Best Wall Street Mastermind By Sam Shiah Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 283: DO THIS to STAND OUT among other MBA students 35:11

1+ y ago35:11

35:11

Our student Emma was an MBA student in Canada with experience in investment management.She soon realized she wanted to pursue investment banking, but that Canadian investment banks hired very few people at the MBA level.She tried joining clubs, case competitions, and even took free courses on financial modeling, but still struggled to differentiate…

1
Episode 282: DO THIS to get FULL TIME offer(s) 8:57

1+ y ago8:57

8:57

How does full-time recruiting differ from summer recruiting? What should you prioritize?Like summer recruiting, having relevant experience whether it is in IB or PE is important. However, beyond this, networking strategically is key.Most banks prioritize summer analysts for full-time, filling up about 80-90% of positions. The ones left are recruite…

1
Episode 281: How to Make Your Interview Answers FLOW BETTER 11:03

1+ y ago11:03

11:03

Want to know the secret for turning an average interview answer to a stellar one?One word: FLOW.When you are being interviewed, think of yourself as a STORYTELLER. If you had a story that was choppy and didn't flow, do you think your audience would stay engaged?I know that sounds easier said than done, so how do you actually create more FLOW in you…

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Episode 280: How to Make Your Internship SOUND IMPRESSIVE in Interviews 3:45

1+ y ago3:45

3:45

Oftentimes students begin building their resume by doing internships with less glamorous responsibilities. Sourcing leads and compiling lists in Excel may not seem as sexy as saying you build an LBO model all by yourself. However, even in these instances, it’s important to frame your experiences well during your interviews to demonstrate what you’v…

1
Episode 279: How Bruce Overcame Non-Target School and No Finance Experience to Land Private Equity 53:01

1+ y ago53:01

53:01

Our student Bruce came to us as a recent graduate, juggling a full time job during the week and two security shifts on the weekend. He had gone to a non-target school with only 500 students, and had missed any chances of getting internships or relevant experience as an undergrad. Determined to break into investment banking, he joined our program an…

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Episode 278: Why You Can't Give Up When Recruiting for Investment Banking 3:52

1+ y ago3:52

3:52

It's no secret that breaking into investment banking is extremely competitive. With thousands of applicants every year, bulge brackets and elite boutiques have around a 1% acceptance rate and even middle markets only accept around 3-5% of applicants.Knowing this, it's important to stay motivated even through rejections... it's part of the process!L…

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Episode 277: Avoid This Common Networking Mistake: How to Talk to Senior Bankers 4:49

1+ y ago4:49

4:49

Everyone knows how important networking is for the investment banking recruiting process.However, many students make the mistake of only networking with junior bankers (analysts and associates), because they don't know what to talk about with senior bankers (VPs and up).Given senior bankers have way more influence than junior bankers, it's importan…

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Episode 276: How Leonardo Avoided Being Stuck in Community College and Became a Bulge Bracket Banker 34:32

1+ y ago34:32

34:32

Our student Leonardo came to us as a community college transfer without any finance experience. With so much information out there, he was unsure about joining our program initially but eventually decided to take the plunge. After joining, we quickly worked on building his resume, finding him relevant experience, and teaching him how to leverage hi…

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Episode 275: Is It Too Late To Recruit For Summer 2024?? 6:25

1+ y ago6:25

6:25

Summer 2024 recruiting has been going on for months, and many banks have already started to give out offers… A lot of sophomores are wondering if it's too late now if they haven't gotten an offer yet.While it's late for a certain group of banks, there are definitely still other really solid opportunities that are available.Hear this podcast to get …

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Episode 274: Accelerating and Reneging Offers...Is It Worth The Risk? 4:10

1+ y ago4:10

4:10

As offers continue to be given out for the summer 2024 recruiting process, one of the most common questions we keep getting from our students is...If I have another firm that I want more than the one I just got an offer from, can I continue to interview and renege on this offer if needed?This is a controversial topic and different people will tell …

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Episode 273: How Avi Got Superdays and an Offer Despite Being a Non-Target INTL Student 53:10

