S4 Ep7: Why UK Banking Recruiting Is Harder Than Harvard

On this episode, Max talks with Emilie Carrel, UK CEO of Edge Skills and a former investment banker in London. Emilie has personally helped more than 100 students land offers at banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, working alongside mentors from firms including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Perella. This episode talks about how UK investment banking recruiting works, why spring weeks set off a domino effect for the rest of your career, what happens inside a UK assessment center, why acceptance rates can fall below one percent, and why networking might matter even more in London than it does on Wall Street. 0:00 Trailer 1:47 Meet Emilie Carrel 2:19 The Three Phases of UK Recruiting 7:29 What Is a Spring Week 11:53 Inside the UK Assessment Center 16:14 Why Networking Matters in the UK 25:32 US vs UK Behavioral Interviews 28:57 UK Technical Interviews and Modeling Tests 31:38 Compensation and Lifestyle in London 35:27 The UK Bank Landscape 42:31 What Edge Skills Does 46:35 Advice for US Students Targeting London 49:36 Conclusion ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wallstreetm... LinkedIn: / maxbradleyadams Book a call ☎️ https://wallstmastermind.com/apply/?h... Website https://wallstmastermind.com/?hts=you... If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️ #WallStreetDiaries #WallStreetMastermind #InvestmentBanking #UKInvestmentBanking #LondonBanking #EdgeSkills #FinanceCareers #careeradvice

On this episode, Max talks with Sam Morell, senior production analyst on CBRE's Debt and Structured Finance team in Nashville, closing over $1B in loan volume across 50+ transactions a year. Sam's path wasn't traditional--after stints in tech, venture capital, and structured real estate debt at Chatham Financial, he built his own deal models on his own time to prove himself before the interviews even started. They get into how commercial real estate debt brokerage actually works, what defeasance is, why Nashville is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, and how proof-of-work and relentless networking can get you hired from a non-target school. 0:00 Trailer 1:16 Meet Sam Morell 3:02 What CBRE's Debt Team Does 6:41 Inside The Billion-Dollar Pipeline 11:06 Finding Real Estate At Chatham 18:45 What Is Defeasance? 26:33 From Chatham To CBRE 39:03 Breaking In From A Non-Target School 41:46 Rapid Fire ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wallstreetm... LinkedIn: / maxbradleyadams Book a call ☎️ https://wallstmastermind.com/apply/?h... Website https://wallstmastermind.com/?hts=you... If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️

On this episode, Max talks with Michael Paretzky, co-founder and CEO of Podstock, an analytics and operations platform used by some of the biggest names in podcasting. Michael left M&A consulting after testing the podcast industry for 20 hours a week on the side, then built Podstock after stints at Odyssey, Cadence13, and Stanford GSB. They get into how to actually test a career pivot before quitting, what makes a good cofounder, and why podcasting is still dramatically undermonetized despite its reach. 0:00 Trailer 1:44 Meet Michael Paretzky 2:39 Life In M&A Consulting 9:48 Testing Podcasting On The Side 10:40 Joining Odyssey 14:02 Making A Big Leap 19:04 Path To Stanford GSB 22:10 Finding A Cofounder 26:04 Business Of Podcasting 32:00 A Podcast Superfan 34:50 Going International 38:03 Breaking Into Media 39:11 Recap ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️ #WallStreetDiaries #WallStreetMastermind #PodcastBusiness #CareerPivot #StartupFounder #StanfordGSB #MandAConsulting #Entrepreneurship #PodcastIndustry #CareerAdvice

Veronica Shay went from internal audit in Eastern Europe to product manager at a fintech startup to AVP at Aeon Group in Manhattan — with no target school, no legacy connections, and no traditional finance background. In this episode, she breaks down how she sent 4,000- 5,000 cold emails to land her first US role, why she chose a talent-based green card over the work visa lottery, what it's really like being the only woman at every firm she's worked at, and where she sees the best opportunities in fintech, healthcare, and blockchain right now. 00:00 Trailer: Cold Emails and Grit 00:52 Intro: Meet Veronica Shay 02:26 Building a Finance Career From Scratch 06:49 Breaking Into the US With No Network 09:08 5,000 Cold Emails and 200 Calls 11:17 Do Credentials Actually Matter? 12:34 Visa Lottery vs. Talent Visa 15:52 Inside Aeon Group: Secondaries and SPACs 18:36 Early-Stage vs. Late-Stage Investing 20:57 Hottest Sectors and AI's Impact 26:15 What VC Actually Looks Like 27:40 Why Cross-Border M&A Is Hard 29:56 Product Manager to Banker 32:27 Being the Only Woman, Honestly 38:26 Resilience, Mistakes, and Becoming a Founder 43:27 Final Advice and Rapid Fire Questions ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Matt Winterholler didn't take the traditional path into finance. He completed ten internships before landing his first offer, broke into banking from a non target school, and eventually left Mizuho to join a fast growing tech company willing to trade banking hours for a four-day work week. In this episode, Matt walks Max through what corporate development actually looks like day to day, how he made the leap from Mizuho TMT to PDQ and eventually to Governor Solutions in GovTech, and why he believes his career is more luck than skill. He also breaks down the cold email mistakes that got him corrected by an MD, and what actually separates people who level up fast from those who plateau. 0:00 Intro 5:55 Inside Corporate Development 16:06 His Career Trajectory 21:19 His Take on AI 23:41 Why He Skipped the Safe Route 28:04 Landing the Governor Opportunity 30:59 What Is GovTech 33:05 Moving to the Operating Side 35:23 Trading Banking Perks for a 4 Day Week 37:21 Inside the Actual Deals 40:29 What He Wishes He'd Known 42:08 Breaking In From a Non Target School 50:56 Balancing 10 Internships 53:06 What Actually Worked Breaking In 56:41 Giving Back and Mentoring 58:19 Cold Emails and Confidence 1:01:59 What Separates Fast Growers From the Rest 1:03:21 Recap and Rapid Fire ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv 🔔 Subscribe for weekly videos about investment banking recruiting @WallStreetMastermind If you have any questions, feel free to comment below ⬇️ #investmentbanking #corporatedevelopment #privateequity #wallstreet #financecareers #mergersandacquisitions #financerecruiting #ibanalyst

