Networking as a first year analyst looking for eventual lateral

I am a first year analyst who's been working in CRE for about 3 months now. Once I get to the 9 mos-1 year mark, I will be looking to transition to IB for reasons I don't want to labor through right now.

I'm looking to start building my network now, but am struggling to use the same arsenal I used in undergrad: "UG student looking for advice." What premise should I use to reach out to bankers? How do I frame my request to network?

6,448 WSO Academy Investment Banking Session Reviews: 4.82/5

Class of '29 Sep 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Investment Banking Mock Interview

“Very patient in explanation and was very good at walking me through some of the concepts without giving anything away. Great job breaking up the material and asking questions outside of the 400 guide which really tested my knowledge on some of the more basic concepts I thought I had a good understanding of, but might need to learn a little more. Will continue to schedule Consatantin as I thought the overall ease of the scheduling was nice, and he was more that available to go over the origonal time we had planned out.”

Class of '28 Jun 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Investment Banking 7 Stories Review

“Michael was a huge help getting me ready for my Lazard HireVue. I came in with a lot of good material but my answers were running long and I kept rambling through my stories. He walked me through each one and helped me cut them down so they were concise and hit the main points without losing what makes them mine. He was honest about what was not working and gave me clear ways to fix it instead of just general advice. I left the call feeling way more confident and organized going into the interview. I would definitely work with him again.”

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1	redever	99.2
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Networking as a first year analyst looking for eventual lateral

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Networking as a first year analyst looking for eventual lateral

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