I am a rising sophomore at a non-target to semi-target with good clubs etc. I have started networking and have had over 10 coffee chats within the last year. Some during school year which I realized weren’t smart but was able to stay in touch with two of them. Then majority this summer. Is it too early for me to be reaching out?
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Depends on who you are reaching out to. Juniors at your school is fine, don't do seniors as they are in the middle of their internships currently and reaching out will probably hurt more than help.
I think it's completely fine to reach out to Juniors and develop a good relationship with them right now. You sort of move up the ladder from Juniors, then Seniors, then move onto full timers (Analyst, Assoc., VP, etc.). You need to go up the list though, so reach out to Juniors and then first few weeks of August move onto Seniors and then hit up the full timers they put you into contact with.
Your heads in a good place, just would prioritize technical studying so that when August comes around you can start reaching out to full-timers being fully prepared if they spring some technical questions on you. Best of luck!
Hey man, thanks so much for the reply. For the student managed fund I am in at the school and other program we had to network heavily with juniors and seniors at the school I spoke to maybe 30+ kids who are interning or working full time in IB. Would you still recommend technical and behavioral prep for the beginning of summer? Thanks again.
Still same answer - to clarify when I say juniors I mean sophomores who just secured their offers and will begin their junior summers this fall. Anyone who is currently in their internship or starting as an analyst won't have the time of day, or will honestly just forget about you, when the important time comes around. I've always been taught that it's actually frowned upon to reach out to anyone in their Junior Summer or above before august. Reach out in August to those guys, focus on technicals now.
Got it. Thanks for the help!
Overthinking it. Nobody will ding you for networking this early as long as they enjoyed speaking with you
Again I'd disagree. Not just from a professional standpoint but also from a logical standpoint. You have interns there currently (who you want to talk to), you have new analysts just starting (who you also want to talk to), and you have analysts rolling into PE (who are the full-timers you'd like to talk to). Odds are good you're talking to someone who won't be at the bank anymore in 2 months - why waste your time when it could be better spent elsewhere?
Sure… but two things can be true at once. They can be taking calls from folks just starting, while also having a quick chat with a sophomore who reached out to them.
Also, you’re not limited to analyst. Plenty of Associates, VP’s, Directors, etc. will be there after summer.
When people are thinking about who to interview, nobody says “Yeah, great kid. However, he reached out 2 months before the magical time you’re supposed to start networking. Pass”.
Makes no sense to wait until your compensation is starting
Absolutely - there is just sort of a way to work up the line. Talking to Juniors who put you into contact with seniors, who then get you to analysts.
Problem is if you to straight to VP and then he's like who is this kid because you didn't talk to anyone else before them, you're in trouble. You need to work up the line, which includes learning stuff about the group/bank that you can bring up when talking to associates, VPs, and even MDs.
If there's no one from your school who you can talk to for a bank, then yeah shoot for it right now, otherwise I'd play it safe. Again depends on the person.
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