“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.”
He's wrong, though at most places networking / knowing someone / etc. will only get you an opportunity, not a guarantee. My friends at GS / BX / Bridgewater / Google / Bain / insert impressive brand here (I'm just mentioning fancy companies my once-upon-a-time college friends worked for) only got their initial interviews because someone (recruiter, former athlete, family member, final club alum, etc.) kinda/sorta vouched for them.
EDIT: I was referring more to undergrad in my comment above, so my bad. That said, I know one person who got a front-office job at a megafund who never worked PE, IB, or MBB consulting before attending business school (to be fair, he is the only person I know who's ever done something like this).
if you're at a target Bschool school for banking (CBS/W/Booth), you go through a set recruiting process. Networking beforehand doesn't really help much - the banks will tell you where to go and who to meet. If they like you, they'll have you meet more people. That's the process though. So it's forced networking.
For P/E, you'll def need to work with smaller shops because they won't have as structured of a recruiting process, if any.
What the previous guy said. You don't start cold emailing people in LinkedIn or Alumni database like it's prophesied in WSO. After on campus info sessions, banks kind of tell you how they want you to have informational interviews (mostly at the bank in NYC, some over phone). Most will let everyone have one each. Some will stop at that. Some will forward you to more if they like you. The pain is generally over in couple of months.
I'm not sure what you mean exactly that "networking doesn't work." If you mean like the old days where it was like "Weathersby's boy is a good chap, let's set him up with an offer." - you're right. However, if you network and are impressive, it will probably lead you to getting on HR's radar and put on the interview list, which alone improves your odds substantially above the general pool.
On-campus recruiting at top b-schools always beats "networking." I got a ton of great trading offers my senior year in college purely through ocr. I just submitted resumes, got interviews, and then crushed them.
My advice is as follows:
if a structured on-campus recruiting system exists for a particular career, follow it and excel. Don't pursue networking in advance. Speak with recent graduates only to become familiar with the process and banks/firms that you'd be particularly interested in. This helps you formulate reasons/conversation topics.
if it does not exist for a job (i.e., small PE shop), network like hell. You may need to intern with the shop your fall semester without a guaranteed summer offer. Meet people in the industry. This is also often defined by the nature of the position. Tech VC firms want guys who are very interested in the industry, and you can establish this through your background and connections/understanding of recent developments in local communities.
Feel free to PM me. Currently at a BB, but attended top target for banking/consulting, etc recruiting (CBS/W/Booth)
sure why not - how about you go to business school, don't network at all and then apply to all the top banks? let me know how that works out for you.
lesson: use some common sense and learn to detect BS when someone is feeding it to you. take everything with a grain of salt, or in this case a gallon.
Networking occurs within the process, it's just forced and extended/long if banks like you. I reached out to alums at a bunch of banks before recruiting started, and the response was a resounding "why are you contacting me? just follow the recruiting process". So I followed the recruiting process and did well. My convos with alums in advance of recruiting season were very helpful because while they didn't send my resume around to their colleagues (again, because it's a structured process), they gave me some valuable insight into the process, job, expectations, etc.
The bankers are obviously aware of the structured recruiting process because, unless they're analyst promotes, went through bschool recruiting themselves. I've given students advice on banking, but also advised them to stick with the recruiting schedule/processes.
I don't have words to describe the awesomeness of WSO community!
I'm sure OCR is fantastic at top programs, and one may merely have to OBEY to land the job one wants, however, I was speaking with a MBA about to graduate from a southern "ivy" who will be going into IM and he recommended contacting companies as early as in the summer BEFORE the first semester of the program is about to start. "Shows initiative"
^ fair point. If you attend a "less strong" bschool, then sure, networking helps.
^ agreed.
Any other thoughts? OP, was this helpful?
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