Networking as an Analyst

I recently started as an analyst and am already trying to leverage networking opportunities when I lateral in two years. This type of networking seems totally different than undergrad and I'm not sure whether my initial thought process is applicable. 

For example, there is a firm that I potentially want to lateral to, or at least have the opportunity to lateral to in the future. To be in the best position, it would make sense to reach out to a VP (who graduated from my school and grew up in the same city) and simply ask him about his experience on the buy side and at the firm. Would this be an appropriate thing to do? Periodically I could correspond with him a couple of times a year (I'm not totally sure what that would look like). 

I would love to hear people's previous experiences and how they leveraged their school network after undergrad. 

7 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I would approach it more along the lines of wanting to get to know some alums. Be casual about it and approach it more as friends rather than "So what's your favorite part about XYZ firm" "What does your day to day look like". You're years away from even possibly lateraling so no reason to make it super formal right now.

Also need to be realistic about lateraling. While in undergrad analysts from a total no name school can land big offers with networking, if you're at a tiny boutique looking to go UMM/MF (or something similar) you're going to need to take a step or two in between first. 

 

Just my opinion, not saying it’s right or wrong, but I don’t think it’s productive to network in your first 6-9 months in IB if you come right out of college. You just started working, do your job.

Networking is great and I’m not saying you should ignore people, but it’s hard to know what you want to do next until you do the job day in and day out for a few months. An analyst who’s been working for 3 months and barely touched 1 or 2 models can’t tell me they “love modeling”, they just don’t know what they like yet.

 

Vitae enim corporis eum dignissimos. Ut praesentium est vel deleniti adipisci consectetur sit fuga. Qui corporis dolor sit facilis natus delectus.

Ea facere facere voluptates ut voluptatem. Voluptatem explicabo dolor eveniet nesciunt adipisci sapiente et. Nam repellat aut expedita dolores non aut non earum.

Nisi est quaerat sequi sed animi est. Aspernatur quo dolorem aliquid placeat ea. A vel vero doloribus assumenda beatae explicabo. Reprehenderit consequatur repellat reprehenderit necessitatibus sequi eum. Rerum sint ratione incidunt velit possimus repudiandae qui. Similique repellat amet recusandae quia. Quae unde qui corrupti quis quas.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (100) $364
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (106) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (236) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (414) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (273) $126
  • Intern/Summer Associate (40) $79
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (357) $61
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

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...”