“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 got one at a lmm Pe firm before I started school it was great leveraged it to work at a boutique IB freshman year and now I’m headed to a $35B alternative assets firm my freshman summer. I’d recommend doing it if you can it really helped me.
Did you network to get the summer intern? I'm curious because I dont have any prior finance experience, and I dont know what to pitch to these firms if there isnt any finance experience.
you either attend a target, or come from money. You will probably say neither (which is cap), but great job on landing a sick internship.
I attend a top target: HYP. Contrary to popular belief, the only kids who landed these kinds of internships as freshmen had connections or were diversity (SEO, etc.). Even at targets, this isn't the norm.
Okay hold up, like seriously just enjoy your summer before freshman year because that is going to be the last summer you are going to have free time. Since you already have an idea about IB, you are 10 steps ahead already, just find a internship freshman summer and go from there. sheeeesh
Sick of this kinda advice. Honestly you can never be too far ahead. Kids start research projects and leadership development shit in 9th grade to get into targets like HSW. If you wanna do IB there is no reason not to start learning and preparing early. You can still easily enjoy your youth. I had an internship following my senior year and it has done nothing but help. Sorry for the rant but really just wanted to tell everyone to buzz off about ambitious kids.
its one thing to be ambitious, its another thing to be WAY too fixated on your career. Enjoy the one summer you have off, because you are gonna be grinding afterwards. Sure, look at some guides and do some prep here and there, doesn't mean you need to do a boutique IB internship in preschool and a BB in kindergarten. Be ambitious, but enjoy times when you can.
IB has smart people, but also IB is full of morons who went to bad schools because they belonged at bad schools. The job isn't a measure of intellect. Relax, unless you go to a severe non-target it's really not that complicated to break in.
I'll follow up this guy's take with something a bit more mild. I think it's still pretty easy to do some random PWM internship throughout your freshman summer and still have a lot of time to have fun. My freshman summer I did a small PWM internship for like 6 weeks just to get something on my resume and spent the rest of the summer traveling with friends. Now obviously if you can't get anything, that's also fine. It's freshman summer and you should definitely take advantage of your last bit of freedom.
Work at a pool or something fun, this is your last free summer
This ^ I worked at a pool / in customer service my freshman summer and honestly think it helped me in interviews more than any internship experience
I cold emailed a bunch of places (with crappy cold emails lol) near the end of my senior year. Ended up not getting anything, but I enjoyed that summer. In hindsight everything worked out with my jr SA placement.
Family connections
I went to a business high school and had an internship in my junior year of high school. Many people still ended up doing much better than me because I didn't know what I wanted in college and went through a phase. Trust me, just join clubs and get a good gpa and you'll be ok.
You’re not even in college.
Effing chill man. You don’t have to have internships before college
/
They’re clowns and so too will you be if you spend your HS senior summer doing anything but partying, chasing girls, and doing a chill/fun job.
Okay. I took your advice and am working at Ben and Jerrys with my friends/Golfing and working out 24/7.
I know the recruiting process is much more accelerated, I was wondering do you have any advice on how I should navigate my freshman/soph year to be in a solid position for a top BB/EB?
join relevant clubs, network early
Academic club to get in the mix with kids with similar ambitions and to make an easy connection with alumni in the industry.
Social club/sport to be a real person (have fun, socialize, gain life experience). People in banking don't like talking to people who lead boring lives with their free time, we're all jealous of your freedom and want to experience it vicariously.
It's pretty simple: get in the mix on campus, be well rounded, and keep your head on a swivel.
Thank you for the advice. Somebody above said that I should network early. If you were/are/going to be an analyst on the street. Would you take somebody seriously if they networked before entering college? What's ur take on networking?
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