Wall Street Diaries

Episode 271: Should You Customize Your Networking Email Templates?

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When you're sending out networking emails, how important is it for you to customize each email that you send? Is it better to use the same email temp...

Episode 270: How Louisa Used WSMM to Make the Jump to Bulge Bracket Bank for Full Time Recruiting

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our student Louisa came to us her junior year looking for help with full time recruiting. She had just recruited for junior summer internships on he...

Episode 269: Waitlisted For A Banking Offer? You May Still Have A Shot

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After months of prepping you thought you finally nailed your investment banking interview and…you’re waitlisted. What now? Is that practically ...

Episode 268: Are You Late Into The Recruiting Process? Hear This!

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Most students don’t know that they want to pursue investment banking right when they enter college… Yet the recruiting timeline is only getting e...

Episode 267: How Tristan Got Into IB w/ a 3.0 GPA, Non-target, and Having Already Graduated

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Tristan came to us in July, AFTER he had already graduated from college. To make matters worse, he had just a 3.0 GPA, from a non-target ...

Episode 266: How to Discuss SaaS Deals for Tech Investment Banking or Buyside Interviews

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, technology investment banking and buyside roles (tech PE, growth equity, venture capital) have become some of the most sought after o...

Episode 265: How to Get More Referrals From Investment Bankers

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How many times have you gotten to the end of a networking call with an investment banker, hoping to get a referral out of them but only getting some g...

Episode 264: How Jason Made the Leap from a Middle Market to an Elite Boutique Full Time Offer

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our student Jason didn't realize he wanted to do IB until the summer before junior year. After interviewing with 10-11 banks, he ended up getting ju...

Episode 263: Answering Advanced Industry Specific Technical Questions

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you're interviewing for a specific industry coverage group, some industries have additional technical concepts you'll need to learn that are specif...

Episode 262: Talking About a Trend or Deal You've Been Following

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you're interviewing for a specific coverage group and not a generalist program, there are some additional interview questions you'll have to prepar...

Episode 261: How Victor Became the Top of His Non-Target School to Land Investment Banking

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Victor is one of the most committed clients we've ever had. He landed a junior summer internship from a non-target state school that only places 4-5...

Episode 260: Guaranteed 3 Statement Questions You Need to Know

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to investment banking technical interviews, three statement questions are the most basic and almost guaranteed in any interview. It’s...

Episode 259: Investment Bank App Just Opened...Submit ASAP or Wait?

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With investment banks opening their applications earlier and earlier every year, it's important to stay on top of the recruiting timeline if you want ...

Episode 258: M&A Mock Interview Question Example

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you're hoping to land a top offer in investment banking, you should be prepared to answer M&A technical questions. This is especially true if you'r...

Episode 257: How Rahul Improved His Candidacy and Successfully Recruited for a Full Time Offer

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Rahul was caught off guard by the accelerated summer internship recruiting process but secured a small regional boutique offer. Not satis...

Episode 256: Advanced DCF Question Example

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The discounted cash flow ("DCF") is one of the most commonly tested topics during investment banking technical interviews. However, gone are the days...

Episode 255: Investment Banking Info Sessions - Must Attend? Or a Waste of Time?

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you go to a target school, investment banks often come on campus to hold info sessions. Will attending these events boost your chances of getting ...

Episode 254: How Vivian Landed a Sophomore Diversity Internship at BoFA from a Non-Target School

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Vivian joined WSMM during her freshman summer, after struggling to formulate her behavioral answers and learn the technical concepts on her...

Episode 253: Feel Like You Don't Have Time for Investment Banking Recruiting

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recruiting for investment banking can be overwhelming if you don't have a set strategy. With apps opening earlier and earlier, time is of the essenc...

Episode 252: Got an Exploding Offer from an Investment Bank?

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You finally received an investment banking job offer - congrats! The only problem is, it's an "exploding offer" and you've been given a very short dea...

Episode 251: How Noah Went From a Non-Target School to an Offer From Morgan Stanley

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Noah is from a non target school and came to Wall Street Mastermind in January of sophomore year. Prior to joining our program, he had bi...

Episode 250: Better Exit Opps: Investment Banking or Hedge Funds?

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, more buyside firms like Bridgewater Associates, Millenium, Ares, and Blackstone are starting to open their apps for summer analysts, competing ...

Episode 249: How Amit Went From Being New to Investment Banking to Breaking Into an Elite Boutique

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Amit joined WSMM during the summer after freshman year because he was serious about getting into investment banking and wanted the most eff...

