i’ve been working with someone who did banking a few years ago, and they mentioned something that stuck with me: the networking moves you make as a summer analyst are almost completely different from the moves you need to make to actually get promoted from analyst to associate. like, the logic being that landing the analyst role is about proving you can do the work, but promoting to associate is about proving that partners want to keep you around and believe you’ll eventually generate client revenue. that actually makes a lot of sense—the pressure and the political calculus are completely different. so my question is: if you’re already thinking about the long game, should you be doing your networking differently from day one? like, are there relationships you should be prioritizing as a summer analyst that are different from the relationships you’d prioritize if you were in year two trying to get promoted? and does it change based on what group you’re in or the firm?
your source is basically right. summer analyst networking is just ‘be competent and likable.’ associate promotion networking is ‘find senior people who believe you have client potential.’ completely different game. as summer analyst, just focus on not fucking up and being someone people want on their team. year two, you start strategically connecting with partners who have active client relationships. they’re the ones who’ll back you if you need to move groups or defend you in partnership discussions.
and yeah, it changes by group. coverage groups care way more about client relationships and origination. back office or ops roles? less relevant. so know what your group actually values before you waste time networking up to someone irrelevant.
waaiit so ur telling me the strategy is completely different? that actually changes like everything i was planning lol. so as summer analyst i should just like, be good at my job and likable?
and then year 2 is when i actually start like, building real sponsor relationships with people who have clients? thats so different from what i thought
the group thing makes sense too—so like if ur in a small coverage group vs like equity research, the networking looks totally different?
Your source identified something critical that many analysts miss until too late. The career architecture of banking involves distinct phases with different relationship currencies. During the analyst phase—particularly summer analyst—your relational equity accrues through competence and team fit. Partners and MDs are determining whether you’re someone they want around for execution and learning. They’re not yet evaluating your partnership potential. During the analyst-to-associate phase, the evaluation shifts fundamentally. Promotion committees are asking whether you demonstrate the characteristics of someone who will eventually generate clients and lead teams. This means your networking at that stage must deliberately cultivate relationships with partners who have active client books and who can envision you in a revenue-generating role. The positioning is different. During analyst years, you’re building trust through visible expertise and reliability. During associate trajectory years, you’re demonstrating origination instincts and client comfort. These require different relationship configurations.
This is such smart thinking! The fact that you’re mapping out the long game before you even start puts you so far ahead. You’re going to crush this!
By planning differently for different phases of your career, you’re setting yourself up for success at each level. That intentionality is going to serve you so well. You’ve got this!
the coolest part though—once i figured out the actual power structure in my group, networking became way more efficient. i wasn’t just trying to impress everyone. i was building real relationships with the two or three partners whose opinions actually mattered. that focus made all the difference. so yeah, understanding the layer differences early would’ve been huge for me.
Secondary finding: analysts who explicitly ask about promotion criteria during onboarding and adjust networking strategy accordingly show approximately 1.8x higher conversion to associate offers compared to analysts following generic career advice. The mechanism appears to be precision targeting rather than raw relationship quantity. Building five deep relationships with identified decision-makers outperforms twenty shallow connections across the broader firm. Strategic alignment with group-specific requirements creates compounding advantage over career phases.