linear paths into top finance roles.
Public bio:
- Strategic finance and corporate strategy professional in the insurance sector
- Former investment banking analyst in the consumer and retail M&A team
- Prior private equity analyst experience at a Nordic mid-market fund, focusing on deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio company value creation
- Earlier career experience in management consulting, advising international corporations on finance transformation, performance management, and operational improvement
- Strong academic background in international business
Can provide coaching and guidance on the process of breaking into PE / IB from an end-to-end perspective, meaning:
- Cover letter / CV reviews
- HireVue process tips and tricks
- Interview prep (technicals as well as how to approach the fit part)
- And inside knowledge on how applicants are scored and evaluated by JP (and bulge brackets in general)
Public bio:
- Equity research analyst in London covering European software and payments companies at a leading global investment bank
- Experienced in valuation modeling, earnings forecasting, and authoring company and industry research reports
- Former investment analyst intern at event-driven and long/short equity hedge funds, with exposure to merger arbitrage, special situations, and private equity takeover analysis
- Holds a master’s degree in financial analysis from a top London business school and a bachelor’s degree in economics from a leading European university
Public bio:
I am a VP in mid market private equity focusing on growth buyouts in a multi billion fund across the DACH region. Looking forward to helping you plan your career, support application and interview preperation and selection of attractive funds. Have been responsible for junior investment professional and intern recruiting at my firm for the past few years and happy to share my knowledge.
Public bio:
- 1+ years in investment banking
- 4+ years in public markets experience between long-only and multi-manager hedge funds
- Career-changer able to advise on interview processes in investment banking and hedge funds or general career advice
Frequently Asked Questions
Can’t find an answer? Please send an email to [email protected]
The WSO mentor service runs at a very slight profit (~5-10% net margin) in order to help motivate amazing professionals to provide great (free) advice in the forums (many mentors have green "mentor" buttons next to their usernames) which strengthens the entire WSO community. Luckily, there is a surprising number of elite professionals within the WSO community that love giving back to motivated candidates. We also recently automated the mentor matching with an algo that helps reduce the manual work needed on the backend should a requested mentor not be available. Prices range from as low as $57 up to $997 depending on the package you purchase and the mentor you select. Given the success of our service and the number of repeat clients we have, we know that we can afford to run on thin profit margins and serve thousands of applicants. We also know that many of you will follow the advice of our mentors and invest in additional courses and/or services from WSO.
After checking out, your request will immediately be sent to the mentor you selected. You will be expected to fill our some basic information (location, industry preference, etc) along with upload a Word version of your resume in order to help the mentor decide if they feel like they are a great match. As soon as they accept (usually within ~9-12 hours), an email will be sent making an introduction. Your mentor will introduce him/herself and then proceed to review your current resume and/or offer times when you can connect for a mentor session. Over the following days, you will schedule a time that is mutually convenient for you initial phone call to go over what you need help with (mock interview, career consultation and/or both). If you would like to continue with this mentor, you can schedule more hours anywhere from 1 hour to 3+ hours with him/her over the following weeks & months.
Typically the match happens within 12hrs. If your preferred mentor has not responded within 9 hours or they indicate they can't take you on as a mentor, we will notify other top mentors that have the most in common with the mentor you selected (based on our matching algo). These backup mentors will indicate to you if they are available and you have the choice to move forward with one of them, get a refund or wait longer for your preferred mentor. If for whatever reason we cannot match you in time and/or there are no mentors that are available that you'd like to work with, we will refund your purchase in full, no questions asked.
We have an incredible team of 1,000+ dedicated mentors across top firms all around the world. Our #1 goal is to make sure you are placed in the hands of the most competent and detail-oriented professional in your specific target industry. This coupled with our strict process ensures a smooth and thorough experience. Why do we use actual professionals? The answer is simple: they are the ones ACTUALLY SCREENING APPLICATIONS for their own firms! They know what it takes to make it out of the trash pile and into the interview pile. On top of this, since we have been doing mentor sessions for over a decade across THOUSANDS of clients, we are able to immediately identify a top mentor and feed them more clients to ensure happy customers like you (due to our strict screening process). Our team includes investment bankers at all the top bulge brackets and elite boutique banks as well as private equity, hedge fund and VC professionals at the most prestigious funds. We also have reviewers at the top management consulting firms in the world, elite prop trading firms, top corporate finance roles as well as other related finance careers.
Usually these are all self-limiting beliefs, but if you're unsure if we are a good match for you, please send us a quick email to [email protected] and we can send over some bios if we think there might be a potential good match for you.
Too Young / Too Inexperienced: We do NOT recommend our mentor service until you at least have at least some relevant WORK experience that we can leverage. For the young clients out there, this means an internship, ideally in your target or related industry. If you are still in high school, it is unlikely that you have this experience. The earliest we'd recommend doing a mentor session is early freshman or early sophomore year as you prepare for summer internship recruiting. If you have no relevant experience then it probably doesn't make sense to sign up for the service. Our mentors are amazing, but they aren't magicians. If you tell us you really want to be in Investment Banking or Private Equity (for example) and everything in your background points to law or medicine, it's going to be an uphill battle. On the other hand, if you have unrelated experience but you have started the transition process by taking relevant classes and joining relevant clubs and associations, we'd love to work with you. You may not be the most competitive candidate, but we will highlight the most relevant education and functions at your current job that would translate well across industries.
Too Old / Too Experienced: We DO recommend our mentor service for more experienced professionals that are looking to make a transition or have an interview coming up. We have several very senior mentors that can answer the tough questions and make sure you are up to date on the latest trends in your target industry. However, before you move forward, we encourage you to give yourself an honest assessment. If you are looking to make the transition and have not made any steps outside of considering this mentor program, you probably aren't ready. If you've taken steps (education, new degrees, courses, etc) and feel like you're ready, we're on board and eager to help!
Yes, but if you have a negative attitude you are unlikely to have success. If you think a mentor session is an automatic referral, please don't bother to hire us.
Yes, our mentors often do refer our clients for open positions at their firms (over 20%), however, this should not be asked of our mentors to avoid a conflict of interest and it should not be expected as part of the service. It is up to you to impress the mentor if this is your goal, however, we believe you can gain much more out of the experience by being honest about your weaknesses and concerns with the mentor so there can be an open dialogue on how to improve your chances.
The only discounts are for larger packages and more hours purchased at once. This is an incredibly labor intensive 1-on-1 service using finance professionals that typically make well over $200/hr and are doing this primarily to give back.
This is a personal question and the answer is naturally subjective. If you are serious about landing a job in investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, trading, asset management, management consulting or any other competitive industry, it's more than likely that the answer to that question is a resounding "YES".
Career services advisers at your school are not screening applications for interviews...neither are your classmates. If you do happen to have a friend in the industry, are they going to take the hours necessary to give you a realistic mock interview? Odds are that their time is limited outside the office and if they do give you some guidance, it won't be as thorough as our expert mentors. If you look at the competitive nature of recruiting nowadays, why would leave your application up to chance when many of these jobs pay well over $100,000?
Join the 1,000+ candidates just like you who have already used the WSO Mentor Service
If you’re reading this, you’re here for a reason: because you want to be one of the very few who gets an an elite job and because you need help doing it. The choice really is yours. And your opportunity really is limited.
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