so i’m a rising junior and i’m genuinely intimidated by how much people talk about ‘network’ in banking. everyone says it’s critical for landing a summer analyst role, but i don’t have any family in finance, no alumni connections at my target banks, and honestly i’m not even sure who to reach out to. i’ve been lurking here for a bit and i see people talking about their mentors and sponsor relationships—but how do you build that from scratch when you’re starting cold? i’m wondering if there’s an actual playbook that people have used to go from zero connections to a real conversation with someone who can help. is it just grinding through cold outreach on linkedin? informational interviews? do those actually lead anywhere or is that just busy work? i’d love to hear from anyone who’s made the jump from having basically nothing to landing a summer role. what actually worked for you, and what was just noise?
look, cold outreach works but most ppl mess it up. you gotta be specific—mention a deal they worked on, not just ‘i love banking lol’. yeah informational interviews are kinda bs if you go in unprepared, but if you actually ask them about their worst deal and listen, suddenly you’re different. most juniors sound the same. stand out by not sounding desperate.
omg this is exactly what i needed to hear!! just started reaching out to ppl last week and honestly it feels less scary than i thought? like ppl actually respond if u genuinely care abt what theyre doing, not just asking for a job
wait so like do u send them ur resume or wait til they ask? ive been hesitant bc i dont wanna seem pushy but obvs they need to kno ur serious
Starting from zero is actually an advantage—your mindset is cleaner than someone who’s been coasting on family connections. Focus on three things: first, identify specific bankers (not just ‘someone at Goldman’) by researching recent deals your target bank worked on. Second, craft a genuine outreach message that shows you’ve done homework on their specific work. Third, when you land a conversation, ask questions that matter—where they see opportunities in your target sector, how they approach deal sourcing. This positions you as thoughtful, not transactional.
I was exactly where you are three years ago. No connections, nervous about reaching out. But I started with just asking my econ professor if she knew anyone—turned out she did. That first coffee chat was awkward as hell, but the person I met knew someone else. By month three I had five real relationships. The key was following up genuinely, not just when I needed something.
Research shows that cold outreach in banking has roughly a 5-8% response rate if it’s generic, but jumps to 25-30% if you reference specific recent deals or transactions. The optimal timing is Tuesday through Thursday, mid-morning. Most successful paths to summer analyst roles involve 15-20 initial outreaches to built 3-4 real mentor relationships. Quality over quantity. Track your outreach systematically.