“I recently had a LinkedIn audit call with Arnau as part of my WSO Academy program, and it was one of the most practical and useful sessions I've had so far. I came in thinking my profile was in decent shape. I left with a clear picture of how recruiters and bankers actually see it, and a concrete list of changes that will make it work much harder for me.
Some background: I'm moving from corporate finance into investment banking, corporate banking, and private equity. I have an MBA in Corporate Finance, a PMP, and several years of finance and project management experience. Making that kind of move depends heavily on how you present your story, and LinkedIn is often the first place a recruiter or analyst sees it. That's why this session mattered so much to me.
From the first few minutes, Arnau was well prepared, direct, and focused on what actually moves the needle. He didn't just give generic tips like "add a professional photo." He went through my profile section by section and explained why each piece matters to someone in finance who's quickly scanning candidates. His feedback was honest without being discouraging, which I really appreciated. He pointed out where my profile was underselling my experience and where it wasn't clearly showing that I'm aiming for banking and PE.
What stood out most was how he helped me think about positioning. My background covers corporate finance, project management, hospitality, and real estate, and it can be hard to make that read as one clear story. Arnau helped me connect those experiences to the skills banks look for: financial analysis, modeling, managing budgets and capital, and working with senior stakeholders. He showed me how small changes to my headline, About section, and experience bullets can make that story obvious within seconds.
The session was also very actionable. I didn't leave with vague ideas. I left with a short list of specific edits I can make right away. That matters a lot when you're job hunting and every week counts. He also shared advice on using LinkedIn more actively, such as engaging with the right people and content, so the profile supports my networking instead of just sitting there.
I also want to recognize the overall WSO Academy experience. Between the modeling bootcamp, the company research work, the mentorship, and sessions like this one, the program has given me structure and support during a career transition that can otherwise feel isolating. This call was a good example of what makes WSO different: the people coaching you understand the industry you're trying to break into and give feedback that reflects how hiring really works.
If you're a WSO member and haven't booked a LinkedIn audit yet, I'd strongly recommend it. It's a short time commitment, and the return is significant. Your LinkedIn profile is often your first impression, and having an experienced set of eyes on it is worth it.
Thank you, Arnau, for your time, honesty, and practical guidance. I'm excited to put the changes in place and keep building toward my goal of breaking into investment banking.”
If you don't go to team meetings, start going to them. If your team doesn't hold team meetings, find a team that does (which does interesting work) and reach out to someone there to get invited. If you don't know how to get invited, start with the administrative assistant, they will be generally be the most helpful person there and will at least know who to ask, or, at least know who else on the team is helpful enough to help out.
Great, so now you are going to team meetings of buisness units which interest you, kudos. Hardest part comes next - at the first team meeting you go to people are going to wonder who the heck you are, here it gets a little subjective. One approach could be to just say hello I am XYZ the intern I really want to help out. They might assume that you are their intern, so much the better if you really do not have any work to do. Well anyway, somehow let it be known that you are there to help.
Next, stop casually asking people what they are working on, sorry to say it, but unless you have added some value to them in the past they aren't really going to care enough to explain their project to you. Instead, you are going to team meetings where they will be updating a senior level person on their projects. look for SPECIFIC ways that you can help them, or at least form some kind of suggestion. "Oh, you are trying to find the best low cost mutual fund manager in the healthcare industry? Why don't I look through Mornigstar and give you a list based off expense ratios and highlight those with returns in the top 10%. In my last job, I did a lot of this kind of work, so I know I can help out."
Lots of points here, you understood their project without having them need to explain it (ie waste their time), you saw what was a potentially needed step that they would probably dislike doing, you showed that you have an idea of what they are looking for (low expense ratios, high returns) and you said that you have experience doing this in the past (this shouldn't be a flat out lie, but if it really is a simple task, then it shouldn't matter).
Yes, you are going to do asinine tasks. It does not seem like you have proved your worth (hard to do sometimes) to many people yet, or they would be asking you to do work for them. Just get out there and ask pointed questions, follow through with those people, and look for how you can add value to them.
If it hasn't become clear already, I have been in this position before but have followed the steps outlined above and gotten good results.
Also, apologizes for some of my curtness - I obviously don't know the situation, or you, but I have not had my coffee yet.
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