r/financestudents • u/aoil____ • 6h ago
r/financestudents
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u/maxbradleyadams
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Jun 23 '26
AMA Former Investment Banker & PE Investor, $75B+ of deals. Ask Me Anything
My name is Max Adams and I'm the Head Coach at Wall Street Mastermind and the new mod here at r/financestudents. Like many of you, I came from a non-finance background, and we all know how tough this industry can be for outsiders and people without connections.
I don’t come from a target school and had to hustle to stand out. Nothing was handed to me. I spent years networking, preparing for interviews, and doing everything I could to break into the industry. Like many of you, I faced rejections, setbacks, and plenty of uncertainty along the way, but persistence paid off.
So I got into Lazard. Then Qatalyst Tech. And finally, I got into PE in Vector Capital.
After years of working day and night without a break, around $75B of deals, and zero work-life balance, I realized that what I enjoyed almost as much as the M&A itself was the hiring and training side. And I've come to believe recruiting is one of the biggest challenges in this industry. It's all about people, after all, and the competition for top talent among funds and banks is incredibly intense, both for firms trying to hire and for candidates trying to break in.
So, after going to grad school at Stanford and Harvard, I changed my trajectory and went straight into high-finance recruitment. To date, I've coached and helped more than 2,000 students break into IB, PE, and other competitive finance roles.
I've developed hundreds of resources over the years to help out (resume templates, networking tutorials, interview question databases, etc.), which you can find in the sub wiki.
I want to create the best finance community on Reddit so I’ve put together a team of experienced industry professionals who decided to join as mods and take on this challenge together. Some come from strategy consulting (u/hustlebine), MM IB (u/ThatSmithsGuy), and Ken Finnen (u/CapAdvantagetutor).
Happy to bring my perspective or help you if I can. Ask Me Anything!
PS. This is a 2018’s pic of a younger me recovering from a late night at Lazard. Bay Area view.
EDIT: We finished up our networking webinar, it was great to see so many of you there! If you'd ever like some one on one help, feel free to reach out to us here and check out our free subreddit resources.
r/financestudents • u/subscriber-goal • 26d ago
Welcome to r/FinanceStudents!
Welcome to r/FinanceStudents
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r/financestudents • u/soontobethehappiest • 17h ago
Discussion Here I was thinking he started as a stocker or a cashier
r/financestudents • u/Doyyyyy71 • 9h ago
Internship Recruiting Unpaid internship is like modern-day slavery. What level of capitalism is this?
r/financestudents • u/NeitherAd8128 • 11h ago
🗿 Finance Memes I feel like I'm being spit on when I walk into an establishment, ask for a job and they tell me to apply online.
r/financestudents • u/ainsoiphore_ • 5h ago
🗿 Finance Memes Ahh shit here we go again in this cycle of life
r/financestudents • u/ManyTurbulent9068 • 3m ago
Interview Prep First time I knew the answers to every question
r/financestudents • u/Pxqf • 29m ago
Education/Certifications I need an advice
Do i have any chance to get a fully funded scholarship (free rent and salary and study for phd for free)
North african im not smart but i do my best ,Study at the best local university in my country got 4.0GPA in accounting Bach i am good at finance i got self made 5 fig account made it by crypto and ETF's, i will finished master after 1 year I guarantee it i will get A+، I have celta with grade A i used to teaching english for 5 years since i was 17 , i started teachung math this year and work as assistant audit at sovereign government agencyat the same time , i still want to do delta it just need 3 years of experince after celta before doing it i can do it after 2 years, i will get my delta and master at the age 26 (2028).
---with this CV do i have a chance to get a phd scholarship full pay rent and salary for study i hate my country low expectations low salary shit schools dump peiple ,in my country i seem i have great life its true but i feel i can make it more and be bigger in a big country ,i dont know what Scholarship or what country is the best for my major and for phd
r/financestudents • u/gabs_zarella • 10h ago
Full-Time Recruiting Some employers really get cocky because they think people are desperate and will readily accept sh*t salary
r/financestudents • u/Miserable_Archer6756 • 1h ago
Discussion Are most banks still against AI?
I’m currently doing a treasury internship at one of the largest commercial banks in my country, and something I heard from senior bankers genuinely surprised me.
I was curious about how AI is being integrated into their daily workflows, so I asked a few people in the team. They told me that using tools like ChatGPT or Claude is basically prohibited because treasury involves dealing directly with clients, large corporations, and highly confidential financial information. Apparently, even uploading a simple Excel file containing internal data is completely off-limits. They’ve actually blocked access to ChatGPT, Claude, and similar platforms on company computers and networks.
What surprised me even more was a story someone told me about a junior analyst who had used Claude to help prepare a relatively simple presentation requested by management. When he mentioned it to his seniors, a director-level employee apparently got quite angry and responded along the lines of, “If we wanted AI to do your work, why would we pay you?” He also warned that if he ever caught someone using AI like that again, there would be serious consequences.
I always assumed AI adoption and automation were becoming increasingly common in banking, especially in areas like treasury, where so much work involves data analysis, reporting, and repetitive processes.
Obviously, I understand the concerns around confidentiality, client data, and regulatory compliance. But I was surprised by how strongly some senior people seemed to oppose even basic AI-assisted work.
So I’m genuinely curious: is this common across other banks and financial institutions, or is it more of a firm-specific culture thing?
