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Are you a rising sophomore? Wait until September. You'll still be early
Half the people you talk to might not be there in 8 months, and there's just no reason to network this early, it comes off as hardo and doesn't add any advantage
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From my experiences, the best time to start is around November / December of sophomore year. I networked starting then, and did the bulk of it in December / January. If you can get on the phone and build a good relationship first, then by the time you have an interview (or sometimes even when you apply) you can reach back out to ask their advice on navigating the next steps.
If you are a rising sophomore, I would personally say take this summer and the fall to really understand what investment banking is and the differences between the groups, firm size, etc. I would also say start getting the fundamental technical concepts down too. I personally didn’t start really grinding technicals until December / January of my sophomore year, but I would say I had a pretty strong fundamental knowledge of certain concepts.
Obviously different strategies work for different people, but if you can place small goals for yourself leading up to the recruitment / app season, that can help keep you on track.
Also, to edit my post above, I think there's a weird window where networking can really work in your favor if that makes sense. To you original question, If you network too early (say July or August rising sophomore year), if you don't maintain that connection with them, they are likely not going to forward you to someone else or push your resume (or even remember who you are). If you start networking too late (late January / February), it is much harder to build a connection or even get them on the phone since they are getting so many calls from kids. Even if you do start networking now, if you check in with them every so often, it could boost your chances they continue to help. What I found (started in late Nov) was that I would reach back out as soon as I apply or get an interview (this would be ~1-2 months after I had started building a connection. If you say start now and then reach back in 7 months when you apply, they might not remember who you are. Regardless of when you start, you need to make sure you are organized enough, prepared enough, and have the right etiquette to call with multiple people a week (I say etiquette because you will tailor your questions and how you act differently if you are talking to a VP/MD as opposed to an analyst that your family friend connected you with).
This is extremely helpful, thank you for this!
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