CS shows what’s wrong with recruiting so early.

I’ll preface by saying that it’s my opinion that incoming analysts will probably be fine.

The fact that recruitment takes place several months to over a year before your start date is outrageous, and has been extremely harmful towards those that aspire a career in finance. It pushes up timelines exponentially, gives students less time to get meaningful experience and knowledge, and creates and anticompetitive environment where many are pushed to accept an offer ASAP.

I personally struggled hard with full time recruiting, and I knew several who are still in the process of recruiting and have had little to no success. Now imagine being an incoming analyst at a CS or SVB, having your job in limbo just a few months before your start date. If you’re smart you should be rerecruiting - but at this point, there’s few places that are taking anybody. If these banks start rescinding offers in the future, people will be extremely fucked. 
 

This is all a result of the extremely advanced application processes. Nobody should be hiring two years in advance. Nobody should have to be networking during their summer internships. It’s unfair and anticompetitive.

21 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I think that most would agree with you, myself included. What you’re underestimating is how little these banks care about you as a person and your well-being. They just need asses in seats and will fill them regardless of what people think. Furthermore, IB is not rocket science so you really don’t need to be attracting the best and brightest students to fill out your analyst classes. You basically just need someone whose willing to eat shit for two years until they leave or you can promote/replace them. You as an individual are in many ways just a cog in the machine and whether or not you burn out is immaterial to the bank. 

 

CS didn't have a super early recruitment cycle? I interviewed for 2 IB roles at CS Chicago in July and August. You could make a more compelling case for the fact that it takes like an hour to do their brain teaser quizzes. 

 

Probably desensitized to recruiting since most of my peers were locking in as early as December - April, but you're absolutely right. Re-reading my post the roles sound ambiguous, but I don't want to namedrop the exact IB groups out of privacy. 

Just wanted to make the point that CS didn't have the most brutal recruiting cycle out of all firms. 

 

It's been an evolving issue. Banks like RBC should not be posting SA 2024 22 months in advance. It makes other HR departments at banks believe they are behind the curve and forces them to post earlier / move their timelines up. There is no reason to be recruiting a person who has "incoming SA23" on their resume for SA24 when they haven't even gotten a real finance internship under their belt.

Sadly this shit will never change because as the users above have mentioned these banks just need people in seats. 

 

It's unfortunately a case of prisoners dilemma. Recruiting as you suggest is the collective optimal strategy, but banks are incentivized to start earlier and secure talent. 

 

Ended up getting my offer from one of the few firms that I didn’t network at. Crazy world.

 

Like it or not, the system rewards those who are on the ball early and go after those internships. Thousands manage to do so, even kids from low income families. You may not like it but it works just fine for the banks who get their committed bodies ( and what they seek for diversity) and for the successful early applicants who get their guaranteed job. It won't be changing. 

 

Dolore ullam et adipisci nulla ipsam dolorum a. Nobis necessitatibus consectetur minima veritatis nihil. Odio assumenda tempore cum fugit recusandae error. Voluptatem molestiae enim aliquid porro. Aut dolorem quae perspiciatis aut ut officiis ut laborum. Voluptatem nesciunt non sed at fuga.

Accusamus sed consequatur et ea aut ut atque sunt. Labore quod atque perspiciatis neque corrupti veniam. Omnis sapiente mollitia ea amet iure quia modi. Corporis dolorem qui suscipit dolore. Voluptates iusto officia quasi ut aliquid ut reiciendis maxime. Et vero saepe et beatae aliquid. Non voluptatum hic et.

Vel ea et tempore in veniam ea. Animi quibusdam repellat odit qui est. Quod illo repudiandae fuga ut ex.

Reiciendis quam et reiciendis dolore. Labore provident voluptatem libero rem nostrum eos. Nam qui voluptate commodi omnis.

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 (67) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”