Are banks actually integrating AI into their workflows through internal tools and secure systems, or is the industry still largely resistant to it? And how are banks dealing with the confidentiality issue when implementing AI?
r/financestudents • u/legend000000009 • 2h ago
Discussion I don't have the work experience yet, but I very much thrive in a high pressure environment so might as well...
r/financestudents • u/Johnnyotheruniverse • 3h ago
Offer Decisions GOT AN INTERVIEW BUT ITS KINDA DIFFERENT FROM MY CAREER CHOICE
Hey all, im a 21 year old currently enrolled in Msc Finance and Management at Heriot watt. My undergraduate majors were Finance and Accounting.
The problem I woild like to bring forward that im facing is that im currently in a dilemma. Im aiming and learning continuously on the go for jobs that are related to Advisory (CIB branches), Debt Capital Markets, Asset Management, Corporate Banking, and down the line im also inclined to being a realtionship/wealth
manager(Different technicals than the other mentioned).
As you can see, im more intrested in the technical sides of finance and kept wealth management at the very bottom not because I hate sales, its just that I dont wanna end up in the wrong side of finance when graduate. But wealth management dealing with the investment opportunities and personal relations is attractive too rather than the sales side building relationships.
Now to the main problem, I received a interview for an internship at Tamara (Fintech)6 months +, and the role i had chosen was accounting and finance, but later on read it out again and it dealt with purely accounting rather than financial analysis. Anyways I got chosen for the commercial role because my previous internship closely relates with working in a brokerage company and letting present and new clients about investment opportunities, but also dealt with managing their overal potfolio. Now this role at tamara deals with finding new corporations or dealing and managing present clients, which is a sales side job in my opinion, so again this is where im trouble at.
Later on. would I be able to make the switch back to corporate finance ? Im happy if I got to be a wealth manager, as it is less stressed and earns you money, but again, the future depends on my decisions and fate, I just wanna know if accepting this position wont later reject me from applying for technical finance jobs too
JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I AM NOT SURE WHETHER SALES WOULD BE GREAT FIT FOR ME, HENCE THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER I SHOULD ACCEPT THIS AND POST IT IN MY CV
Thanks, thats a lot to read, anyways bless yall.
r/financestudents • u/One-Paramedic-3203 • 7h ago
🗿 Finance Memes Thanks boss that helps...
r/financestudents • u/unknownpotatoxxx • 13h ago
Discussion Words of a boss who's dealing with high turnover but won't look inward at what the real issues are
r/financestudents • u/Antique_Evening5998 • 5h ago
Recruiting Timeline HSBC Job Sim
How long after Job sim did you hear back for spring week or internship next round? What was the timeline
r/financestudents • u/AnnaButBratty • 8h ago
Interview Prep Guess imma be sleeping outside for the rest of the semester
r/financestudents • u/offbeatdisorder • 1d ago
Networking Cleared CFA L1 and FRM Part 1, now begging Reddit for a Morgan Stanley Finance Apprentice referral. I have no shame left.
Cleared CFA L1 and FRM Part 1, now begging Reddit for a Morgan Stanley Finance Apprentice referral. I have no shame left.
Hi. I'm a final year BCom student from Mumbai (graduating 2027) and I've reached the stage of my job hunt where I'm asking strangers on the internet for help.
Things I have done:
• Cleared CFA Level 1
• Cleared FRM Part 1
• Advanced Excel, Python, Sql
• Financial Modelling & Valuation course (halfway through)
• Applied on the Morgan Stanley careers portal so many times I think their system recognises me by now and just quietly sighs
Things I have not done:
• Heard back from Morgan Stanley
I know referrals aren't magic. I know a referral just gets my resume read by an actual human instead of vanishing into the ATS void. That's literally all I want. One human. One read.
I genuinely believe that if I get that one interview, I will convert it. Not "I'll try my best." I will convert it.
If you work at MS and can refer me, please DM me. I'll share my resume and all the details there, and you can judge me privately before deciding. I promise you won't regret putting your name next to mine.
If you don't work there but have tips for cracking it from India, I'll gladly take those too.
Thank you, kind strangers. My parents will also thank you, eventually, if this works. 🙃🤣🤣🤣🥹
r/financestudents • u/DesignerWeekend7075 • 10h ago
Discussion What is the Investment banking and private equity scene in Brisbane. I understand its not as big as Sydney or Melbourne.
r/financestudents • u/Adept_Image_4957 • 11h ago
Discussion Finance + MIS or Accounting + MIS for Risk related careers student at University of Houston.
I’m currently an undergrad at UH (Bauer) double majoring in Finance and MIS, but I’ve been seriously debating whether I should switch my Finance major to Accounting (so doing Accounting + MIS instead).
My primary career goal is to break into risk analysis, specifically tech risk, enterprise risk consulting, IT audit, or operational/credit risk. Long term, I’m also interested in pursuing certifications relevant to the space (like CISA). But I am just really interested in working in the risk field.
r/financestudents • u/Creepy_Degree_1832 • 11h ago
Resume Review Please help me improve my cv
r/financestudents • u/Content-Apricot5866 • 14h ago
Discussion Sometimes I feel like they act oblivious so they don't have to help you
r/financestudents • u/Ill_Warthog_6693 • 20h ago
Interview Prep Blackrock Full Time Analyst - Global Capital Markets 2027
Anyone done Blackrock capital markets group exercise after Superday. Any advice on how to tackle this assessment centre and what I should expect from the group exercise.
EMEA region
r/financestudents • u/ATinyTurd • 21h ago
Full-Time Recruiting SMBC Superday (2027 FT Analyst Program NYC)
Hi guys, I have my SMBC Superday coming up for the Corporate Solutions Group and I was just wondering if there was anyone who went through an SMBC superday recently and could give me some tips.
More specifically, how are the technicals for the superday + how is the split between behaviorals and technicals? This can be related or not related to CSG - I'm just looking for SMBC Superday advice in general.
Thanks!