What investment banks look for when hiring
Investment banks hire people into analyst and associate roles based on three things: a degree from a target school, internship experience at a financial firm, and the ability to talk through a financial model or valuation problem in an interview. You do not need an MBA to start—most entry-level hires have only an undergraduate degree. Banks care most about whether you can learn fast, handle pressure, and produce accurate work under tight deadlines.
The hiring timeline is rigid. For summer internships, recruiting happens in the fall of your junior year. For full-time analyst roles after graduation, recruiting happens in the fall of your senior year. If you miss these windows, you can still break in through lateral moves from other finance jobs or through smaller firms that hire year-round, but the main path is the campus recruiting cycle.
Your school matters because banks have a short list of universities they visit regularly—usually Ivy League schools, Stanford, MIT, Duke, Michigan, and a handful of others depending on the bank's region. If your school is not on that list, you can still get hired, but you will need stronger internship experience or a referral from someone already at the bank.
Key Takeaways
- Investment banks hire analysts and associates primarily through campus recruiting in the fall, with internships the summer before your senior year and full-time roles after graduation.
- An internship at a financial firm—investment bank, private equity, hedge fund, or corporate finance—is nearly required to land an analyst offer; most hires have done this.
- You need to understand basic financial modeling, valuation methods, and how to read financial statements before your first interview.
- Networking with current bankers and alumni from your school who work at your target bank can get your resume in front of a recruiter instead of a pile of hundreds.
- The job involves long hours, repetitive work in your first two years, and a steep learning curve in financial analysis and deal mechanics.
Getting an internship before your analyst role
Almost every analyst hired by a major investment bank did an internship at a financial firm first. This internship happens the summer between your junior and senior year. Banks use it to test whether you can do the work and whether you fit the team. Many interns receive return offers to join as full-time analysts after graduation.
To land an internship, start recruiting in the fall of your junior year. Apply through your school's career portal, attend bank recruiting events on campus, and use LinkedIn to find alumni from your school who work at the bank you want. A warm introduction from an alumnus to a recruiter or HR contact is far more likely to get your resume read than a cold application.
If your school is not a target school, consider starting with a smaller regional bank, a corporate finance department at a large company, or a private equity firm. These roles teach you the same skills and look good on your resume when you apply to major banks later. Some people also break in through sales and trading internships, which are sometimes easier to land and can lead to investment banking roles.
Building the skills banks test in interviews
Investment banking interviews focus on three areas: financial modeling, valuation, and deal intuition. You do not need to be an expert before your first interview, but you need to understand the basics well enough to talk through them without freezing.
Financial modeling means building a spreadsheet that projects a company's revenue, expenses, and cash flow over several years. You should know how to build a three-statement model (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement) and understand how changes in one line item flow through to the others. Practice this on your own time using templates you can find free online, or take a short course through a site like Wall Street Prep or Breaking Into Wall Street.
Valuation means knowing how to calculate what a company is worth. The main methods are discounted cash flow (DCF), comparable company analysis, and precedent transactions. You do not need to memorize formulas, but you should understand what each method does and when a bank would use it. Most interview questions start with "Walk me through a DCF" or "How would you value this company?"
Deal intuition means understanding how a deal works mechanically. If a private equity firm buys a company with debt and equity, how does that affect the returns? If a company acquires another company for cash, what happens to the buyer's earnings per share? These questions test whether you understand how money moves in a transaction, not whether you can calculate to the penny.
Networking and getting your resume to a recruiter
Sending your resume through the online portal works, but a warm introduction is faster. Find alumni from your school who work at the bank you want to join—your school's career office usually has a database, or you can search LinkedIn. Send them a short message saying you are interested in investment banking and asking if they have time for a brief call.
Most alumni will take a 15-minute call. Ask them what the job is really like, what they look for in candidates, and whether they would be willing to pass your resume to their recruiting team. If they say yes, they will often send it directly to a recruiter with a note, which puts you ahead of the hundreds of online applications.
Attend recruiting events at your school or nearby universities. Banks send teams to campus to talk about the job and meet candidates. These events are low-pressure—you are just having a conversation—but they give recruiters a chance to remember your face and name. If you make a good impression, a recruiter might reach out to you directly when recruiting season starts.
What happens after you land an internship
Your internship is a 10-week trial. You will work on real deals or financial models, usually under the supervision of a vice president or senior analyst. The work is repetitive—building models, updating presentations, checking numbers—but it teaches you how the bank actually operates. You will also meet people across the team and get a sense of whether you want to work there full-time.
At the end of the internship, your team will decide whether to give you a return offer. This is not automatic. Banks want to see that you can produce accurate work, take feedback, and show up ready to work even when the hours are long. If you get a return offer, you can accept it and know your full-time role is waiting after graduation. If you do not, you can still recruit for analyst roles at other banks in the fall of your senior year, though it is harder without a return offer.
The analyst job itself: what to expect
An analyst role typically lasts two to three years. You will work on multiple deals at once, building financial models, creating pitch books for clients, and supporting senior bankers in meetings and due diligence. The hours are long—60 to 80 hours per week is common, with occasional weeks that stretch to 100 hours during deal closings.
Most of your first year is spent on technical work: modeling, formatting presentations, and learning the bank's systems and processes. You will not be in client meetings much. By your second and third year, you will start to lead smaller projects, mentor new analysts, and sit in on client calls. The work becomes less repetitive and more strategic, though the hours do not always shrink.
After two or three years, analysts typically move to private equity, hedge funds, corporate finance roles at large companies, or business school. Very few stay in banking beyond this point. The job is designed as a training ground, not a long-term career for most people.
Alternative paths if campus recruiting does not work
If you miss the main recruiting cycle or your school is not a target, you have other options. Some banks hire analysts year-round for their smaller offices or for specific divisions like equity research or sales and trading. You can also break in through a related role: work in corporate finance at a Fortune 500 company for a year or two, then move to a bank. Private equity firms also hire analysts, and moving from PE to banking is common.
Another path is to start at a smaller regional bank or boutique investment bank. These firms often have less rigid recruiting timelines and may care less about your school. After a year or two, you can move to a larger bank. Your experience at a smaller firm counts as real banking experience and makes you a stronger candidate.
Some people also break in through sales and trading roles, which are sometimes easier to land. Once you are inside the bank, you can move to investment banking after a year or two if you want to switch divisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an MBA to work in investment banking?
No. Most analysts are hired straight out of undergraduate school. An MBA is useful if you want to move into senior roles or if you are switching into banking from another field later in your career, but it is not required to start.
What major should I choose to break into banking?
Finance, economics, or accounting are common, but banks hire from all majors. They care more about your internship experience and your ability to learn financial modeling than about your specific degree. Many successful bankers studied engineering, math, or even history.
How much does the job pay as an analyst?
Base salary for first-year analysts at major banks ranges from $80,000 to $100,000, with a bonus that can equal or exceed the base salary depending on the bank and the year. Compensation is higher at larger banks and in major cities like New York. The bonus varies with the bank's profitability and your performance.
Can I break into banking without an internship?
It is very difficult. Most analysts have done at least one internship at a financial firm. If you do not have one, you need either a very strong referral from someone at the bank or experience in a related role like corporate finance or private equity. Applying cold without either is unlikely to succeed.
What if I go to a non-target school?
You can still break in, but you need to work harder. Focus on getting an internship at any financial firm, build a strong network through LinkedIn and alumni connections, and consider starting at a smaller bank or regional office. After a year or two at a smaller firm, you can move to a larger bank.