Episode 248: How to Prep for Advanced Investment Banking Technical Interview

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elite boutique investment banks have become the toughest investment banks to get offers from. This is partially because they are just as prestigious ...

Episode 247: How to Get Into the Best Groups at Your Investment Bank

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you recruit for headquarters locations like New York City and London, usually you won't know what group you'll get placed in until after you accept...

Episode 246: How Bryant Secured Both US and Hong Kong Offers From Top Banks During COVID-19

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Bryant was an international student from Korea who became interested in banking after serving his military duty. Hear him explain why the h...

Episode 245: How to Discuss the Strategic Rationale for an M&A Deal

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the trickier questions to answer during interviews is talking about a deal that you've been following. Typically, we recommend talking about M...

Episode 244: How to Make Sure Your Networking Contacts Don't Forget You

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you want to get more interviews, networking is going to be the most important part of the recruiting process. But networking is not just having a ...

Episode 243: How Matthew Ended Up at Lazard After Getting Multiple Rejections On His Own

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Matthew went a top target school and had multiple relevant finance experiences on his resume. He considered joining WSMM freshman year but ...

Episode 242: How Isaac Used SEO and Wall Street Mastermind to Land an Offer From Morgan Stanley

26 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Isaac initially planned on pursuing a career in accounting. By the time he realized that he actually wanted to go into investment banking, ...

Episode 241: How Jared Ended Up Choosing Bain Capital Over an Offer From Citi

25 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jared started working with WSMM during his sophomore spring. His original approach of reading interview guides from upperclassmen wasn't ...

Episode 240: How Cameron Landed Offers From Moelis and Rothschild NYC

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Cameron had dreams of working in NYC. Unfortunately, UT Austin was only a target school for the Houston office but a non-target for NYC (...

Episode 239: Adding Incoming Experiences On The Resume

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to add a new internship to your resume, even though you just started (or are abo...

Episode 237: Making Tradeoffs On Your Resume

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to resume building, how do you know whether you need to go out and get another relevant internship or not? Or sometimes, if it comes do...

Episode 238: Why Daniel Passed on Working with WSMM Before Coming Back Just in Time to Win an Offer

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Daniel first spoke to us early on during sophomore year, but wasn't ready to commit to our program. About a year later, he came back to g...

Episode 235: How To “Trade Up” To A Better Bank

24 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For most people, just getting ANY offer in investment banking is the goal. But for others, merely getting an offer is just the minimum acceptable outc...

Episode 234: Why This Middle Market Bank

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our experience, a lot of students struggle with answering “why our bank” if they’re interviewing with a middle market investment bank. After...

Episode 233: How Brandon Went From Big 4 Auditor to Investment Banking and Doubled His Salary

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Brandon is living proof that it's possible to break into investment banking after college without getting an MBA. He landed two offers fr...

Episode 232: How is a SaaS Company Different?

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you ever interview with the technology group of an investment bank, or perhaps a buyside firm that invests in technology companies, you’ll probab...

Episode 230: How Claire Broke Into Equity Research After Realizing Investment Banking Wasn’t For Her

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Claire originally thought she wanted to pursue investment banking, but after networking with various industry professionals and being mento...

Episode 229: What is Accretion Dilution

11 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the more advanced technical topics that can come up during interviews is the concept of accretion dilution. This is essentially one of the key...

Episode 228: How Tyler Went From Being a Non-Target to Successfully Lateraling into IB

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Tyler started at a community college and transferred to a non-target school, after which he graduated into a role at a small valuation firm...

Episode 227: Walking Through a LBO Deal

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Private equity internships are one of the most relevant internships you can do to give your resume a boost for investment banking. If you’ve done o...

Episode 226: How Bowen Secured a Top Middle Market Offer Despite Not Being a Part of Any Clubs

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Bowen studied at a target school but hadn’t joined any of his school’s professional orgs or investment banking clubs. He felt like he...

Episode 225: Can't Find Anyone to Network With?

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Usually we advise our students to network with bankers so that they can get referrals to interviews. But the other benefit is that you can glean talki...

Episode 223: How Good Are Your Excel Skills?

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Excel is one of the most important skills you can have as a junior investment banker. In fact, you’ll probably spend more than 50% of your time on t...

Episode 222: What Makes You Nervous About IB?

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of our students recently got asked “what about investment banking as a job makes you nervous?” during an interview. He wasn’t sure how to an...

Episode 221: How Alex Joined WSMM From a Non-Target During Sr Yr and Got a PE Analyst Offer

14 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Alex came to us from a non-target school during senior year, after failing to secure a junior summer internship in investment banking and w...

Episode 220: How to Break into PE

13 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people want to start their career in investment banking just so that they can break into private equity. After all, having investment banking...

