How to network into investment banking from a non-target school

What is different for a non-target student?

At target schools, banks come to campus, run info sessions, and screen resumes from that school as a group. At a non-target school, none of that happens, so your application joins a large online pool. A banker who knows your name and flags your resume is the main way out of that pool.

That changes the math. You need more conversations, earlier, and you need people who will say something on your behalf, not just people you spoke with once.

When should you start?

Start a few months ahead of target school students. Use freshman spring to learn the basics and build the list, and sophomore summer and early fall for most of your calls. Banks fill junior summer roles in the winter of sophomore year, so you want your strongest relationships in place before then.

The live table below shows where IB programs stand right now. Use it to see which banks open first and make sure you have spoken to someone at those well before.

1. Freshman spring: learn accounting basics, join or start a finance club, list your banks.
2. Freshman summer: build the alumni list for every bank, including regional offices.
3. Sophomore summer and early fall: send first notes in steady weekly waves.
4. Sophomore fall: hold calls, thank every person, ask each for another name.
5. Sophomore winter: apply the week each bank opens and tell the people you spoke with.

Who should you write to when there are few alumni?

Start with whoever from your school is in finance at all, even outside banking. An alum in corporate finance or at an accounting firm knows people in banking and is usually glad to help. Then go wide on second ties, which matter more for you than for anyone.

Look harder at people who also came from non-target schools. They took the same route and tend to remember how hard it was. Their LinkedIn usually shows it.

• Alumni of your school in any finance role, who can introduce you onward.
• Bankers who went to a school near yours or in your state.
• Your hometown, high school, club, sport, or past employer.
• Bankers who list a non-target school on their profile, or who started at a smaller bank.
• Speakers at any finance event you can get into, including virtual ones.

Which banks and programs should you widen to?

Apply to the bulge brackets and elite boutiques you want, but do not stop there. Middle market banks and regional offices of large banks often hire from a wider set of schools and value students who want that city. Sophomore and diversity programs at the big banks are another way in, and some lead into a junior summer.

Track every program you apply to so you hear the hour each one opens. On a rolling process, a non-target application that arrives in the first days has a better shot than one that arrives after the first round slots fill.

• Middle market and regional banks, which recruit from a wider set of schools.
• Regional offices of large banks: Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, and others.
• Sophomore programs and diversity programs, tracked as their own programs.
• Boutiques in your own region, which often hire locally.
• Off-cycle internships and smaller firms as a stepping stone to a junior summer.

How do you make each call count for more?

Because you will have fewer warm intros, each call has to earn the next one. Come with sharper questions, show you know the group's recent work, and end every call by asking who else you should speak with. Follow up on that name within a week.

Stay in touch with the people who were most helpful. A short update every couple of months, a note when you finish a deal study or get a club role, and a note when you apply. That is how a contact becomes someone who forwards your resume.

Questions students ask

Can you break into IB from a non-target school?

Yes. Many analysts did. It takes more networking, earlier, and a wider list of banks and programs, but a strong resume plus people who will vouch for you gets interviews.

Should I transfer to a target school?

That is a big decision with costs well beyond recruiting. Most students do better starting the network early from where they are and widening the bank list than betting everything on a transfer.

Do middle market banks care about school?

Less than the biggest banks do, in general, and many recruit regionally. Grades, a clean resume, and showing you want that office and that kind of deal matter a lot.

Is my GPA more important as a non-target?

It is one of the few signals a screener sees before anyone vouches for you, so yes, keep it as high as you can. Put it on your resume if it is strong.

Do online networking events count?

They count as a way to meet people. Ask a question, get the speaker's name, and write within a day or two for a one on one call. That call is what counts.