“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.”
also very curious
For analysts looking to go to the buy side, M&A and Sponsors (probably LevFin as well) are very strong recruting pools because of the additional modeling experience that analysts get in those groups. However, the firms that recruit from there are the typical sweat shops that are going to use you as an XLS slave just like the group you came from.
It all depends on what you want to do with your life post banking.....
From my limited understanding, there isn't a lot of modeling done in Sponsors groups although they are the liaison between the bank and the PE firm. Could you elaborate more?
Highly dependent on the bank.
assuming megafunds aren't realistic, but would upper MM PE's recruit from industry groups from a mid-tier BB? Or does it mostly depend on how much you impress the headhunters that reach out to you?
I don't know where you get your "mid-tier" BBs from. Headhunters define Tier 1 banks as any BB and include elite boutiques. It's all about brand name, any bank outside of those will be considered Tier 2. This is from a headhunter who places into HFs and PE.
Long story short, reputation of group, recs, and T1 status are what they look for as an initial screener - obv GPA and sometimes SAT score. This varies from headhunter to headhunter, but is pretty standardized (as much as PE recruiting can get).
Thanks for all the responses guys - very helpful.
I said mid-tier BBs because it's not GS/MS/JPM. My understanding was that there are PE shops that will not interview people not at GS/MS/JPM. How widespread is this?
Similarly, once you get an interview, does your bank/group still matter or is it mostly based on your performance in the interview at that point?
lol so u're aiming just for the shops that recruit exclusively from certain groups? if that's your mentality then all BBs are mid-tiers.
scrub.
bump
Dude you don't know what the hell you are talking about... Every bank you listed has placed kids to Megafunds and upper middle market shops in the past few recruiting cycles.
But I guess places like KKR, Blackstone, TPG, Warburg Pincus, CD&R, Apollo, and Carlyle are "not great exits..."
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