When do sales and trading summer analyst applications open?
Sales and trading summer analyst applications for the junior summer mostly open from late summer through fall, roughly August to November, later than investment banking at many banks. Banks that run one application for every division open markets alongside banking, so check the live table below instead of assuming one window.
Updated November 6, 2026. Live data checked against each firm's own careers site 1m ago.
Which markets programs are open right now?
The table below is read from each bank's own careers site. A program reads Open only after we have seen the live posting, Expected when last cycle's public record says it is coming, and No data yet when neither applies.
Markets programs often have a different title from the banking ones, such as Global Markets or Sales, Trading and Research, so make sure you are tracking the markets program and not only the bank.
Why does S&T open later than IB?
Trading desks place summer analysts during or just before the summer, and they lean less on a long pre-application courtship than banking groups do. That lets many banks recruit markets later, and it is why the typical window is late summer through fall.
It is not universal. Some banks post one summer analyst application where you rank divisions, and that application opens with banking. If a bank you want works that way, its markets seats are effectively on the IB calendar.
What happened last cycle?
Last cycle's public dates are the best guide to this one. The table below shows each date with its source, projected one year forward. Where a bank has no public record, the row is left out rather than guessed.
| Firm | Last cycle opened | This cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Citi | Dec 21, 2025 | Expected late December |
| Goldman Sachs | Dec 31, 2025 | Expected late December |
| Bank of America | Jan 14, 2026 | Expected mid-January |
What should you have ready when they open?
S&T interviews test different things from banking, so the prep is different. You need a view on markets you can defend, fast arithmetic, and a clear answer on which desk and why. Start this in the spring and summer before the window, not the week it opens.
- Read markets news every morning and be able to say what moved yesterday and why.
- Prepare one trade pitch with a view, a catalyst, how you would size it, and where you would get out.
- Practice mental math and expected value questions until they are quick and calm.
- Learn the basics of bonds, duration, options, and FX conventions.
- Talk to people on two or three different desks so your answer to which desk is real.
- Track every markets program and apply in the first days each is open.
Does networking matter as much as in IB?
Less for getting in, more for where you land. Networking before the application is useful but less of a gate than in banking. It matters most for desk placement, because desks pick summer analysts they have met and liked.
Use your calls to learn what each desk actually does all day and how its people chose it. That makes your why this desk answer specific, which interviewers notice.
Questions students ask
- Do S&T and IB use the same application?
- At some banks, yes: you submit one summer analyst application and rank divisions. At others the markets program has its own posting and its own timing. The live table shows each program separately.
- Can I recruit for IB and S&T at the same time?
- Yes, and many students do. The prep overlaps less than you think, so decide which is first and keep the other to the basics until its window.
- Is S&T recruiting rolling?
- Mostly yes. Applications are reviewed as they come in, so applying in the first days is an advantage.
- Do I need to know which desk I want?
- You need a reasoned answer, not a final choice. Name a desk, say why it fits how you think, and show you know what it does.