Episode 219: No Networking? No Problem

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever tried to write a cover letter, or tried to prepare your answer for “why do you want to work for our firm” … but you don’t know w...

Episode 218: How Dominique Landed One of the Top Investment Banks in Houston Frm a Non-Target School

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Dominique joined WSMM at the beginning of junior year. Despite already being a part of another career mentoring program (SEO), she found ...

Episode 217: Adding Brand New Internship to Your Resume

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you just started a new internship and haven’t done that much yet, but you have applications coming up where you want to include this new experien...

Episode 216: How Sandalina Went From Community College Transfer to Investment Banking

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Sandalina was a community college transfer who wanted to break into investment banking. Despite many people telling her that it would be ...

Episode 215: Should You Stay at Your Internship?

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A student recently asked me if he should stay longer at his internship, because he’s been promised some new responsibilities if he stays on. There ...

Episode 214: How Travis Transferred From CC to Non-Target and Got Into I-Banking

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Travis came to us in late February of senior year, three months before graduation. He was a community college transfer at a non-target sc...

Episode 213: Finance or Tech? What’s Better?

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is a bit of a different topic today, as one of my students who’s currently working in growth equity recently asked me what it was like when I t...

Episode 212: Tell Me About Your Performance Review

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you just wrapped up your summer internship and are currently interviewing with another firm, chances are very good that your interviewers is going ...

Episode 211: How George Pivoted From Consulting to IB & Landed a BB Offer w/o Finance Experience

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client George originally wanted to get into consulting before switching to investment banking. With no relevant experience, he tried his best to...

Episode 210: Discussing Deal Experience for Full-Time Interviews

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Now that summer internships have ended, many of you are currently going through interviews for full-time recruiting. One of the most important things...

Episode 209: How Edgar Went From Corporate Banking to Investment Banking With a Late Start

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Edgar recently received an offer from an upper middle market investment bank despite missing the accelerated recruiting timeline during sop...

Episode 208: No Financial Modeling at Your Internship?

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of students wonder what they should do when they don’t get any financial modeling experience at their internships. After all, that’s what y...

Episode 207: How Important is Financial Modeling for Full-Time Recruiting?

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Those of you who have been following me for awhile know how much I’m against doing financial modeling courses when prepping for summer internship in...

Episode 206: How Steve Failed His First Superdays Before Securing an Offer With WSMM's Help

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Steve came to us at the beginning of junior year, after having failed a couple of superday interviews on his own. He was referred to us b...

Episode 205: How to "Control" the Interview

02 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that when you are answering interview questions, it’s actually possible to lead the interview in the direction that you want them to go...

Episode 204: Cost of Capital in M&A vs LBO

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In an acquisition, cost of capital is one of the most important assumptions that go into determining whether the deal is favorable or not. Cost of ca...

Episode 203: How Shawn Got 3 Investment Banking Offers Despite Being International Student w/Low GPA

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Shawn was a sophomore international student with a 3.2 GPA when he joined our program. Hear his advice on how to recruit effectively as a...

Episode 202: Main Drivers of LBO Returns

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of people get confused by the concept of an LBO, or leveraged buyout. It’s basically just describing the mechanics of how a private equity fi...

Episode 201: How Nishant Got a Bulge Bracket Offer as an International w/o Much Experience

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Nishant is an international student from Dubai who secured his summer internship offer from a bulge bracket bank. As someone coming from ...

Episode 200: When Should You Start Thinking About Your Next Internship

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

These days, it’s no longer enough to have just one relevant internship on your resume if you want to be a competitive candidate. Most of the top can...

Episode 199: Networking With Summer Interns or Brand New Analysts?

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you’re networking, it’s always the easiest to network with people that you already know on a personal level. The problem is, a lot of times ...

Episode 198: How Dylan Got Into a Bulge Bracket Investment Bank With a 3.4 GPA and Late Start

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Dylan recently received a bulge bracket summer internship offer despite completely missing the accelerated recruiting timeline and only hav...

Episode 197: Networking As a Non Target Student

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most people focus their networking efforts on investment banking analysts because they’re the closest in age and most approachable. But does this a...

Episode 196: Taking Networking Trips

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you are really ambitious with your networking, you don’t have to limit your networking conversations to just phone and zoom meetings. Once you’...

Episode 195: How Jerry Broke Into a Top Middle Market Bank as an International Student

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jerry was an international student with a 3.3 GPA who decided to recruit for investment banking pretty late in the recruiting process. We...

