Employers hiring for investment banking internships recruit based on the timelines that work for their company. Internships after the junior year of college often lead to full-time offers after graduation. Recruiting for junior-year internships usually begins during your sophomore year and bulge bracket banks often open applications as early as January 2025. Some boutique investment banks may start accepting applications as early as November/December 2024 for summer 2026.
Build your list of target firms:
- Many students interested in a career in finance are interested in the bulge bracket banks. These are large financial institutions that offer investment banking and other financial services, such as sales & trading and investment management. The list of these banks may vary depending on the resource but often includes Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS.
- Gorick’s List provides a directory of Investment Banks with internship programs, including the bulge bracket banks and smaller boutique banks. For information on the application process, follow the provided links to each firm’s website. Sign up to receive job alerts from the firms on your target list.
- Sign up on The Coffee Chat by Adventis to receive recruiting updates, including when firms open applications for summer 2026. Updates are sent out on Mondays.
- Use the Firsthand Guide to Investment Banking Employers to research and learn more about the numerous firms providing investment banking internships. Sign in with your NetID credentials and create an account.
- eFinancialCareers includes the2024-2025 guide to jobs in financial services. Sign up to receive the guide in your inbox.
- Create a spreadsheet to stay organized, and track application deadlines and your progress.
Before You Apply:
- Attend events organized by employers to build connections and gain tips on the application and interview process. View upcoming employer events.
- Connect with alumni and professionals at your target firms—Networking is an important step in the recruiting process for investment banking opportunities. It is helpful to contact former interns and Yale alums working at these employers to arrange a phone call or coffee meeting (also known as informational interviews) and learn more about the opportunities and express your interest.
- Use the Yale Alumni LinkedIn page to search Yale Alums who have a LinkedIn Account. Search ‘Yale University’ in the LinkedIn search bar to find Yale’s LinkedIn page. On the left, you will see an option for Alumni.
- Find current Yale students who interned with these employers by searching the OCS Peer Networking Lists.
- Log into CareerShift, a powerful tool that OCS provides to find alumni emails by going to the Contacts section and then searching by school.
- Log into Cross Campus, a database of Yale alumni interested in networking with students.
- Check out our resources on how to connect with alumni which include sample emails to request an informational interview/networking call, how to set them up and sample questions to ask.
Anticipate how quickly the process can move and start preparing for interviews:
- Applications are typically on a rolling basis. This means that applications can be reviewed at any time during the process – not only after the application deadline. You may be asked to interview shortly after your application has been received.
- Before starting the application process, think about how prepared you feel for interviews and your ability to commit to a position before exploring other internships. Check out our interviewing resources and be prepared for a combination of live and pre-recorded interviews from companies like Hirevue.
- There are also many helpful articles on eFinancialCareers about the technical interview such as The 50 words you need to know for banking interviews and HireVue questions that banks are asking their 2025 summer interns
Keep a positive mindset:
- Stay focused on your applications and progress. Students may move through the application and interview process at different times.
Connect with the Office of Career Strategy for advice and encouragement along the way!
