When do SA 2021 BB Applications open?

Current sophomore, just got into the IB game and feeling pretty stressed with how behind I am compared to everyone else. I'm mainly looking towards the BBs for SA 2021 but I'm having a hard time finding when the applications open/close?

Is there a list or excel sheet out there? I know MS is open, GS is July 1st but don't know the rest of the BBs. Please drop the dates below if you know them and if they're rolling admissions or not.

Thank you!!

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Here’s a piece of unsolicited advice, that I wish someone had given me right when I started.

If you’re just starting, you have very little time right now. Don’t take any spring classes, because you need all the time you can get right now. Try to get a part-time internship for this summer if you can to have it on your résumé.

First thing you should do: perfect the résumé. Spend at least 5 hours on it, making it ABSOLUTELY perfect. A résumé will be the first insight people get into your candidacy, and if it looks dumb then they won’t take you seriously and you’re auto-dinged before ever even getting an interview.

Second: spend AT LEAST 1/2 of this upcoming week figuring out what IB is, crafting answers to “why IB?”, your story, etc. You need to know exactly what to say, otherwise bankers won’t take you seriously. They will think you’re a joke. Become very polished, very refined, but very conversational with all of these normal answers. Don’t focus on other behaviorals yet, because you’re likely only going to need to answer them in interviews, but the most basic ones are necessary for networking. If you’re trying to go into a specific industry like tech or O&G, you need to come up with solid answers for “why tech?” “why O&G?” or any other specialty like restructuring. Most of the top restructuring banks have kicked off/are finishing up their processes, so that ship has mostly sailed, but some of the top banks like Lazard have pushed back because of covid-19 so you have a slight change (Lazard does a generalist internship and you recruit to your group later anyways).

Next, spend a solid week going through the technical guides. You don’t need to know everything yet, you just need to know the basics and be able to speak intelligently about things. I say you need to be able to do this because most banks are either going through their process right now, or they’re doing “first screens” before it kicks off in July. You need to be systematic and make sure you aren’t screwing yourself over by jumping the gun.

At this point, you’re relatively able to intelligently network. I’d start sending a MINIMUM of 10 emails daily to any alumni, asking for time to talk so you can learn about their bank. Keep the emails short (4 sentences MAX), be very appreciative, be very concise, include your résumé. Look up guides on how to send these emails, because you’ll get more responses if you “check off the boxes” with email structure. These boxes are mostly the way you carry yourself (I.e. do you have concise emails, don’t include exclamation points, include times to talk, be very appreciative). Also, after you’ve networked with all of your alumni, reach out to non-alumni via cold email and explain a little about yourself. Reach out to people that look like they have something in common with you, and mention it in the email if you can (craftily). I made a lot of friends during networking by asking about the sports they played in high school or college.

Make sure you don’t network with bankers until you know at least a little bit about their bank. Know the basics of deals the bank has worked on, have answers to “why this bank?”, because they want to feel like you’re reaching out to them for a legitimate reason. They don’t want to hold your hand.

While you continue networking (sending tons of emails daily, calling daily, the works), make sure you continue to study the technicals. You need to fully understand everything on a deep basis. It’s not enough to memorize the guides; you need to understand the meaning behind everything. Then, continue practicing behaviorals. Make the answers short and sweet, but structured to answer the question. You can’t memorize an answer to every single behavioral question, so come up with 7-10 PAR (problem, action, resolution) stories that you can use for any situation. Make them solid, make them smooth. Be able to think on your feet, because you will be asked questions you’ve never seen.

Your networking is centered on landing first rounds and making friends who will pull you through the interview process. One good friend can do a lot. Impress everyone, connect with them on a deeper level by treating them like a real person, but treating them like a mentor.

This is just a brief synopsis. I’m telling you this because you will spin your wheels if you don’t prepare in a similar fashion. You need to be polished before you do anything else, because otherwise you’ll look like a fool and you’ll be automatically disqualified. I’m telling you this because I MADE THOSE MISTAKES. I started networking right when I decided to go into banking and I looked like a fool because I wasn’t ready. One bank that targets my school didn’t even include me in the process because I was too gung-ho and didn’t understand how important your image really is. Now I’m in multiple processes and breezing through them because I systematized my approach. Don’t shoot your self in the foot, take the time you need. A lot of processes aren’t even kicking off yet, and you’ve got a VERY brief amount of time.

