Coffee chat with MD family friend - advice?

Hi there,

Curious if anyone else had similar experiences. Have been looking to change roles into IB for some time already but haven't had much luck with recruiting given that I have no relevant experience (Don't have SA experience and currently a FT investment analyst (sales role which does not do valuation/modeling) in a BB PB ) .

I bumped into a long time family friend recently and found out that he was working in the same area as I was. Turns out he's an MD in one of the product groups at a MM. We agreed to meet next week for a coffee chat to catch up. How should I balance between asking for career advice vs leveraging a role in the future? Don't really want to be seen as just meeting him to leverage a role (Also he mentioned that hiring is currently frozen due to current pandemic).

My thoughts are: 1. Catching up and find out how he's doing (Ask about family etc) 2. Talk about my career aspirations and ask for advice on how to break into the industry (Need to explain why I'm not satisfied in my current role) 3. Tell him how I am trying to improve my skills to break into the industry (CFA/Modeling courses) 4. End off with thanks for the advice 5. Follow up with any updates in the future.

Any other thoughts?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I do coffee chats all the time. My advice is do not go in expecting ANYTHING! Go in to get to know him on a personal level (coffee is more informal already). Ask him about his background, how he got into the industry, what he does, any advice he would give you as a young professional, etc.

If you go in expecting a job or for him to look over your resume, you are wasting his and your time. Be natural and get to know him personally. The personal relationship will help you out way more than the short term goal of a new job prospect.

Also, if you really want to stand out, send a cursive written thank you note in the mail. I am in my twenties and meet with a lot of people, trust me it works.

 

Laborum neque vitae ut aut quia eveniet. Magni quasi qui fugiat culpa. Cum voluptas esse omnis. Ut fugiat voluptates placeat eum sint quidem tempora. Blanditiis est sapiente omnis voluptate autem harum vitae. Provident et soluta natus quibusdam repudiandae vel soluta. Quisquam id sequi expedita ad aspernatur voluptatem nulla.

Eius expedita quia et occaecati sapiente aliquam est. Placeat voluptatum laudantium aut. Autem enim harum est rem ducimus quia consequatur et. Cumque vel modi sunt accusamus non.

Voluptas tempore dolores qui accusantium commodi aliquid eos temporibus. Ut rerum commodi eum facere est sed et. Cum id dolore tempore delectus tenetur. Ea dolorem mollitia eveniet deserunt eos.

Amet consequatur ut suscipit est animi. Et maiores quos doloribus reprehenderit vel qui. Illum quo nihil temporibus expedita.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”