Rate my cold email template (old vs new)

Email 1 (current):

My name is XYZ and I am a senior majoring in XYZ at XYZ University who found your information via Linkedin. I am interested to learn more about investment banking and XYZ bank in particular. Would you have some time this week to speak? I would appreciate the chance to learn about your experiences and any advice you could give me. I have attached my resume for reference.

Email 2 (updated):

My name is XYZ and I am a senior majoring in XYZ at XYZ University. I saw that you are also a XYZ university alum and wanted to get your perspectives on breaking into investment banking.

I have had leadership roles outside school, relevant coursework, (3.5 GPA should I mention it?) and am currently interning at an investment bank. I am passionate about finding a full time role in investment banking and would love to get your insights as well as learn about your experiences at XYZ bank. Would you have some time this week to speak? I would appreciate the chance to learn about your experiences and any advice you could give me. I have attached my resume for reference.

I feel that the 2nd one is longer and I've been having decent success with the first. Not sure if I should change it up

13 Comments
 

Correct. Also, I was thinking of changing this line "I saw that you are also a XYZ university alum and wanted to get your perspectives on breaking into investment banking." to be swapped to something useful for non-alums or delete it. Curious on your thoughts if I can make the 2nd email work for non-alums.

 

You want your email to be as concise as possible. With that being said, all you need is: "My name is XYZ and I am a senior at XYZ University majoring in XYZ. I saw that you are a XYZ university alum and wanted to get your perspectives on breaking into investment banking. Would you have some time this week or in the near future to speak? I would appreciate the chance to learn about your experiences and any advice you could give me. I have attached my resume for reference."

 

I like the part where you include that you are interning and your club experiences, I would say this shorter version with mentions of that is a strong initial email. I did a similar format when recruiting to also highlight one or two relevant accomplishments in the email itself

“If you ain’t first, you’re last!” - GOAT
 

Personally I don't think an intro email needs to include information about internships/extracurriculars. This info can be found in your resume and, imo, makes the email unnecessarily long.

 

I have been using the first email template ~200 times but was recommended by an MD level alum to change it to #2 and show more of my accomplishments to make people more interested. I feel #2 is longer but more descriptive which I'm not sure people would take the time to read. I've had decent ~30% success with followups with #1.

 

Provident expedita aut minima aut et rerum. Voluptatem aut rerum deserunt nam. Doloribus rerum velit consectetur. Impedit est est illo porro vel itaque ut. Possimus voluptatem maiores alias modi commodi id sequi. Architecto sint magnam quia.

Accusantium sed incidunt labore quia in numquam nulla voluptatem. Modi nihil et necessitatibus autem. Quia doloremque consequatur et nemo.

Array

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”