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All right.All right.Welcome to Investment Banking Insights.This is the only platform dedicated to helping you learn both the technical and non-technical aspects of the investment banking process.My name is Alex Mason.I'm your host.
And thank you so much for joining me today.We got a special guest on the show.Larry, welcome to the show.
Hey, Alex.It's nice to be here.This is Larry B. Oliver at The Pulse. And we take care of a lot of the application timelines and recruiting process material for investment banking by side and consulting recruiting for at the undergrad level.
Yes, thanks, Larry.And yeah, I wanted to have you on the show after we got connected because I know you're doing some cool things at The Pulse.
And one of the biggest problems that I have found, and I know that a lot of listeners of this show have found, is sometimes it's just really hard to know what the deadlines are and who the firms are, what they require.
Managing all of that is a whole process. And so what do you guys do?I know just really up-to-date news information for people who are in the recruiting process, not just for banking, but also for other types of roles as well.Is that correct?
Yeah, that is correct.The insight there was back when I was a sophomore, only a few years ago, actually,
Retreating for investment banking, I found it incredibly challenging just to keep up to date with all the new application releases and understanding like when to network and how to network and then why like a hire view is part of the process.
Putting together essentially the roadmap of the process from learning about the job to actually getting the job was something I always thought was not really touched upon.Uh,
And so we decided here at the polls to condense that field and put together everything for our students.Kind of think of us as like your administrative agent for all things, banking, consulting, and buy set recruiting.
We lay out all the timelines of the processes and we take care of tracking applications. Uh, which can make a world of difference so that students can focus on what's important.
Like what you're doing here at IB insights, Alex, uh, helping students with the technical behavioral understanding of the interview process.Uh, we kind of pair that with our administrative support.
Yeah.Awesome.Yeah.Thank you for that, Larry.So like, how did you get started with the pull?So what, what were some things that you did?Was it, it sounds like it was really, you know, born out of your own experience recruiting.
Can you maybe talk a little bit about how that recruiting journey went for you?And like, when does he even realize you wanted to recruit for banking?
Yeah, that is a great question.So. It was in sophomore year at school for background.I definitely went to what we call like a target school for banking recruiting.
And just being in that environment allowed for interaction with a ton of peers, mostly students who were juniors and seniors, like my friends at college who had locked up banking jobs.
And back then my only two interests really were, can I get a job that pays a lot?And then also, can I get a job that's actually going to be interesting for me? I was definitely familiar with finance.I loved tracking like my own personal portfolio.
Not that that has anything to do with investment banking really.Uh, but I think that was the catalyst was those older peers who had locked up internships and were able to speak with me about what they did at their respected firms.
And, uh, also it pays pretty well.So I thought it was like a best of both worlds scenario. So I think that was like roughly the winner of my software is when I really started to get engaged with the process.
And I believe it was about March when I started.For perspective, March would be kind of late today.Back then.
I thought I was still early, but even starting in March, I had already missed applications for banks that I had never heard of before, like Mullis or Evercore.These are considered elite boutiques in the space.
Not really talked about much outside of the world of investment banking or private equity. And so that was a pain point for me was where do I even look outside of like the biggest possible banks, JPM, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, et cetera.
And I couldn't find any platform that really put together like a good list of firms for me.
So I was always just digging around myself and I had this really messy, like a shelf spreadsheet trying to put all the different applications together and understand timelines. And I'd be missing applications.I'd be applying to applications.
I'd be networking with people after applications that already closed.And this was all a problem.Uh, thankfully down the line, I was able to actually lock in an internship my junior year.So it did work out in the end.
It was just a very unorganized and messy process.So when I was, uh, finishing up, um, at school. I had a bunch of younger students ask me similar questions about the process.What are apps going to open?Like, how do I navigate the application process?
And instead of answering all of the same questions at different times, I was like, Hey, I will just put this together.Um,
in a newsletter format and you guys can all subscribe and I'll just like release application updates and this will help you tremendously.
