21 Comments
 

Had MD referrals that didn't produce an interview – the kind where you write the referrer's name – twice in a row for the same bank & within the same recruitment season, despite being diversity

 

Had MD referrals that didn't produce an interview – the kind where you write the referrer's name – twice in a row for the same bank & within the same recruitment season, despite being diversity

Did you get them to email HR, if so who in HR, was it an MD in HR or the early careers ppl?

was it SA or another role?

 

Hit and miss with this. It’s going to rely on various factors e.g., size of the company, how stringent are their DEI requirements, who is the referrer and how much clout do they have. The list goes on

It’s always worth trying to get a referral in any way, shape or form but factors like the above will overrule referrals a lot of the time.

 

WhyEff

Hit and miss with this. It’s going to rely on various factors e.g., size of the company, how stringent are their DEI requirements, who is the referrer and how much clout do they have. The list goes on

It’s always worth trying to get a referral in any way, shape or form but factors like the above will overrule referrals a lot of the time.

do yk which firms' HR will listen to refs

also does it help if dartmouth partners do the initial process

 

It’s hard to tell tbh. There’s no definitive answer to that really. Just have to scattergun it if you can.

RE Dartmouth Partners, if you have a good relationship with the recruiter it wouldn’t hurt the prospective role.

I try and maintain positive relationships with recruiters that get in touch with me bc at the end of the day, what’s good for me is good for them. If they speak highly of you, i’m sure it would help, even if just a little bit.

 

I've had multiple referrals (admittedly tends to be a more frequent occurrence at associate and up) across BB and MM and have got interviews at every single one. It might be more hit and miss lower down the hierarchy but if you've got people who can vouch for you who you used to work with (either same place or co-advised on deals etc) it helps a lot.

 
Engineer Monke

I've had multiple referrals (admittedly tends to be a more frequent occurrence at associate and up) across BB and MM and have got interviews at every single one. It might be more hit and miss lower down the hierarchy but if you've got people who can vouch for you who you used to work with (either same place or co-advised on deals etc) it helps a lot.

how would it be for SA?

 

I use the term “refer” pretty loosely here, but back when I was in banking it typically meant that HR would invite the person to a first round telephone interview (assuming the referral happened during on-cycle recruiting, i.e. Aug-Oct)

Hugely advantageous cause that is almost the entire battle for SAs and almost irrelevant what level the referral comes in from. Have heard instances where applicants were already auto-rejected and got invited for an interview post-networking event off of positive feedback. Obviously will vary from bank to bank, but making genuine connection will go a long way and it doesn’t have to be a senior person at all. Once you’re “in the system” then it’s all fair game and is typically as far as a referral will take you, unless you’re backed by a super senior person who checks in with HR and pull some additional strings (which do also happen…) 

 

For SAs it's minimal help as it's often handled by HR with minimal input from bankers. At least in London at most places of size. HR like to keep a tight reign on graduate hiring.

Lateral hiring - referrals are helpful.

Sponsors M&A (London)
 

Consequatur placeat animi quo molestiae. Est qui dolor fugit corporis quia voluptates atque. Ut laborum sit nihil fugiat minima dolore ipsa. Qui reiciendis expedita consequatur pariatur veritatis. Placeat aut ut at unde quaerat. Distinctio deleniti excepturi commodi harum.

Illo quia veniam rerum velit et totam deserunt. Non dignissimos culpa culpa velit deleniti itaque laudantium consequatur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”