Can I start networking as a HS senior for ibanking?

Z.Exodus2008
Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:32:54 +0000

I’m a junior (at Yale, not Wharton) going into banking, and honestly, I think it’s too early to start networking. I also think it’s almost a little bit too early to know you want to do banking. Are you interested in business? In finance? Or in investment banking specifically? Why do you want to work in IBD?

If you really want to prepare for eventually working in IBD, I’d suggest spending time on reading investment books, starting a portfolio (even if it’s virtual), reading about investment banking and other fields within finance (just so you can be sure you’re interested in IBD), and learning how to network. Also contact any interesting finance-related clubs there are at Wharton and figure out what they do and ask them what it takes to get in. You may already know this, but application processes for clubs can be a little tough/unexpected (e.g. applicants to the student investment group at Yale have to submit stock pitches, which they then have to present and defend during an interview), so it’s good to know going in what the application process will involve.

During the summer, try to get an internship in something finance-related. I don’t think this is necessary by any means (honestly, I know people who will be at Goldman Sachs this summer who had no previous internship experience at all), but it will at least give you a better idea of what the different fields within finance are, which can be very valuable. You should tap into your parents’ network (or your own, if you have one), or you can cold call/cold email local wealth management offices, private equity funds, hedge funds, etc.

In the fall, join the finance-related clubs you were interested in and reach out to seniors in those groups (e.g. ask them to grab a meal, grab coffee, etc.). Ask them what they think of IBD, how to eventually work in IBD, what general career advice they have for freshmen, etc. Attend all the info sessions for the banks in the fall, and start networking with the professionals you meet there. This should put you in a good place to apply to the freshmen internship programs in the spring.

Finally, just as side note: it’s good to get a head start, but try to enjoy your senior year more and don’t be too career-minded. My older sister went to Penn and had a bunch of friends in Wharton, so I went into college really focused on eventually working in finance or management consulting. Looking back, I wish I’d been more open-minded about future career paths, that I’d spent more time on discovering new interests, etc. Some of my sister’s friends who are now finishing up their analyst stints at bulge bracket and elite boutique banks really hated their experiences, and they’re leaving finance entirely. If you spend most of your college years working toward going into IBD (i.e. by picking the “right” major, joining the “right” organizations, getting the grades and leadership roles, etc.), you might find yourself in senior year suddenly questioning whether it was really the right path. But because of your previous choices, you may not know what else you would have preferred to IBD, and you might get stuck on the finance track.

That being said, I know people who genuinely love finance (although they tend to go to hedge funds instead of IBD), and personally, I really enjoy the work. If you’re truly interested in IBD, that’s fantastic.