And so we've built out the platform since, but that was definitely the catalyst was building off of my personal pain points from the recruiting journey.And our goal really is to give everyone a fair shake of the process.
Whether you go to a target school, a non-target school, know people in finance or not. Uh, we will help you with everything related to keeping track of the applications and really staying on top of the process and staying organized.
Awesome.Yeah.Thanks for that, Larry.That makes total sense.I mean, it sounds very similar to why I started IB Insights.You know, you have your own problem that you're trying to solve, and then you realize a lot of other people have similar problems.
And so just creating that platform to help with that can be super valuable. And it's awesome.You were successful at your own recruiting journey, and then you turned around and used those skills and knowledge to help others.So I absolutely love that.
Now, you said I want to ask a couple of questions related to that journey of your own recruiting for a few minutes, actually, because I think that's a lot of the a lot of listeners right now are in that exact same spot.
Maybe they're a sophomore, junior, maybe they're even a freshman. They're trying to figure out how do I get into these banking roles.And so these days, you said the timeline has shifted a little bit.
What would you say is the big picture timeline for analysts, internship, recruiting, and how does it work?
Yeah, fantastic question.So as I've previously mentioned, the timeline has only crept earlier.
And today, if we're looking at the lens of class of 2027, so current sophomores looking for summer 2026 internships, uh, within investment banking or private equity, uh, wherever in the high finance realm. Applications have already started to open.
We have firms like Stone Point, Insight Partners, Lead Edge Capital, and Houlihan Loki, who have already announced or opened their application for the summer of 2026, which is just crazy from the perspective of even when I started and thought that things were early.
And I always remember when I was networking, people would explain to me like, wow, things are starting early, but it really does just creep earlier and earlier and earlier. Did you say 2026?Yeah.Class of 2026 applications are open.Wow.
Yeah.Uh, so for a timeline perspective, we've definitely put a lot of time into thinking about this so that our subscribers are caught up to date.
And to go into it a little bit, our forecast was that around the October, November time period, applications are going to start to open.So things have definitely jumped the gun just a touch.RBC is typically the bank that kicked things off this year.
It was Hoola and Loki.And some buy side firms, especially in the venture capital, private equity and growth equity space are looking to capitalize on taking interns.
High qualified interns without doing the traditional two plus two recruiting process for anyone not aware.Usually you do two years investment banking and then two years on the buy side.Uh, so you recruit into an associate position.
Buy side firms are now job rating all the way to recruiting interns.So for this year's process from summer 2026. Starting in October, November, we're going to see a lot of applications open.Last year, 33 banks opened up applications in December.
Each year it advances about a month.So October, November should be a good timeframe when a lot of applications open up.And shortly after the application is set, you either receive a hire view or a first round interview.
So that takes anywhere between two to like four weeks, larger firms, longer timelines, smaller firms, shorter timelines.
And after you do that first round or that higher view, it typically takes maybe another week to three weeks before you receive a super day.
And a super day is when you just get grilled for like three hours with an interview, back-to-back technical and behavioral interviews with people at the given firm.And then you get your offer.So time to application to offer can be really short.
It can take maybe a month, month and a half. of when these applications open.
Now on the earlier side for summer 2026, for anyone concerned, if you send your application today into like still employee or insight partners, you probably won't get an interview until like another couple of months.
But as the process picks up and as we get closer to that December, January period, timelines condense.So these firms are definitely jumping the gun now just to gain interest.But that's some perspective on the process.
Great.Thank you, Larry.That was a lot of great information and a lot of things that I didn't know just coming from the NBA world.It sounds like for analyst positions, whether on the buy side or in investment banking,
it really does move quickly and it's very early.
So for you to tell me that the time between application submission and the time of an offer can be as short as a month potentially, although of course in some cases a couple of months, like that's very, very fast to me.And so when
Applicants are submitting their applications.Is it really, and this is for, I'm talking specifically about analyst roles, let's say for investment banking specifically.
Is it typical for applicants to submit their application for the internship and then just get the call for the super day a month or two later and that's it?
