Breaking into physical commodities trading at the majors from undergrad

I am currently a freshman at a top target school for finance in the US (think H/W/S) and I am very interested in the commodities space, whether it be at a bank or a physical trading house. I have done some research into the recruitment process for trading at the BBs, but there seems to be less info out there about breaking physical trading at the majors from undergrad. I'm currently in the US but I would be more than willing to relocate to Europe or Asia. Any insight into recruitment timelines, internships to look for, general steps to take (networking, etc.) or anything else would be tremendously appreciated. Thank you in advance for the help!

276 WSO Academy Sales & Trading Session Reviews: 4.85/5

Class of '28 Aug 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Career Roadmap (optional)

“John listened before giving advice. I told him I had accepted an offer at Bank of America but was still interested in JLL and Wellington. Instead of telling me what to do, he asked what I wanted from my career and helped me think about which path would give me more options. I also liked that he was honest about what he knew and didn’t know. He gave me a clear reason to keep working toward JLL, while reminding me that Bank of America was still a good place to start. When I practiced my interview answer, he told me what worked and gave me one simple way to improve it. That made the feedback easy to use. Most of all, John made me feel less stressed about figuring everything out right now. He offered to help with a mock interview too, which meant a lot to me. ”

Class of '28 Apr 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Mock Interview

“The mentor provided extremely detailed and thoughtful feedback throughout our session. What I appreciated most was that the advice was not generic. He took the time to understand my background, past experiences, and the specific roles I am currently recruiting for, and then tailored his suggestions accordingly. He also connected many of his recommendations to his own professional background and experiences, which made the feedback much more practical and credible. Instead of simply telling me what to change, he explained why certain answers or approaches would be more effective and how an interviewer might interpret them. He also shared specific examples from his own experience to illustrate his points. I came away from the session with a much clearer understanding of both my strengths and the areas I should improve, as well as several concrete ways to strengthen my interview preparation. Overall, the session was extremely helpful, personalized, and actionable, and I would definitely work with him again.”

See All 10,946 WSO Academy Reviews

1 Comments

WSO Monkey Bot

O

1y

Sit fuga fuga vero cum nostrum minus. Ut unde quia nesciunt vitae molestias iure. Sint voluptatem ad accusantium nam et dolor rerum. Harum aspernatur qui ut facilis aspernatur ab minima.

Cum sint laboriosam temporibus fuga magnam. Corrupti fuga molestiae ipsam eum est officia quia. Sunt qui molestiae quibusdam ut eos magnam sed. Sint dignissimos qui hic. Distinctio voluptatem distinctio aut mollitia fugit reprehenderit accusamus et. Quo et voluptatem ea id ex est nobis.

Repellat dolor ipsum labore accusamus sunt. Delectus quidem neque eligendi.

Reply

Quote

Report

Other

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

+22	Best Bank/Desk Combo? From an IB perspective	11	22h
+12	Brookfield Renewable Real-Time Power vs. ExxonMobil Trader Development Program vs. RWE Commercial Graduate Program	3	2d
+9	Is this normal for Capital Markets Operations, or did I land on a bad team?	1	2d
+9	EM FX Trading Question - What does the desk do + Interview Advice	1	3d
+6	Asked for 3 more interviews after a superday? S&T BB	1	7h
+2	Target schools	3	5h

1	redever	99.2
2	Secyh62	99.0
3	BankonBanking	99.0
4	kanon	99.0
5	CompBanker	98.9
6	dosk17	98.9
7	DrApeman	98.9
8	GameTheory	98.9
9	Betsy Massar	98.9
10	Mimbs	98.8

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Breaking into physical commodities trading at the majors from undergrad

Score Breakdown

Feedback

Score Breakdown

Feedback

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Breaking into physical commodities trading at the majors from undergrad

See All Comments - 100% Free

Trending Content - Sales and Trading Forum