Investment Banking Networking Toolkit

In this introductory module, you’ll learn about the three main networking strategies covered in this course: informational interviews, cold emails, and cold calls. You’ll learn which strategy is useful in which situations, and you’ll get detailed action plans with timelines and suggested steps at each stage of the process.

This module also includes lists of thousands of investment banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds so that you can use the information to start your cold emailing or cold calling efforts.

• 4 Overview Lessons and Presentations: You’ll learn when to use each strategy, what the networking timeline looks like, and when to move on if you haven’t found success with a certain strategy.
• 5 Action Plans: These plans explain how to approach recruiting as an early university student, a later university student, a recent graduate, a full-time working professional, and an MBA student.
• Firm Database: And to accelerate your networking efforts, you’ll get lists, by region, of 5,299+ investment banks, 15,887+ private equity firms, and 4,545+ hedge funds (NOTE: These are just firm names, descriptions, and addresses. They do NOT include individuals’ contact information.)

In this module, you’ll learn the step-by-step process for finding bankers, setting up informational interviews, following up on the interviews, and converting your networking efforts into real interviews.

In addition to dozens of email templates and several sample informational interviews from students and professionals, you’ll also get a tracking template you can use to manage your networking, and you’ll learn how to prepare for each conversation efficiently.

While networking does not “guarantee” real interviews, if you follow the steps outlined here, you stand a significantly higher chance of winning real interviews and job offers from banks.

• Tracking Template: You’ll get a spreadsheet you can use to track your discussions with each banker, and you’ll learn what to record and what to ignore.
• 10 Email Templates for Informational Interview Requests and Follow-Ups: You can copy and paste these templates, tweak them a bit, and save hours of time in your own networking efforts. You’ll also learn how long to wait before following up and what to say when you do.
• Preparation Checklist and Questions to Ask: There are “stupid questions” in informational interviews, and with this checklist and sample question list, you’ll learn how to avoid them and prepare efficiently.
• 3 Sample Informational Interviews: These sample conversations cover the undergraduate, lateral hire (working professional), and MBA levels; in addition to the raw transcripts, you’ll also learn what each candidate did well and what could use improvement.
• 19 Email Templates for Following Up and “Making the Ask”: Conducting informational interviews does no good unless you convert them into real interviews and job offers – and you can use these templates to do just that.

In this module, you’ll learn the step-by-step process for using cold emails to request and win internships at smaller firms and large banks.

You’ll learn how to find banks and bankers, how to write the initial emails and follow up on them, how to convert these emails into phone calls, and how to prepare successfully for these “mini-interview” calls.

Finally, you’ll learn how to follow up on the calls and push the process toward actual interviews.

You’ll get dozens of email templates, four sample call transcripts, and a tracking template you can use to manage your cold-email efforts.

• Tracking Template and Instructions for Finding Firms: You’ll learn how to track your networking efforts, how to find firms, and what to do differently when you’re targeting boutique firms vs. large banks.
• 13 Outreach and Follow-Up Email Templates: These email templates (and the executed examples) will give you all the tools you need to get faster results and a higher response rate when you contact firms to ask directly about internships and jobs.
• Call Preparation Checklist and 4 Sample “Mini-Interview” Calls: The goal of any cold-emailing effort is to speak with a professional at the firm and win a formal interview there; these examples, guides, and commentaries will explain how to prepare and what to say.
• 7 Follow-Up Email Templates: These templates will show you how to follow-up on your initial calls and emails, submit your resume/CV and work samples, and politely ask about your status.

In this module, you’ll learn the step-by-step process for using cold calls to find and win internships at boutique investment banks.

Cold calling is not an effective strategy for most candidates, but it is useful in some contexts (e.g., for students without much experience who need an internship ASAP).

In these lessons, you’ll learn how to find firms and bankers, how to prepare for your calls, how to place the calls successfully and answer objections, and how to follow up afterward via the phone and email.

You’ll get a tracking template as well as sample cold calls and follow-up templates you can use in your cold-calling efforts.

• Tracking Template and Process/Timing Explanations: You’ll get an Excel sheet you can use to track your cold calls, and you’ll get a detailed sample timeline so you have a realistic expectation of what to expect in the process.
• 3 Sample Cold Calls: These cold calls include ones with positive and negative responses and “gatekeeper” responses (i.e., you cannot reach a banker initially). You’ll learn what to say and how to get past the gatekeepers.
• 6 Example Follow-Up Calls: Your initial cold call is only the first step of the process, so you’ll learn how to follow up and be politely persistent until you win interviews in these examples..
• 5 Follow-Up Email Templates: Even if you initially cold call a firm, you’ll often get better responses if you switch to email along the way – and you can use these templates to keep asking about internships and jobs.

The lessons in this module will teach you how to use investment banking information sessions to meet bankers and improve your chances of winning interviews and offers.

Information sessions can be useful or even required in some cases, but they tend to be more of an “optional” strategy because in real life, it’s often difficult to get bankers’ attention at these sessions and make yourself stand out.

You’ll learn how to decide whether these sessions might be useful for you and how to plan for them and conduct yourself around bankers and other students.

You’ll also get email templates for contacting bankers afterward, setting up informational interviews, thanking them, and making your requests.

• Overview Presentation and Full Session Walkthrough: This presentation will explain when information sessions are most useful and walk you through how to approach different bankers and ask questions during a sample 90-minute session.
• 7 Follow-Up Email Templates: You’ll get word-for-word examples that you can use to contact bankers after meeting them at information sessions – and executed examples of all the templates.
• 2 Follow-Up Call Examples: These include one “positive” response and one “neutral to negative” response, so that you learn how to present yourself in both scenarios.
• 5 Email Templates for Following Up On These Calls: These include examples of how to respond and make your requests in different situations (e.g., if you do not actually attend the school whose information session you went to vs. if you are a student there).

This module will teach you how to conduct weekend trips, also known as in-person networking trips, to win investment banking interviews and offers.

You’ll start by learning when, why, and how weekend trips are useful, and then you’ll get several email templates and examples that you can use to request meetings and set up these trips.

Then, you’ll see an actual trip schedule with explanations of the geography and timing, and you’ll get two example transcripts of in-person meetings during these trips (with commentary about what each candidate did right and wrong).

Finally, you’ll get several follow-up email templates and examples you can use to thank the bankers you met and make additional requests.

• Overview and Planning Presentation: You’ll learn how to prepare for weekend trips, how many bankers you need to contact, and how to schedule the logistics of your trips.
• 6 Meeting Request Email Templates: You can use these emails to request your initial meetings and explain why you’re visiting a specific city.
• Sample Trip Schedule: You’ll get a spreadsheet with the key information for each banker you plan to meet, as well as details for your “reserve list” (i.e., backups in case bankers cancel at the last minute – which they always do).
• 2 Transcripts from Example In-Person Meetings: You’ll get examples of 15-20-minute coffee meetings for different types of candidates and learn what each person did well and what could use improvement.
• 6 Follow-Up Email Templates: You can use these email templates and executed examples to submit requested information, ask directly about internships and jobs, and get referrals.