Yeah, that really is it.So let's say we're discussing the process for an elite boutique.Let's just use the name.We'll throw around Evercore, for example.If you apply to the Evercore internship, which let's say it opens in like January of this year.
A, you should always apply immediately because every application process is rolling.And unfortunately, when you're only like a software college, every resume looks really similar.It's, I have a 3.75 plus GPA.
I am the president or vice president of some investment or finance club, and I might have somehow gotten one relevant internship experience.And that is the crux of every single resume.
So being at the top of the pile when a firm has allocated, let's say a hundred total spots for the internship program is really helpful because as the teams parse through the resumes,
the resumes at the top of the stack, get preference, say, because the team look at, say, hey, I have a hundred bots.This guy looks good.This girl looks good.This person looks good.And they move the resumes.
And then as it gets to the bottom of the stack, they're like, oh, we only have like two total internship spots left.And now you have a pile of still thousands of resumes competing for two spots.So applying early and often is critical.
And going back to the timeline, Evercore, if you apply in January, February, within two to four weeks, you'll get the call for a first round interview.
That'll usually be an analyst or associate, more of like a behavioral process where they'll just ask you a couple of questions about yourself, what you've learned over the years and why you're a good fit for the job.
And they might round it out with a few technicals.So it's always something you need to be prepared for. And then shortly after that, maybe a week or two later, you'll get the call for the super day.You get the super day.
That's three hours ish of really just intense behavioral technical interview room.And then the process is wrapped up.So you can apply to Evercore February 1st and have the offer in your hand, February 20th.It really is a fast moving process.
Okay.That's great to know.And on the one hand, it feels like a double-edged sword.There's, I think, some negatives to that in the sense that if you're not ready, you can miss the window just like that.
But the good news is if you are prepared, if you have been working, if you have the planning and intention behind this, you could be sitting with your offer before spring break, right?So that can be a big win.
One thing that people listening might be wondering, especially if they're maybe some younger candidates Is sophomore year really the year to begin this process?
You mentioned that one of the things is, it sounds a little crazy, but just having relevant experience even as a freshman is kind of the crux of a quote-unquote good application for these roles.
So I want to back up a little bit here because I'm thinking about the person listening who maybe they haven't even gone to college yet and they want to prepare the best that they can.What does that look like?
What kinds of things can they be doing even as a freshman to start thinking about this, preparing for it?And when is that ideal time?Is it sophomore year?
Yeah, fantastic question. The most successful candidates we see and we speak with a ton of students every single year hundreds or thousands of students depending on the volume And the most successful candidate by far are the candidates
who knew about the process and have been preparing for it since before college even started for them.
So somewhere between senior year of high school and freshman year of college, they got the insight that investment banking with a high finance career path was something they wanted to pursue.
And then naturally, they just had more time to think about it, understand what the job entails.And then lastly, and most importantly, understand how to attack the recruiting process.
So for anyone listening that is on the younger side, it really is never too early to prepare.And the earlier you prepare, the easier the process should be for you.
If you start sophomore year these days, I mean, sophomores just got to campus like a month ago.
And if you just are starting to think about it now, like you're not late by any means, but you're starting to think about it at the same time when a lot of other people are starting to think about the process.
And so if you want to be ahead of the curve and be that kid that just seems like they already belong in the role, starting in.
freshman year, at least like winter of freshman year, getting your thoughts together on what you want to do for your junior year summer internship is the right approach.
I think the one thing about timelines being accelerated that is really nice is it kind of throws away the importance of having a sophomore summer internship.
So I know we get a lot of questions about like, oh, like how am I supposed to apply for junior year summer internships when I haven't even gotten my sophomore summer internship?And that's a natural conflict.
The short answer is it really doesn't matter.You just need to prepare for the junior year summer internship starting in sophomore year.And I know a ton of, of students who lock in the junior year summer internship early.
