Having a Productive Networking Call

Written by our team of seasoned IB / PE professionals

Once you finish thinking through which contacts you want to reach out to and how to best reach them, the final step to perfecting your networking process is, of course, the most important: having a productive conversation. For even successful candidates, early conversations might be uncomfortable and awkward. It's not easy to curate engaging conversations immediately with someone you've never met and might actually have nothing in common with (especially for older, more senior bankers).

The only way to overcome this, if you feel this force at all, is just practice. After 10 networking calls or so, subsequent calls will become more and more seamless and effective. By then you'll be a lot more proficient at naturally articulating your story, your interest in IB, and you'll also have a solid understanding of which questions to ask and which conversational routes to avoid. This is all great formal interview prep at much lower stakes as well.

What to Expect During the Call

It's usually best to not directly articulate your desire to work at the firm of your counterpart, given that is implied by your outreach and initiative already. These conversations are usually casual. The candidate usually will start by walking through their résumé after initial small talk, which might consist of asking simple questions like where the counterpart is based, etc. If unprompted, proactively offer to provide a deeper overview of your background as a starting point, given this context is important and appropriate.

Your story doesn't need to be fully refined for these calls, especially for first-year college students and underclassmen with less experience. It's very possible you'll get asked some common behavioral questions as well shortly after. This is why we advise reviewing those sections at a high level, if unfamiliar, before you ramp up your networking efforts. It's less common to get actual technical questions during networking calls, though it happens very rarely. However, the main portion of these conversations will most likely be comprised of you asking questions to the counterpart to learn more about their path and their current role.

Crafting a Good Conversation

During the call, lean into your genuine curiosity about their role. Here's your chance to have any questions you may have addressed by a firsthand source. Also, you can come across as knowledgeable and curious if you ask good questions like the following:

I'd love to hear a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today
After you decided to pursue IB, how'd you decide which product or industry group to join?
Which aspect of the job differed the most from your expectations going into it?
What advice would you give to your former self at the beginning of your recruitment process?
Are there any less obvious things to do to prepare yourself for an entry-level IB role?
What do you like to do when/if you have free time?

Keep in mind that people love talking about themselves. Also, the above questions are a simple reference list. The best conversations evolve and build on themselves naturally, as opposed to just you asking a list of seemingly unrelated questions. Instead of trying to get all of your questions asked, use your question list as a backup in case the conversation reaches a dead end. This framework will yield a much more natural conversation environment while hedging against awkward silences.

You shouldn't necessarily avoid personal questions as well. These can actually serve to create a more authentic connection; however, it's probably a good idea to save these for if the conversation is going well. Also, don't forget to farm information about the firm that you can relay in formal interviews. For example, you can ask them what they like about the firm or why they chose to work there, and relay a close but original variation of their answer in an actual interview when asked "Why do you want to work here?" This can be an incredibly effective strategy. The original answer provided by the networking counterpart is already proven to be effective, given they already won an offer and work at the firm in question.

Not only are these conversations important for getting your foot in the door at top firms, but it's also a genuine opportunity to learn more about IB, measure whether or not it's a good fit for you, and determine which product or industry groups might be most interesting.

A common mistake to avoid is not respecting the end of the conversation slot. As you approach the end of the conversation slot (likely after the 30-minute mark), acknowledge the fact that the slot is approaching its end and you'd like to respect their time. This will show awareness while also giving your counterpart the chance to offer to extend the call by a few minutes, which might be beneficial if you have questions that arose during the chat and haven't been addressed.

Following Up After the Call

A few hours after the chat, add them on LinkedIn and send a quick follow-up email thanking the counterpart for their time while recalling a few interesting points or learnings from the call to show you were attentive and absorbing what they said. Some candidates will make the LinkedIn connection request note their follow-up, which is a solid, efficient strategy.

Key Takeaways

Practice is essential—after about 10 networking calls, conversations become significantly more natural and effective
Don't explicitly state your desire to work at their firm; it's already implied by your outreach
Start conversations by walking through your résumé after initial small talk, proactively offering context about your background
Focus on asking thoughtful questions that build naturally on the conversation rather than rigidly following a list
Use questions strategically to gather information about the firm that you can reference in formal interviews
Always respect the scheduled time slot by acknowledging when it's ending, giving your counterpart the option to extend if desired
Send a follow-up thank you email within a few hours, referencing specific points from the conversation to demonstrate attentiveness
View these conversations as opportunities both to get your foot in the door and to genuinely assess if IB is the right fit for you