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Recruiting Sophomores for Investment Banking Internships
How signing offers 14 months in advance hurts students in the long run
“To find this young talent, the I-banks send their manicured young bankers out to the Whartons, Harvards and Princetons of the world to roll out the red carpet for the top undergraduates and begin the process of destroying whatever noble ideals the youngsters have left.” — John Rolfe, Monkey Business: Swinging Through The Wall Street Jungle
I signed my offer for a prestigious junior-year investment banking internship in April. Sounds pretty standard, right?
Oh, wait— to clarify, April of my sophomore year, 14 months before the internship began.
I was on the early side. After all, diversity programs (read: accelerated interviews) designed for women and minorities typically occur a few months in advance of the normal recruitment process.
However, my friends in the general interview pool still signed offers in May, June, and July — a full 11–13 months before our internships actually started.
Let’s dive into what happened, how interviews initially moved earlier, why nothing will change, and how early offers ultimately hurt students.
Winter, 2018: The initial interview acceleration
This absolutely insane method of making a career-altering decision during the sophomore year wasn’t always the norm.
Banking interviews for junior internships used to happen, logically, in junior year — or (at the very earliest) in August before junior year began for students.
But a switch flipped in January of 2018.
Banks flew to universities for information sessions in February and March.
After that, recruiters handed out first-round interviews like candy.
And suddenly, explosively, students were flying to New York City for superdays (multi-hour final round interviews) in May.
The groundwork had already been laid. Messages in online forums like Wall Street Oasis began warning of the acceleration in late 2017. Banks flew down for information sessions from February to May. As each…