And then just have the summer free for sophomore summer.Take it off, relax, enjoy.That being said, it makes it more important then to have a freshman summer internship so you have one semi-relevant experience to discuss in interviews.
Finding smaller firms. leveraging your own personal network, leveraging the network of some of your, your near peers, the best way to get those early internships, you know, freshman summer.
Um, and it's really just needed for like a talking point during your interview process.Interviewers typically aren't going to like grill you on your freshman year experience.
So it can be, you know, you can be more or less pushing paper freshman year, uh, for that summer.
But as long as you've worked at a bank or a fund and you can throw that on the resume, that will pay dividends going forward during the junior year summer recruiting process.
Okay.Yeah.Thank you, Larry.That was actually going to be my next question is, what did these freshman internships look like?
Like I remember in my undergrad, I wasn't pursuing finance at the time, but I remember just trying to get any random job just to have something to do.And then sophomore year, I started to get more serious and intentional.
But yeah, I mean, you're talking about 18-year-olds basically deciding their future, which is a huge, huge thing.Many people have no idea what they even want to do.So that brings me to my next question.
Obviously, you're going to have some of those candidates who are super focused, who are intentional, driven, they're 18, 19 years old, they're working hard freshman year, sophomore year for that junior summer internship, and they're ready to go.
And that's awesome.But what if you're a little bit older?What if you're maybe a little bit later to the process?What should a candidate do?Let's say you're a junior in college and you've seen your friends like do these banking internships.
And now let's say it's the beginning of your junior year.Summer has just ended.Is it too late for me?Can I still, can I still get in?What do I do if, if I can get in?
Yeah.So the short answer is it is never too late.No matter what anyone tells you or like what kind of hysteria is going on at your school about recruiting and what you need, what's your, you know, your 10 year plan.It is never too late.
People come in and out of investment banking all the time.And investment banking is an interesting industry because it doesn't require some deep previous, you know, technical or behavioral expertise to jump into the industry.
The best way to learn and invest in banking is drinking.Like people say, drinking out of a fire hose when you start.
So more or less, like no matter how much you prepare or think you're prepared, uh, you're still only going to really learn about the job when you're on the job.
So if you think you're a little late to the process or, you know, senior year, you wake up and you say, Hey, I want to try out finance.You are never too late.
What it's going to require though, is an intense focus on networking and specifically looking for those in the industry that have had your previous experience.We see this presently with a lot of engineers.
Alex, similar to yourself, a lot of engineers may go through the process, the whole engineering, uh, education in college, you know, in engineering school thinking that they want to be an engineer.
And then they wake up and say, Hey, I actually want to do something a little different, but also stay in a realm that is sophisticated, intellectually stimulating, and, you know, still very tactical, which investment banking becomes a decent fit.
And for them, what's important is if I was an engineer and I'm a senior, The three things I would do is number one, get my resume shaped up to be in the finance resume format.Uh, I don't get like compensated for this or anything.
I just think the guy has a really good format.It's the breaking into wall street investment banking resume template is really what you need.And that's a quick Google search to find that.Um, And just copy that resume format verbatim.
Step two is immediately go to LinkedIn and rocket reach and start picking up the phone and trying to find other people who were previously engineers.
And I've now entered the investment banking field and look to just organize some quick networking chats.The full-time process anyways, outside of the.
Internship process is much more geared towards your networking and kind of like an internal referral system.Whereas the internship process is much more generalized and, and more bureaucratic, bureaucratic per se.
Um, and not nearly as focused on like referral based hiring.So those are two things that you absolutely need to do.And the third thing you need to do, which.
As a consequence of really the second step of the networking is having a good understanding of what the job is.For full-time, a firm is looking to hire somebody who can hit the ground running day one.
Sure, there's definitely still some prep and coaching going on at the firm level, but their goal is to hire somebody who's going to be there for at least a year or two, or even five plus years.
And so you need to be able to hit the ground running and learn about what the industry is starting today.Don't be like a tourist in the space is kind of a good phrase I like to say.