To answer your question directly, the bigger bulge brackets aren’t kicking off their process yet. Morgan Stanley opened apps last week but they’re reviewing in July. JP Morgan, BofA, and Goldman all open their apps on July 1, but bankers will basically know who they want to give superdays to by then, so you need to network quickly and effectively when you’re ready. Barclays hasn’t kicked off yet and they don’t have a specific date announced from what I understand, but non-target recruiting won’t happen until the fall; you still need to know bankers before then to even be considered. Credit Suisse has slowed their process but they’ve already kicked off. Citi is pretty much done with their process. DB opened their apps, IDK what their process looks like. IDK about UBS either tbh. RBC has opened apps and I think they’ve kicked off processes. Guggenheim has opened apps, IDK what their process looks like. Lazard has apps opened, they’ve pushed their process back a little bit because of covid-19. Greenhill is running their process right now. Evercore is running their process and they’ll be finished by mid-may. IDK about PJT, PWP, TPH, centerview, or many other boutiques. Baird is done with their process I think. William Blair is kicking off their process soon. Houlihan Lokey has run their RX process and they’re kicking off their corporate finance (M&A) process, but they’ll be running one in the fall too to fill up a few last spots. There are tons of other banks to look into, and you can find threads with lists of open applications.

Don’t limit yourself to only bulge brackets. At the end of the day, you need to get a job, not “a job at a bulge bracket bank”. Something is better than nothing, unless it’s at a bank like Tobin & co. Look for a legitimate MM/EB/BB. Don’t disqualify yourself by being that selective, be smart and just try to get an offer.

 

This was amazingly comprehensive. I can't thank you enough for putting the time in to craft this. Luckily, I went to a few info sessions and networking events this spring (before corona hit) with a few BBs (GS, MS, Barclays, JPM). At each I have at least one contact that I emailed and received a reply telling me that I can reach out to them for questions. I'm also from a target (think HYP) so that helps a little bit.

At this point most worried about technicals, behaviorals, and my resume. I'm pivoting from a STEM background with medical research and don't have ANY business stuff under my belt at the moment.

I'll work on the networking this weekend and hope that things work out later this summer. Thank you again for everything

 

Of course man, keep grinding. I got a C in algebra in high school (part ADHD, part abusive parents, part lack of motivation) but I breeze through finance guides. Admittedly my GPA is a lot better now that I got out of bad situations and figured some stuff out, but it should go to show that anyone can investment banking. No matter what your fears are, I promise you’ll understand it as you start digging in. Most technicals really aren’t that hard, it just takes time to get enough exposure to understand it. Also, little known secret: most bulge brackets don’t have extremely comprehensive technical interviews. If you know the basics extremely well then you’ll be fine; most BBs REALLY care about the behavioral questions.

Don’t stress, just grind, you’ll get an offer if you really want it and if you’re cut out for it. The only people who don’t get offers are the people who either A. really weren’t cut out for it (have a 3.2 GPA and just for the life of them can’t remember what $10 depreciation does to the 3 statements) or B. really didn’t want it enough to do whatever it takes. It’s not hard to extend a semester and refine everything for a year, while finding relevant internships and raising grades if you don’t get in on the first try. Some people just really aren’t willing to do this.

Also, I know a guy who was a total STUD during the recruiting process. The guy was extremely prepared, had a killer résumé, and got a superday at the very first bank he applied for (Citi). He didn’t get an offer from that superday and he felt so down on himself that he stopped recruiting (in April last year, very beginning of the process). He figured that if he “couldn’t even get an offer from a low-ranked BB like Citi then I couldn’t ever make it in the better banks that I wanted to get into like JPM or GS”. He couldn’t take it. No matter what happens man, have the grit to follow through. You’ll get an offer if you’ve got the grit to get it.

 

I am relatively new to the process as well, except I am a freshman (rising sophomore) at a non-target with a fair amount of alumni on the street. I have begun emailing alumni and bankers, and have a dozen calls set up over the course of the next couple weeks. If I am aiming for any IB (BB or MM) internship my sophomore summer, do these timelines apply to me? Or is the process slightly different?

 

From my understanding and how I'm in through the process:

GS/JPM/BofA: July 1, but GS has had insight days so they do have a list of priority candidates MS: Accelerated recruiting taking place right now with superdays next week most likely, rest in June/July Citi: Target done, non target I think is still ongoing CS: Some offers given out, but still going through process DB: Date not confirmed, but pretty much on same timeline as GS/JPM/BofA Baird: Basically done William Blair: Starting next month Evercore: RX ending, M&A still kinda in middle of process PJT: RX ending, M&A still kinda in midle of process Lazard: Was supposed to be a few weeks back, but now more toward summer I guess (nothing confirmed) Moelis: Next month Centerview: Some offers given, but other few spots supposed to start in August

 

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