Investment Banking Networking: How to Run a Coffee Chat That Gets You Referred

The bulge-bracket banks are expected to post their Summer 2028 analyst applications between late November 2026 and January 2027, and a referral from a banker who already knows you makes sure a person reads your resume when you apply. Referrals come out of coffee chats, but rarely during them. A coffee chat leads to a referral when the banker finishes the call knowing your story and willing to help, and you make the actual request later, in a short email once you've applied.

I'm Stephen Turban, founder of WSG. I went to Harvard and worked at McKinsey, and I've run a lot of mock technical interviews with students headed into banking. By the end of this guide you'll know who to contact first, how to write an outreach email a junior banker will answer, how to run the call so the banker wants to help, and when and how to ask for the referral.

What a Referral Does for Your Application

A referral is a current employee telling the bank's recruiting team that you're worth a look, which mainly makes sure a person reads your resume. In practice, the banker passes your resume to recruiting or the hiring team with a short note vouching for you. It doesn't guarantee an interview, and you still have to clear the bank's eligibility filters, any recorded interview, and the technical and behavioral rounds.

Because the banker is putting their own reputation behind you, they'll usually only do it once they feel comfortable with you, and building that comfort is the job of the coffee chat.

Who to Contact and Where to Find Them

Start with alumni of your school who work in banking, then other junior bankers at the banks on your list. Search your school's alumni directory and LinkedIn for the banks you're applying to, and ask your career center too, since counselors can connect you with alumni who can help. Anyone at the bank can refer you, from an analyst to a managing director, and senior bankers carry more weight, but they rarely answer students they don't know. That's why analysts and associates are the place to start.

To reach them, check whether your alumni directory or career center lists an email address. If it doesn't, Mergers & Inquisitions suggests guessing the address from the bank's usual email format and checking it with an email verification tool before you send.

A good rule of thumb is two or three people at each bank on your list, since not everyone will answer and you want more than one person who knows your name when the application opens. Start with the banks whose applications open first, so those conversations happen in time.

Writing the Email That Gets You the Chat

Keep the outreach email under 150 words and ask for 15 minutes to hear about the person's path, because a small, specific request is easy to accept. Say who you are (school, year, and major), why you picked them, and what you're asking for, then offer a few times. Leave the referral out of this email entirely: asking a stranger for one in a first message reads as transactional, and it gives them a reason to say no before they've met you.

Example outreach email:

Subject: [Your school] sophomore, question about [bank]'s [group] group

Hi [first name],

I'm a sophomore at [your school] studying economics, and I'm recruiting for investment banking summer analyst roles. I found you through the [school] alumni directory and saw you joined [bank]'s [group] group after graduating. I'd love to hear how you chose that group and what the first year has been like.

Would you have 15 minutes for a quick call in the next couple of weeks? I'm free Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, and I'm happy to work around your schedule.

Thanks so much,

[Your name]

The subject line tells them before they open it that this is a fellow alum with a quick question. The second sentence shows you looked them up and aren't sending the same note to every banker at the firm. The question about choosing a group is one only they can answer, so it's easy and pleasant for them to talk about. Offering two afternoons and flexibility saves a round of back and forth. Without an alumni link, the second sentence names whatever you genuinely share or noticed, such as a hometown, a past employer, or a deal their group worked on, and the rest of the email stays the same.

If you don't hear back, wait about a week and send one short follow-up on the same thread. If there's still nothing after another week, move on to someone else at the bank. Junior bankers work long hours, so a missed email says little about whether they'd have been happy to talk.

How to Prepare for the Call

Prepare three things: research on the person, a 30- to 45-second version of your story, and four or five questions only they can answer. Read their LinkedIn profile, look up a recent deal their bank or group worked on, and note anything you have in common. Fifteen or twenty minutes of research is enough, and it's what lets your questions sound specific.

Your story is the answer to "tell me about yourself," and it can have four parts: where you're from, your key experiences, why investment banking, and what you're looking for now, such as the groups you're weighing. That last part gives the banker an easy follow-up question. Practice it out loud until it sounds like you talking. Have your resume ready as a PDF, but don't send it unless they ask, because the call is about them first.

