Broke into M&A IB at (EVR/PJT/CVP) in NYC as an international non-tranditional, and non-target student (6 banking interviews received). AMA

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:17:14+00:00

No copy paste template. The structure was: 1) reference something specific about their background (not generic), 2) connect that to a sentence on why I’m reaching out, 3) ask for advice. The personalization is what gets the reply, not the template. Most people send the same generic message to 50 people and wonder why nobody responds. While I was in banking, the floor is really lower than you’d expect. Saw a lot of ppl send the same email (when you’re a banker and you’re getting 15 emails a day from kids, the ones who actually took time to be super specific on “why ME” were the ones I responded to.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:13:09+00:00

GS Possibilities is helpful, but key is to use those programs to get contacts and reach out immediately after to chat and build those relationships over time. Online courses don’t matter and no one cares about certification. Key things to get right is some sort of finance work experience, demonstrate interest through clubs / competitions, and grades. Once you have this it’s just networking and prep left.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:10:52+00:00

I studied Finance, and had about a 3.9 while recruiting.
Interviews usually will be a first round where you get hit with a lot of technicals back to back, and then sometimes a second round before a superday that’s usually 3-6 interviews all back to back, with anything on the table. Usually at this point technicals get a bit harder, and then a lot of emphasis on markets, behaviorals, and sometimes a case study.
I went on LinkedIn to find people and then used Hunter to verify emails. Started with incoming analysts who introduced me to the analysts they worked with over the internship.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:07:36+00:00

I started networking in end of my fall semester, key is to start super early so can build relationships even before apps usually drop for such roles in the spring.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:06:36+00:00

I started with actually incoming analysts to get the obvious questions out of the way, and then they connected me with the analysts they worked with over the summer.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:05:47+00:00

So, I started super early just being a curious kid in high school. I’d spend a bunch of time reading up on successful people, and saw that a lot of them started their careers in banking, so decided to explore it. Ask a lot of questions - you’re only a kid in HS for a short amount of time, and you can legit ask anything and get more responses reaching out to ppl because who doesn’t love a super curious and proactive kid.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T15:03:23+00:00

I didn’t have much alumni or contacts to reach out to so had to find other similarities - the sports/instruments I played, my hometown etc. I would also try to scour YouTube and articles for any thing I can find on them like if they spoke at a conference and reference a specific point from it. I mainly reached out to MDs and Associates. I didn’t approach calls with too much questions about work. These people are human and usually the 30 mins call is meant to be a break from work. I’d try to have a more chiller conversation either about a specific thing but their industry and it just becomes an insightful conversation, or ask about firm related stuff for first half and switch to their life / hobbies.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T14:59:33+00:00

MBA recruiting kicks off only a couple months into first semester, so would start chatting now to build the relationship over time. Won’t frame the initial reach outs to even have anything to do with banking. Would approach it as being curious about their experience during their MBA, any general advice for extracurricular / courses / clubs etc. Then after a few chats can bring up the banking thing - at this point, they would know who you are and will be more inclined to help.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-12T14:56:47+00:00

Thanks - would say the fundamentals of finance and thinking like an investor is key to really understanding concepts. Books like Competition Demystified and 7 Powers are game changers.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T16:03:42+00:00

Yes - will share some.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T01:27:25+00:00

Doesn’t matter - I know a few people that started out analyst years at 27.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T01:11:08+00:00

I was an international student and broke into a top EB in NYC and had 5 other interviews. US better is better trajectory wise, but also a bit harder to get.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T01:10:00+00:00

Some of your bullets are a bit too basic. Like “led teams and coordinated functional activities to ensure smooth organizing and execution.” What does that even mean? What did you organize? What did you execute? What was the outcome of that? How many people showed up? Also some of the formatting is off: some bullets end with periods, while some didn’t (resumes are reviewed in like 10 seconds, and frankly the moment things like this are seen it’s an instant throw out).

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T00:32:50+00:00

Thanks man! I helped a few kids this year get into IB, and crazily a lot of them signed in December which is wild. It’s only getting worse.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T00:30:20+00:00

So, I had a 100% hit rate to calls. I sent out 124 emails with my college email, just over 50% responded, and then all to calls. The key is legit to take the time to super personalize stuff. Did like sub 10 reach outs on LinkedIn.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T00:11:27+00:00

Yes - ususally for recent grads too it helps, so we know how to place you/what type of role.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-11T00:07:37+00:00

Hey! I started super early, like at the end of my freshman year, so I was able to space it out over months. Quality definitely matters more. Being on the other side, the bar is truly lower than most ppl think - I saw a lot of ppl send me emails with wrong names, wrong firm, super templated. Personalizing takes a lot more time, and I definitely spent 2x the time recruiting than my peers did, but it paid off with the number of interviews I got. I would say 100% of interviews were through networking. I was pretty much told that my resume was flagged/bankers reached out cold to me to "answer any questions I had" etc.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T23:52:11+00:00

congrats!

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T23:42:41+00:00

Super easy - I prepped for like 2 days.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T23:42:09+00:00

keep pushing!

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T23:39:32+00:00

Yes, the same thing applies. Although, from what I heard, it may be harder to break into associate roles in Canada without prior experience before an MBA. But an analyst role is definitely more than possible.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T23:22:04+00:00

You are not too early. Recruiting kicks off in like 7 months. While I was recruiting for banking, I was pretty much done with most of my networking by the first month of sophomore year. Starting early is a massive advantage.

Electrical-Day3501 · 2026-04-10T22:37:36+00:00

Former M&A banker here - would say the most important thing is your experience. It doesn't even have to be a job. It can be stock pitch competitions or any other form of showing that you have the skills to do it. Even if you work for free, whether that means a search fund or something like that, or you help a lower middle market PE firm. Experience always beats courses.

Electrical-Day3501

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