<p>I'm matriculating into Wharton this fall and am wondering if there is any way to start networking for investment banking positions at top firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan or Morgan Stanley. Is there any way to look for Wharton/Penn alumni? Or could I just start with neighborhood/hometown connections? </p>
<p>I’m a junior (at Yale, not Wharton) going into banking, and honestly, I think it’s too early to start networking. I also think it’s almost a little bit too early to know you want to do banking. Are you interested in business? In finance? Or in investment banking specifically? Why do you want to work in IBD?</p>
<p>If you really want to prepare for eventually working in IBD, I’d suggest spending time on reading investment books, starting a portfolio (even if it’s virtual), reading about investment banking and other fields within finance (just so you can be sure you’re interested in IBD), and learning how to network. Also contact any interesting finance-related clubs there are at Wharton and figure out what they do and ask them what it takes to get in. You may already know this, but application processes for clubs can be a little tough/unexpected (e.g. applicants to the student investment group at Yale have to submit stock pitches, which they then have to present and defend during an interview), so it’s good to know going in what the application process will involve.</p>
<p>During the summer, try to get an internship in something finance-related. I don’t think this is necessary by any means (honestly, I know people who will be at Goldman Sachs this summer who had no previous internship experience at all), but it will at least give you a better idea of what the different fields within finance are, which can be very valuable. You should tap into your parents’ network (or your own, if you have one), or you can cold call/cold email local wealth management offices, private equity funds, hedge funds, etc.</p>
<p>In the fall, join the finance-related clubs you were interested in and reach out to seniors in those groups (e.g. ask them to grab a meal, grab coffee, etc.). Ask them what they think of IBD, how to eventually work in IBD, what general career advice they have for freshmen, etc. Attend all the info sessions for the banks in the fall, and start networking with the professionals you meet there. This should put you in a good place to apply to the freshmen internship programs in the spring.</p>
<p>Finally, just as side note: it’s good to get a head start, but try to enjoy your senior year more and don’t be too career-minded. My older sister went to Penn and had a bunch of friends in Wharton, so I went into college really focused on eventually working in finance or management consulting. Looking back, I wish I’d been more open-minded about future career paths, that I’d spent more time on discovering new interests, etc. Some of my sister’s friends who are now finishing up their analyst stints at bulge bracket and elite boutique banks really hated their experiences, and they’re leaving finance entirely. If you spend most of your college years working toward going into IBD (i.e. by picking the “right” major, joining the “right” organizations, getting the grades and leadership roles, etc.), you might find yourself in senior year suddenly questioning whether it was really the right path. But because of your previous choices, you may not know what else you would have preferred to IBD, and you might get stuck on the finance track. </p>
<p>That being said, I know people who genuinely love finance (although they tend to go to hedge funds instead of IBD), and personally, I really enjoy the work. If you’re truly interested in IBD, that’s fantastic.</p>
<p>I rarely get on here anymore, but every time I do it seems there’s a new thread by you about how to prepare for IBD recruiting or how to pick the right classes to maximize your GPA. As a high school senior admitted to Penn, you should be relaxing and enjoying your life, not worrying about things that are three years away. You are going about college precisely the wrong way.</p>
<p>The answer is no, I would absolutely not try to start networking for banking as a high school student. You would look totally ridiculous and be laughed at, unless it’s a family friend and you are just looking to pick their brain about what their job is like. Moreover, if you reach out to analysts now, they will not even be at the same firm when you’re a junior looking to recruit, as the analyst program is typically 2 years long. As a freshmen at Penn, maybe reach out to some people and try to get some form of internship (won’t be in banking but somehow finance related or even just any office work) as a freshmen. If you can you are already ahead of the curve. I had no internship my freshmen year and as a junior landed a SA position at a great firm.</p>
<p>You also seem very obsessed with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan for some reason as you’ve mentioned these three banks in every thread you started. I don’t know why you are so focused on these three firms.</p>
<p>I really suggest that when you do get to Penn, you don’t come in with the attitude of “I’m here to get a job in IBD at GS/MS.” People are going to instantly label you as too intense and not fun to be around. </p>
<p>Please don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not trying to chew you out and be negative, I’m just trying to help you out here because I think you are way too intense about the hunt for a job in IBD at this stage in your life. I suggest you read more about the industry and see if you like it rather than falling in line with the rest of the sheep looking to work at Goldman. And again, at this stage in your life you don’t need to do anything. Personally, I am perhaps the exception rather than the rule, but I never networked at all [not when I was a senior in HS, not even as a junior going into recruiting season] and landed a position at one of GS/MS/BX. </p>
<p>You haven’t even gotten to college yet, how do you know you want to do IB? It may look like all fun and prestige on the outside but in reality it involves 80+ hour work weeks filled with drudgery. Most people, unless they really like that kind of stuff (pretty rare) hate IB. The work is flat out boring and there is little that encourages intellectual curiosity. </p>