IB Recruiting Advice

I’m finishing up my freshman year at a target school and aiming for investment banking. Trying to be deliberate about positioning ahead of sophomore recruiting.

Right now I’m around a 3.5 GPA and have made finals at multiple stock pitch competitions, including a 2nd place finish. I’m comfortable with core technicals (DCF, valuation, pitching) and have spent a good amount of time building models and presenting ideas. This summer I’ll be working for Congress in DC. 

My main question is how to position myself as a candidate for IB given that my freshman summer experience isn’t directly finance. I’m thinking about framing it around macro, regulatory exposure, and understanding how policy impacts industries, but not sure how that actually plays in recruiting conversations.

Also trying to prioritize the next 6 to 12 months specifically for IB recruiting. At this point, what tends to matter most for actually getting interviews at banks: early networking, locking in a sophomore IB or finance internship, or continuing to build technical depth and deal understanding?

Trying to sanity check whether this profile is on track for IB recruiting or if I need to make more aggressive adjustments now. Would appreciate any advice from people who have gone through IB recruiting recently.

7 Comments
 

Agree on GPA somewhat but Best thing you can do is run your story by someone. If you get the interview opportunity you do not want to blow it and these interview technicals are not super tough these days. I got 6 offers at 6 banks. Happy to chat.

 

Both are highly important but the story about you and your experiences leading you in the direction of this job is what they want to hear. Bankers love a story that is logical and concise. Work on your “walk me through your resume” with someone with experience. It truly made all the difference for me. The only time you have control over the interview

 

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