I like that.Don't be a tourist.Yeah, thank you.That makes a lot of sense.It really isn't too late and it comes back to the underlying business model of banking and just the nature of it.It's a lot of work.
There's a lot of human capital needed to perform it well at a high level.And that is from MD all the way down to analyst intern level.And so you're always going to have people who are saying, you know what?
this is a lot, I'm ready to move on to something else, whatever that something else is, but the work still needs to get done.So new slots are opening up all the time, particularly at the analyst level and at the associate levels in investment banks.
So, so yeah, thank you for that, Larry.Never too late, but obviously you got to change some things up.Really appreciate that three part framework there for a hypothetical senior engineer student.So yeah, thank you for that.
Of course, of course, it's never too late.And truthfully, some of the best analysts and associates are the ones who never took a finance class in college.It really is something you learn on the job.
However, learning how to recruit is a whole nother skill that's only helpful.
Yeah, exactly.There's the learning how to recruit part, which we've been talking about.And then there's also kind of those just other foundational skill sets like your curiosity, your drive, your level of professionalism.
Those things certainly come through and I think are even more important for the full-time recruiting, right?
Absolutely.Absolutely.Those aspects, more of like the soft skills per se,
go a very, very long way for someone in full-time recruiting, or even when you're an intern trying to get that full-time offer, those are the skills that set you apart from the rest of the pack.
Absolutely.So, so you are in the industry right now, right?I know you're running with, with, uh, you know, your team there, but what, um, has the industry been what you've expected after, after you recruited into it?
What are some things that you've learned being an analyst?
I would say it is totally different from everything you might read on any of the forums about the industry.It's not nearly as dramatic, I think, as it's portrayed when you're protruding.
As an analyst, my main task is to run ad hoc analysis to make the jobs of my seniors easier and to provide them with material that they can then analyze on their own and draw conclusions from.That is the role of the analyst.An analyst
doesn't need to be somebody who's going to show up every day, you know, full suit and tie chatting with clients all day.Like that does not happen.
As an analyst, I mean, you could be sectioned off into some dark corner of the office within a group of other analysts, uh, just banging away on PowerPoint and Excel all day.That definitely happens.
From my perspective, what I love about the industry is how high touch it is to just learning about how businesses work.So you might be siloed into, I don't know.
Like m and a, or you might be followed into the consumer group where you might be solid into the tech group.
After those two years, you're going to know so much about those industries and the inner workings of those companies by the virtue of just putting in the time, you know,
that many plus hour weeks grinding away on different material for companies, different material for your seniors.You're going to learn so much about those industries, which I really like.
I think some of the downsides of being in the banking industry are ones that have been discussed before, but don't really get as much better. a spotlight as I think they should.
And that's the nature of the business being transactional and being like a fee-based business model.Banks are in the moving business.
They're taking a company and they're selling it or they're originating loans and they're selling those loans like nine times out of 10.So being in that moving business model, I think is
not counterproductive, but not helpful for really digging into any given name or deal you cover and drawing like your own long-term view of that business.Since the goal is so like here now, this is what we're doing.
We're originating the loan and we're going to sell it.
And like, sure, we have a long-term view that loans got to perform well, but that is more so in the interest of the investor and up for them to draw their own conclusions rather than for us to moving the product.
So I think that that's an, that's an aspect of the investing landscape that is more attractive for the banking landscape is just allowing some more time to reflect on any given business that you're looking at or any given deal that you're underwriting.
Um, and deciding like whether or not, is this actually something good?Is this a good company?Is this a good deal to do?Or are we just doing it?Cause we can get a fee. So I think those are the two things that I like and something I dislike.
Yeah.And thank you, Larry.I think that's a pretty good objective assessment of, of the nature of the industry.I mean, every industry is going to have pros and cons.
Um, I think it definitely, the pros outweigh the cons, I think at least in my mind, at least for, um, you know, getting going.
Um, but yeah, I think it's, it also has a great career potential if you kind of like that, that faster paced type of, of work.
