“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.”
I interviewed with Barclays ER for SA last year and thought they were amazing. If you have any idea who you'd be working with or just who you interviewed with, PM me. If you are leaning towards ER, not many better places you could go than Barclays in my opinion... especially if you're into consumer/retail or tech.
If you want to go to PE/HF long-term you're better off in investment banking.
2 years at a BB or E-boutique will set you up better to leave for PE/HF than working in Research.
Now if you leave the BB/E-boutique and are dead set on HF's then you could be in a better spot sliding into ER and working for a Top 3 II ranked analyst in the space you want and then leveraging from there.
Overall in terms of 2 years out and HF/PE opps IB would be your best bet.
Remember though, HF and PE are practically night and day. Why? because PE you are doing TRANSACTIONS so you're doing modelling LBO's etc, but in HF's you're making stock calls and taking positions.
IB better than ER for first 2 years in general because we know you can work under stress, accurately and have the basic concepts of finance down pretty cold.
Finally, neither of those jobs are bad, B-cap has good research and a BB banking job is of course.. a BB banking job.
Thank you WhiteHat and WallStreetPlayBoys - your responses were very helpful!
I think it boils down to figuring out what I want to do longterm. it's just hard to say at this point because I've never had direct experience in either field. I'll continue giving it some thoughts.
Thanks! :)
since you've basically outlined most of the pros and cons of both, only you really know which way you're leaning. if it were me, id choose ER, but that's mostly because of a personal interest in it.
yes, you should consider what you want to do long term, but don't put an exorbitant amount of pressure on yourself to decide. you don't know what you'll want in 5 years, what -if any- industry changes will be, and what these two companies will look like. so, yes, it is good to have an idea what you may like in the future, but do what you're interested in now.
I dont know why you're thinking. Citi's new CEO knows how to execute, dumped all the compliance and legal costs into the 4th quarter's annual report (which means the future is looking bright), most of the layoffs are done, and most importantly, Citi is now ranked 4th globally and 3rd in the US for M&A (couldn't find IB as a whole..source:WSJ).
ER is great but I'm pretty sure Barclays is set to shrink their US operations big time in the near future. Go to Citi - you will learn a lot about industries, how companies grow, and the exit opportunities will be way more superior to Barclays ER.
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