ER entry from pretty good MBA

Pretty new to the forum and looking for some help. I will be attending a good, not great MBA program this fall (15-20 ranked school). I am looking to break into ER, preferably on the sell-side. I will be entering school with four years experience at a large asset manager in a trade support role. No hands on investment experience but I do have my licenses.

Basically the question I have is what do people recommend I do to start preparing for the interview/recruiting process. Any books/training/individual exercises that a person essentially starting from scratch can use to gain skills and knowledge needed for ER. I understand I am going to school to learn these things but the recruiting process seems to occur before any classes have even been completed. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

4 Comments
 
Best Response
  1. Start networking. Find some alumni and reach out to them.
  2. Start researching stocks and doing some investing on your own. I would try to have 5 good ideas when you start school. Your school's investing club will teach you how to turn those into a "pitch" for interviews. You won't need more than a couple when you are interviewing, but try to have some backup ideas available because the markets are always moving. Don't be the guy whose thesis plays out the week before interviews and all of a sudden your pitch isn't that compelling anymore.
  3. If you're really bored, teach yourself modeling and learn all the technical accounting questions that come up in interviews. You'll have opportunities to learn this once at you're at school if you don't feel like it.
  4. If you were an undergrad finance major, consider signing up for the December CFA test. I would recommend against this generally, but I would definitely recommend against this if you have no background. Business school is fun. Take time to enjoy it.
 

I agree with tc's points.

I would also suggest focusing on a specific industry of interest(s) than try to just get hired whereever. I am fairly confident that most analysts really want to know their associates are truly interested in the sector they cover. You'll be working on initiations and going to be really diving deep into a specific industry, so choose wisely! It'll be a big investment on your part but it's totally worth it if you love the work.

Also I would suggest putting together a 3 statement model with projections and a price target along with a 1-2 page writing sample of a stock youre interested in to send to analysts.

 

Omnis delectus dignissimos consequatur a autem quia. Similique modi rerum est esse. Nam sed eos ducimus est. Consequatur et possimus exercitationem maxime. Est enim impedit sed et.

Repellendus voluptas dolore voluptas dolor. Maxime dolorum explicabo deserunt quos porro dolor. Ut voluptas libero voluptatem sed harum. Beatae voluptatem iste et possimus praesentium ut minima. Et distinctio ipsa possimus voluptatem ut facere. Voluptatem et nam libero dolore sapiente quia provident.

Molestiae nesciunt itaque illum est. Temporibus dolorem sed ea omnis aut distinctio consequuntur. Hic totam vero ut maxime dolores. Vero maxime laborum et molestiae. Nesciunt temporibus incidunt voluptatem architecto molestiae sed quia.

Enim nihil mollitia quos odio incidunt in libero. Officia accusamus eos voluptatem vitae. A consequatur voluptatem ullam sapiente nihil in ab tenetur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • 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 (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”