Um, and it's interesting because you, you almost can't have the, you can't have kind of the investor buy side class without the sell side and you can't have the sell side without the buy side.
And every, it's a constant tug of war and they need each other.
Right.It's it's the way that the economy works.
So I think one of the things that I want to highlight that you said there is now is, you know, you talked about learning so much in your role now about the different businesses that you're you've been exposed to.I mean, that alone being especially
you know, as an analyst in your 20s, like that's a huge education that you can carry with you throughout your career, whether you stay in banking or do something else.So that's super, super valuable.
Definitely.The learning experience you get as an analyst and even some of the less, I don't know, let's say for lack of a better word, like less important skills, but even just learning
or subtle shortcuts and things like that are skills that are really helpful for anything else you do in the rest of your career.
And I think just by the nature of being in that room with people making important decisions, and then also just being in that seat, looking at that given industry for usually double the amount of hours a week that any other quote unquote role or job might be working.
gives you such a good foundation and education that you can really leverage to go to any other field or stay within your field going forward.So I would never trade out my experience for any other experience.
But I definitely think there are certainly pros and cons to it.
Yeah.Well, yeah.Well, thank you.Thank you, Larry.Said a lot of amazing information with us.So thank you for that.As we wrap up, I want to circle back to the pulse real quick.
And can you tell us some, you know, any interesting things that you're seeing right now on your end?I know you and your team, you know, you're reviewing a lot of resumes from students.You're constantly, uh,
keeping your eyes on deadlines and things like that.Any key insights as we close that people who are going through the application process right now could take action on?
Yeah, I think the number one thing somebody can do right now to give themselves a leg up in the process is reaching out to those who are a little bit more senior.It is really easy as a college student to just
DM analysts or associates or email analysts and associates.I like limit it to that scope, but.Analysts and associates get the most messages. and they're not really compensated to take the calls.
So it's really out of someone's just good nature and, you know, they feel good that day, they'll take that call type of situation.They're also working the most.So their time is just really constrained to be able to take chats with call students.
And lastly, I mean, those are the most junior people in the totem pole, any bank.So they don't have as much decision-making authority
So the best thing to do that I think is underutilized is reaching out to VPs, executive directors, or managing directors and asking them for a chat.They work less hours, typically, uh, although the jobs might be more stressful for sure.
Uh, and they, they get far fewer messages and also they have decision-making authority, substantial decision-making authority to help you advance in the recruiting process. That is the number one insight that I think is underutilized.
And from my angle, with regards to application timelines, for anyone who's thinking about the industry and or like thinking about applying to a certain job that they see open investment banking analyst at X firm, and they're unsure about the firm, it is always worth the application.
It takes you. five to 10 minutes to fill out the application.And if you get an interview, even if it's for a bank that you're not particularly interested in or a location that's unattractive to you, it's still prep and experience, uh, moving forward.
And it only prepares you better for the other applications.I know some people benchmark pretty heavily on I'm only going to take a job as a Goldman Sachs or something like that is not a good math mindset to have because.
you're really limiting your optionality there.And hey, like a Goldman might have more turnover than anywhere else in the street.And that's not for good reasons.
Yeah.Yeah.Thank you for that.And it's, it's definitely worth it to just put your, put yourself out there and see, see what you can learn, right.And see where you can connect.Uh, you'll, you'll be surprised where it takes you sometimes.So, um, yeah.
So, so Larry B. Oliver at The Pulse.Thank you so much for, for joining me today, sharing so much insight or for everyone listening and where can people find you?
Yeah, there will be a link that I can drop in the description.And usually a good Google search, that's the Pulse Newsletter or the Pulse Beehive.Donald Poulos now.Free to subscribe.We issue updates weekly about applications and timelines.
Awesome.So yeah, you heard it here first on Investment Banking Insights, the Pulse newsletter, weekly updates.I will definitely be putting that link in the description to this episode.So check that out.
And until next time, this is Alex Mason with Investment Banking Insights.Have a great day.
Thank you so much for having me.
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