Andrew spent over 12 years at Goldman Sachs investing the firm's own balance sheet across public equities, high-yield credit, real estate, and venture capital before leaving to found 8FIGURES, an AI native investment advisor. In this episode, Max and Andrew dig into what a cross-asset mandate really looks like from the inside, how AI is transforming the tasks that used to define entry-level finance jobs, and why retail investors are getting a fundamentally different quality of advice than institutions. They also get into Andrew's path from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow to Goldman, what it takes to climb to executive director, the discipline of tracking every personal expense for 20 years, and his take on how luck and hard work actually interact over a career. A must watch if you are breaking into finance or trying to understand where the industry is heading. 00:01:13 Intro 00:03:21 Goldman's Special Situations Group 00:06:31 Generalist vs Specialist Investors 00:09:44 Best AI Investment Plays in 2026 00:14:39 The Goldman Misconception 00:16:18 Climbing to Executive Director 00:17:40 Why He Left Goldman 00:22:26 What Is 8FIGURES 00:24:34 How 8FIGURES Stands Apart 00:32:23 AI and Entry Level Finance Jobs 00:34:31 What Students Need to Do Now 00:42:37 Breaking Into Goldman From Moscow ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Frank Van Buren flew Black Hawk helicopters on combat missions in Beirut and Central America before walking into an investment banking associate role at Wells Fargo. What happened in between? A chance conversation on a beach in Cyprus that changed everything. In this episode of Wall Street Diaries, Frank breaks down his full journey from the Army to 26 years on Wall Street, including 5 years in IB, 16 years in high-yield sales and trading, and a final chapter leading talent development for 1,000 emerging bankers. He gets into what the military actually prepares you for, how to know which Wall Street role fits you, and the one trait that separates great salespeople from good ones. 00:00 Trailer 03:30 From Black Hawks to Wall Street 10:08 What the Army Teaches You 13:38 Real Advice for Vets Breaking Into IB 21:40 Why He Stayed in High Yield 16 Years 26:01 A Day on a High Yield Desk 31:54 The Trade That Dropped 100% in a Day 38:08 Good vs Great in Sales 42:44 Why He Left Revenue After 21 Years 50:23 Rapid Fire: Habits, Values and Luck ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

AI isn’t replacing analysts. But it is separating the ones who adapt from the ones who don’t. Brandon Hightower is the co-founder of Axom Partners, the boutique M&A firm Forbes called Big Tech’s go-to dealmaker for AI acquisitions. In 2.5 years they’ve closed 15+ deals representing $5B in transaction value advising names like OpenAI, Salesforce, and Meta. In this episode, we get into what Big Tech is actually buying in the AI arms race, what it takes to build an investment bank from scratch, and the traits that separate the top analysts from the other 598. 0:00 Intro 01:20 What Big Tech is really buying 40:26 From banking to founding his own firm 57:40 What it takes to stand out in banking ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Scott McDermott went from PwC in Ireland to CFO of a global AI company, with stops at Netgear for 14 years, the Arlo Technologies IPO at $1B+ on the NYSE, Fitbit’s European finance build, and interim CFO at Cornerstone OnDemand overseeing 170 people. In this episode, he breaks down what AI is actually doing to finance jobs right now, why taking risks in your 20s is the move most people regret skipping, and how pattern recognition from 2008 helped him pull every dollar out of Silicon Valley Bank the morning it collapsed. 0:00 Intro 1:16 Is AI Ruining Finance? 21:25 Scott's Finance Journey 36:44 Choosing Your Next Career Move ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv

Nick started at Goldman Sachs TMT in San Francisco, spent 6 years at Francisco Partners rising from associate to VP, and now co-manages S20 Capital, a late stage tech secondaries fund. In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to break into and climb in private equity, why he skipped business school, the mindset shift from associate to VP, and what running your own fund really looks like day to day. We also dig into his take on AI and what it means for software investing, PE hiring, and whether the junior analyst role is already under threat. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:02:26 Francisco Partners 00:24:40 Entrepreneurship at S20 00:48:57 State of tech investing in the age of AI 01:07:55 Breaking into Goldman Sachs ✉️ Connect with me Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3dv9ff3b LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9fvu Book a call ☎️ https://tinyurl.com/2rvxtjmn Website https://tinyurl.com/c3advtcv