(Associates/VPs/MDs) whats your take on cold emails?

I love people who take the initiative to reach out, because I was there and it sucks.

There are so many people in I&CB who literally forget who gave them their opportunity, and give little effort to help those who are seeking exactly what that person received. I was a non-target student with a very low GPA, and I had to do the very same thing you're about to do, so I LOVE providing advice.

My advice is always simple: reach out to senior folks on linkedin and inquire about their background. Investment Bankers love talking about themselves. You'd be surprised how easily you can build a genuine relationship with someone by addressing them as a mentor as opposed to your way into IB. This is exactly how I got my current job.

The main issue I see when people reach out - being too aggressive asking me for favors , such as sending me their damn resume with their initial email and asking me if it's okay, or asking me to reach out to my MD. Or, they may simply come off as way too cocky.

So please, reach out to as many people as you can, attend networking sessions in your local city, and be thoughtful in your initial cold email / call to give yourself the best shot.

I don't respond to LinkedIn messages. Nothing against people who are out there hustling, but there's just too much spam I get. Between vendors, randos from halfway across the world, and people from my undergrad, I just don't have time to sift to find out who is really worthwhile to connect to.

If you find my e-mail, I have a bit of respect for that. I might respond if it's a slow day. Mention a mutual connection (same friends, same school, same hometown, mutual interests) and I'm more likely to talk to you.

Thanks for the replies guys, I gather that I should avoid messaging people on LinkedIn if I want to start building a connection and rather go for the email route. What particular day of the week/time of the day would you say you are most likely to respond?

The responses about attaching resume to an initial email are interesting. I've heard bankers say they won't bother if a resume is not attached, and one who sent a friend a one line response "Attaching your resume is best practice." Is it different for those reaching out about associate roles vs analyst roles, given that we tend to be in MBA programs and likely have a little more heft to our work experiences?

Associate at an EB here

What affects response rate will vary by person but figured I would share my perspective.

For me, LinkedIn messages are a non-starter – don’t think I have ever replied to one as there are too many kids that just spam a bunch of people with the same message and LinkedIn makes it very easy. I appreciate when someone has the ‘ingenuity’ to find my email address (it’s [email protected] so not exactly rocket science) and email me at work. At my old MM analysts had to constantly look up emails for CEOs, CFOs, PE partners, etc. so if you can figure this out then it shows me you have some bare minimum IB skill.

Also for me, not attaching a resume is also a non-starter. Feels like you have something to hide. Above all though there are really two factors that affect my response rate, 1) do you fit the profile of a potentially successful applicant and 2) is the timing right for what you are asking for.

1) We have an analyst class with call it 30 spots and if you look through the resume book there are basically zero candidates that do not fit the mold of a top student at their alma mater. I can easily tell from the 3-4 analysts from my school (a target) that they are cream of the crop (relative to their other target classmates) given their major, internships, GPA, experience, and campus involvement. If you ask the other OCR recruiting captains they will say the same thing about the ones from their school. There are non-targets too but only ones who are 3.9+, good internships, head of the finance club, in an IB workshop, etc.

Hate to say it, but in a class of this size there is basically no one that slips through the cracks. You just aren’t going to see a 3.3 semi-target with ok but not great experience (or at least not many). Thus, when I decide to respond to someone who reaches out they need to fit the profile and not look out of place vs. the other past successful applicants. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time if it is not realistic that I can push them through the process.

2) The timing of your reach out needs to make sense. I’m not talking about whether it is 10am Monday or 3:30pm Wednesday. What I mean is, there is nothing I can do if you reach out in July and recruiting for us ended in June. Be hyper conscious of the timeline and reach out ahead of time. I don’t need someone to build a relationship with me years prior to pass them along. Reach out a few months before the interview dates and as long as you fit the profile and make me feel like you won’t make me look bad in front of my seniors then you are good to go.

Perhaps point #1 is different at BBs where the classes are 100+ vs. 30, but honestly I saw the Citi resume book for a recent SA class and counted maybe 5 out of 80 resumes that looked out of place vs. all the others.

I only respond to people from my schools - that’s the filter.