Please Help Me Improve
Long story short, SA 2025 recruiting has been a struggle. Here's my profile/context:
- Rising junior at non-target, 3.8+ GPA
- IMO, pretty solid extra curriculars and very involved on campus
- Intern a boutique IB for 10 months now (started during beginning of sophomore year) - gotten a lot of experience since it's just me and 2 bankers
- I've been networking since beginning of sophomore year and have easily sent out 1,000+ emails, LinkedIn messages, etc (very low response rate)
I have been working towards putting myself in the best position possible for IB since freshman year (club involvement, starter internships, networking with alumni, etc.) and really tried to ramp it up in sophomore year with the IB internship and networking. I don't believe a lack of effort is the issue in my case.
Since January, I have received 2 first rounds but nothing more. First a MM firm in March (I made a mistake on a simple accounting questions from the nerves, but I immediately corrected it) and secondly a boutique shop at the beginning of summer which I thought I did well in (was told all my technicals were right and thought I did well on the behavioral portion).
I understand my profile/resume is likely very average compared to those who successfully break in and that my lack of success is my fault (likely shortcomings in networking), but at this point I just don't know what I can improve on and do differently for the last few SA 2025 openings that I know of (Deutsche/Macquarie/Stephens).
Last semester, I had the daily motivation to work through meetings, classes, internship/extracurricular work until the early morning before then starting on scheduling networking emails for the next day. Now, I feel burnt out by the lack of responses to my countless emails (let alone no interviews or offers) and I have to really push myself to network, follow up on emails, study technicals etc.
All of that being said, I have truly enjoyed the IB experience I have had so far and am willing to work even harder over the next 2 years of school to break in. I just need some guidance as to what I can do differently.
Apologies for the long post, but yeah... please help me improve. I really want this.
(Just to clarify ahead of the comments, I'm not complaining about the system or whether it's fair or not. I just want to be transparent about my situation to get the best advice possible.)
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some actionable steps and advice to help you improve your chances in the IB recruiting process:
Networking
Technical and Behavioral Preparation
Resume and Application
Mental Health and Motivation
Additional Tips
Final Thoughts
Remember, the journey to breaking into IB is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay focused, keep improving, and don't give up. Good luck!
Sources: Accounting major, can't seem to break into IB, Some advice on getting a job or internship by Monty09, What will FT Recruiting look like this year?, Would appreciate some advice, Low GPA, trying to get my foot in the door. What do I do?
In the same boat. Personally I'm focusing on Satellite offices of BBs and MMs, industry specific boutiques, and some other random boutiques. I've also been reaching out to people in corporate banking/Big 4 TAS to be in the best position possible if IB recruiting doesn't work out. One thing I'd recommend is keeping a list of all the firms still recruiting and crossing them off as you confirm they're cooked so you can focus on places that are still recruiting. PM if you'd like to talk a bit more.
What's on your list of firms still recruiting? All I know of are the three I mentioned above. Would have pmed to ask but I figured others might find it useful as well
In the same boat. I'm considering delaying my graduation by a quarter (so I graduate Dec/2026 instead of June/2026) to give me another chance for this upcoming 2026 Summer Analyst Programs recruitment cycle. What about you?
Honestly, my question for myself is: "If it hasn't worked now when truly putting 100% effort into it, what makes you think it will work by delaying and trying again?" Paying for another semester, IMO, is not worth it to me. If SA doesn't work out, I'll recruit full time, or try to lateral, and even try for MBA, if necessary.
First of all, you have a great attitude about this, have seen many in similar situations complain about how unfair the system is or how DEI is screwing them or whatever the case. Being realistic and looking for ways to improve is 100% the correct approach, props to you for that. Here are some things that helped me that you may not be doing.
1. Expand your applications/networking Fairly self-explanatory but casting a wider net increases your chances of finding a job in the industry. While the majority of BB/MM SA recruitment has wrapped up, there will be some one-off opportunities that arise from reneges or something else, keep an eye out for those. The more important part is to start networking with boutiques, many of these shops have later recruiting cycles and are often easier to get someone to respond to you.
2. Target your networking You are a non-target who has some small boutique experience, reaching out to a guy at JPM who went to Penn will likely not yield a response. Try to network with people who have a closer background to yourself, these could be analysts from other non-targets, analysts who had less conventional paths to IB (started in accounting for example) or anyone who you have a legitimate connection with (same hometown for example). Finding people who will respond to you is step 1 and by searching for people who you have something in common with, you will likely receive more responses.
3. Keep track of networking Create a spreadsheet with banks and people who you have/will reach out to at said bank. Do not reach out to every analyst in a group at one time, start by reaching out to one person at each bank, wait a week, send a follow up, if still no response, then move on to the next person. Keeping track of who you have reached out to will help you know who to message next and will hopefully prevent you from spamming banks and being seen as annoying. Finally, use this spreadsheet to follow up with people who you have had convos with, even if it was a call where they said they are not hiring at the moment, check in every few months, banks will often have 1 off hiring situations where they may not post the app on LinkedIn and will instead use internal referrals.
4. Know your technicals Again, self-explanatory, but when you get an interview, don't screw yourself over by getting a technical wrong. WSO has some good guides, in addition to the WSP red book, I would recommend going through both.
Finally, don't give up, if this is 100% what you want to do, go for it.
I hope this is helpful, best of luck.
Thank you for the advice. You brought up a great point about the one-off opportunities from BB/MM, but I'm curious as to how I should approach networking for these situations. Given that it is very likely they are not looking to fill an additional spot at the time of a potential call (and not actively looking for candidates), how do you recommend I try and indicate interest in these one off situations (or at least have them keep me in their minds should the opportunity arise)?
Generally, at the end of the call, I would express interest in staying in touch and something along the lines of "should an opportunity arise, I would be extremely interested in meeting more of the team" at the end. Give it a month or two and then follow up with that person, try to avoid sending an effective repeat of the original email. If you are not spamming and somebody takes the time of day to speak with you (especially if their group isn't recruiting at that time), chances are they want to help you and as long as you remain respectful of their time and do not fire off an email a week at them, they will likely try to recommend you should an opportunity arise.
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