How to Run the Call So the Banker Wants to Help

Spend most of the call listening and asking about the banker's own path, and save your one small request for the last minute. The banker's comfort with you comes from a conversation where they did most of the talking and you were clearly interested in their work. A call that feels like an interrogation or a job pitch works against that. A good order for the call:

Opening: a minute of small talk about their city, their team, or something recent at the bank, then thank them for the time.

Their path: ask how they got into banking and how they chose their group. This is where you learn the most and where they do most of the talking.

Your story: when they ask about you, give the 30- to 45-second version and stop, so they can ask a follow-up.

Your questions: move to the job and to recruiting at their bank, for example what a normal week looks like in their group, what they wish they'd known before their summer, and how recruiting worked for them. WSG's list of coffee chat questions has 30 of them, grouped by stage of the call.

Time check: when you reach the time you asked for, say so and ask whether they have time to keep going or would rather wrap up. It shows you respect their schedule, and if they choose to keep talking, you get more time without having taken it.

The close: make a small request they can easily say yes to, such as any advice on how to strengthen your application, or whether there's someone else on their team you should talk to. Then ask if it's all right to follow up as recruiting gets closer.

A few questions hurt more than they help. Skip technical questions, which belong in interviews. Skip direct questions about pay or hours, and anything a quick search would answer, because those tell the banker you didn't prepare or that you're only there for the job.

Listen for the signs that someone is willing to refer you. A banker who says "let me know when you apply," offers advice on your application, or asks for your updated resume is telling you they'd help, and that's the person you'll come back to when the application opens.

What to Send After the Call

Send a short thank-you email within 24 hours that mentions one specific thing they told you, so they remember which student you were. Three or four sentences is enough: thank them, name the piece of advice or the detail you're acting on, and say you'll keep them posted.

After that, stay in touch when you have real news, such as an interview you landed, a class or technical course you finished, or the advice of theirs you followed. If there's a long gap before their bank opens, send a short check-in every few months even without big news. Mentioning your earlier conversation in each note helps them place you. If they told you to reach out during recruiting, do it when recruiting starts.

How and When to Ask for the Referral

Once you've applied, email the bankers who signaled they'd help, and send your resume, a short summary they can paste, and the requisition ID, so they can pass you along in one step. The ask works best after you submit, because the banker can point recruiting to an application that already exists. Send it soon after you apply, and at the latest a week or two before the deadline. Make the ask by email instead of on a call. Email gives the banker room to decline without an awkward pause and something to forward, which is why it's often the cleanest way to ask.

What to include:

Your resume: a clean PDF, named with your name.

A two- or three-sentence summary: your school, class year, GPA, and the experience that matters most, written so they can paste it straight into a note to recruiting.

The role: the program name, the office, and the requisition ID from the posting, so recruiting can find your application.

Example referral email:

Subject: Applied to [bank] [program], [your name]

Hi [first name],

Thanks again for your advice on our call last month about [specific advice]. I took it, and I've just submitted my application for [bank]'s [program] in [office] (requisition [ID]).

Since you mentioned letting you know when I applied, would you feel comfortable passing my resume along to the recruiting team? I've attached it, and here's a short summary in case it's useful: [two or three sentences]. Completely understand if that's not something you can do, and thanks either way.

[Your name]

The email reminds them who you are with the advice they gave you, which also shows you listened. It answers every question recruiting would ask before the banker has to ask it. The last line gives them an easy way to decline, so a yes comes from someone who wants to help.

If they say no, thank them and leave it there. If they don't answer, leave it there too. You can keep sending them updates, and a banker who wasn't pushed is still someone you can ask for advice later in the cycle.

Some banks open before you've had time to talk to anyone there. For those, apply first, so a deadline doesn't pass while you wait for a call. Then send the outreach email right away and mention that you've applied. If the call goes well and the banker gives you one of the signals above, make the ask in your thank-you email, since there's no later point to wait for.

When to Start Networking for Summer 2028

If you're recruiting for a Summer 2028 internship, start this week, because the bulge brackets are expected to post their applications from late November 2026 through January 2027, with Barclays and Deutsche Bank first. Some elite boutiques and middle market banks have already posted, including Evercore, whose application closes November 15, so use the steps above for banks that are already open. WSG's investment banking recruiting timeline has the dates bank by bank.