Networking: what it can do, and how to do it without being a nuisance

The banks run their own networking^1,2

Goldman Sachs lists information sessions, workshops, panels and networking events, virtual and in person, and says your school's careers office can connect you with alumni at the firm and that there may be campus ambassadors who were interns. JPMorganChase runs a Student Talent Network and insight programmes. These are the lowest-effort way to meet people who will be in the process.

Your alumni are the warmest names you have^1,3

The best first sources of bankers' names are LinkedIn and your own university's alumni. A shared university is a reason to reply that a stranger's email does not have.

Two or three people per bank, junior first³

A reasonable target is two or three contacts at each bank you are applying to. Aim at analysts, associates and junior vice presidents and ask them for referrals upward; it is also better to make your early mistakes with an analyst than with a managing director.

Email, not LinkedIn^3,4

LinkedIn is good for finding people and poor for talking to them: bankers read their email and do not necessarily check LinkedIn. Most banks use a first-name-dot-last-name address format. Keep a spreadsheet of who you contacted, when, and what came back.

Prepare as if it were an interview, because it partly is^3,4

Have a few-sentence version of your story, enough technical knowledge to survive a question - informational interviews can include them - two or three facts about the person's career, and five to ten questions. Spend most of the call listening and asking about their career.

Questions not to ask⁴

Do not ask how much they earn or how many hours they work. Ask about their career, and for tips on your own search.

Follow up, and keep them posted⁴

Expect no reply at first and follow up two or three times. After a good call, send thanks and a brief update when something changes - an application, an interview, an offer. Ask junior contacts to refer you to more senior bankers; that is how the list grows.

Start months before the applications^4,5

Informational interviews are best started three to six months before recruiting begins. For London summer internships that open in August and September, that means the spring before.

Less than in New York, not zero⁵

The common claim is that networking does not work in London, where the process is too impersonal and structured for a contact to change the outcome. The main guide's view is that it is probably less effective there but still worth contacting a few bankers at each firm.

Where it still decides things⁵

It remains genuinely useful for students at non-target universities, for off-cycle roles, and for smaller firms, where who you know is a real part of the question. Those are also the routes the continental markets run on.

Cold calling is plan C⁴

Calling banks directly works mainly for students and recent graduates, rarely at anything larger than a boutique, and has a low success rate. Treat it as the thing to do when it is late, nothing else has worked and you need a job soon.

Writing to regional boutiques^6,7

For a student at a university banks do not visit, writing directly to nearby smaller firms is often the only way to a first interview. The tiers page covers what those firms are and what they lead to.