Episode 194: Skills and Interests on the Resume

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On the very bottom of your resume, you should have a “Skills and Interests” section. If you have any sort of certifications, that would belong her...

Episode 193: Showing Leadership on the Resume

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Aside from your professional experience, your leadership experience is the other really important section you have on your resume. How do you demonst...

Episode 192: How Simarleen Secured a FT Offer From Jefferies

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Simarleen interned at Truist during both her sophomore and junior summer. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t receive a full-time return ...

Episode 190: How to Forecast a SaaS Company

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Forecasting the revenue of a company is one of the most important things that you need to get right when valuing a business. However, revenue forecas...

Episode 189: ELEVATE Program Session 8 Ximena-Acing Hirevues / 3 Statements

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we answer some questions Ximena had about how to ace Hirevues, which are becoming more common as the first initial screen that banks ...

Episode 188: What's the Hardest Thing You've Had to Do

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Investment banking is a pretty tough job, and not everyone is cut out for it. So sometimes, bankers like to ask “what is the hardest thing you’ve...

Episode 187: Industry VS. Product Groups

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you apply for a big investment bank, you’re not just applying for the bank itself. What matters just as much, if not more, is which group at th...

Episode 186: How Jack Chose Investment Banking Over Consulting and Ended Up at an Elite Boutique

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jack joined WSMM right before sophomore year, when he was still choosing between investment banking and consulting. Prior to joining WSMM...

Episode 185: How to Network Without Being Spammy

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you network with investment bankers, you have to send out a lot of emails because not everyone will respond. This is especially true if you star...

Episode 184: Common Issues for Non-Target Networking

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Non-target school students typically find it more difficult to network because they don’t have as many alumni working in investment banking. Becaus...

Episode 183: ELEVATE Program Session 7 Going Through Ximena's "Market Related Questions" Answers

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we go through Ximena's answers for all the market related questions that typically come up in investment banking interviews. For ex...

Episode 182: Interviewer Being Mean to You?

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do when you run into an interviewer who acts totally disinterested in what you have to say? Does that mean they actually dislike you? Or...

Episode 181: How Jack Chose Investment Banking Over Consulting and Ended Up at an Elite Boutique

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jack joined WSMM right before sophomore year, when he was still choosing between investment banking and consulting. Prior to joining WSMM...

Episode 180: Best Demeanor to Have During Interviews

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you’re interviewing for a job, what kind of demeanor is the most effective? For example, is it better to be more serious and professional, or ...

Episode 179: What to Do if a Banker Reschedules Last Minute

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oftentimes when you schedule a networking call with a banker, they will have to reschedule at the last minute. This is very normal because “firedri...

Episode 178: ELEVATE Program Session 6 Going Through Ximena's "Guaranteed Questions" Answers

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we start working on Ximena's behavioral answers by giving her feedback on what we call "the guaranteed questions". These questions ...

Episode 176: Can FCF be Positive if EBITDA is Negative?

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most of you know that EBITDA is a proxy for cash flow. However, for some companies, it’s actually possible to have positive free cash flow when the...

Episode 175: How Jared Landed at Jefferies From a Non-Target by Networking With 350 Bankers

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jared is a student from a small non-target liberal arts school that has barely sent any alumni to Wall Street in recent years. Despite th...

Episode 174: How to Explain Changes in Operating Working Capital

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Changes in operating working capital is one of the most important variables when calculating the free cash flow of a business. However, it’s a rela...

Episode 173: How to Calculate Fully Diluted Equity Value

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When calculating the equity value of a business, you want to make sure you’re using the fully diluted share count, not just the basic share count. ...

Episode 172: ELEVATE Program Session 5 Resume Questions

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we give Ximena feedback on the next set of behavioral questions, including why she's interested in a particular coverage group within...

Episode 171: Most Common Technical Interview Questions

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What are the most common technical topics that get asked about in interviews? This question is especially important if you’re behind on your interv...

Episode 170: Do I Have to Network Before I Apply

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common questions I get asked is “Sam, do I have to network first before I apply to a firm, or can I apply first and then network?”...

Episode 169: How Chan Went From a Liberal Arts Background to Landing an Offer at a BulgeBracket

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Chan was a liberal arts student who didn’t have much of a finance background. He thought he had a solid shot at breaking into investmen...

Episode 168: Front Office vs. Middle Office vs. Back Office

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes students get confused about the difference between the “front office” roles at an investment bank versus the “middle office” or “b...

Episode 163: How Pavan Landed a Guggenheim Offer as a Masters in Finance From a Non-Target School

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Pavan studied at a small non-target school called Case Western. He realised that he wanted to get into banking towards the end of freshma...