1+ y ago53:10

53:10

Our student Avi went to a non-target school and only realized he wanted to do banking in the second half of his sophomore year. With no alumni to reach out to and no background in finance, he was lost in the process. After joining WSMM, our program helped him build a support system throughout his recruiting process and taught him how to network wit…

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Episode 272: How to Network with Regional Boutique Investment Banks 6:13

1+ y ago6:13

6:13

If you're an underclassman looking to beef up your resume with relevant internships, or just an upperclassman who's recruiting very late in the recruiting timeline...Then you're probably currently targeting regional boutique banks.How should you go about networking with these smaller firms? Is there anything you can do if they turn you down?Watch t…

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Episode 271: Should You Customize Your Networking Email Templates? 4:48

1+ y ago4:48

4:48

When you're sending out networking emails, how important is it for you to customize each email that you send?Is it better to use the same email template and blast it out to as many people as possible? Or is it better to personalize every single email in hopes of maximizing your response rate?Of course, the answer is " it depends" - but we do tend t…

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Episode 270: How Louisa Used WSMM to Make the Jump to Bulge Bracket Bank for Full Time Recruiting 36:27

1+ y ago36:27

36:27

Our student Louisa came to us her junior year looking for help with full time recruiting. She had just recruited for junior summer internships on her own, but was only able to get into a middle market bank. After hearing her peers recommend WSMM, she decided to reach out. Soon our coaches were helping her work on her behaviorals and navigate the ne…

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Episode 269: Waitlisted For A Banking Offer? You May Still Have A Shot 4:56

1+ y ago4:56

4:56

After months of prepping you thought you finally nailed your investment banking interview and…you’re waitlisted. What now? Is that practically a no or is there any way to still even get the offer?A lot of factors will determine your potential candidacy, but you may still have a chance.Hear this podcast where we advise our student on some strategies…

1
Episode 268: Are You Late Into The Recruiting Process? Hear This! 8:26

1+ y ago8:26

8:26

Most students don’t know that they want to pursue investment banking right when they enter college…Yet the recruiting timeline is only getting earlier and earlier every year (starting about halfway through sophomore year). So if you find yourself being late to the recruiting timeline (which is completely normal), have you completely missed your opp…

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Episode 267: How Tristan Got Into IB w/ a 3.0 GPA, Non-target, and Having Already Graduated 42:39

1+ y ago42:39

42:39

Our client Tristan came to us in July, AFTER he had already graduated from college. To make matters worse, he had just a 3.0 GPA, from a non-target school. His mom thought our program was a scam, but he trusted his gut and did it anyway. By October, he had a full-time investment banking offer from a middle market bank. Hear him talk about how he ov…

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Episode 266: How to Discuss SaaS Deals for Tech Investment Banking or Buyside Interviews 8:23

1+ y ago8:23

8:23

In recent years, technology investment banking and buyside roles (tech PE, growth equity, venture capital) have become some of the most sought after opportunities for students looking to break into finance. While the technical interviews for these roles used to be pretty vanilla, things have changed with the rise of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)…

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Episode 265: How to Get More Referrals From Investment Bankers 7:23

1+ y ago7:23

7:23

How many times have you gotten to the end of a networking call with an investment banker, hoping to get a referral out of them but only getting some generic advice instead?It's one of the most frustrating feelings ever, because you just spent 30 minutes talking to them with anticipation and hope, and in the end it just feels like a huge waste of ti…

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Episode 264: How Jason Made the Leap from a Middle Market to an Elite Boutique Full Time Offer 31:52

1+ y ago31:52

31:52

Our student Jason didn't realize he wanted to do IB until the summer before junior year. After interviewing with 10-11 banks, he ended up getting just one middle market offer for his junior summer internship. Not satisfied, he decided to enroll in WSMM to take his interviewing skills to the next level in preparation for full-time recruiting, ultima…

1
Episode 263: Answering Advanced Industry Specific Technical Questions 10:52

1+ y ago10:52

10:52

If you're interviewing for a specific industry coverage group, some industries have additional technical concepts you'll need to learn that are specific to that industry.Examples include, natural resources / oil & gas, real estate, financial institutions, and more recently - technology (or more specifically software).These concepts are typically no…

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Episode 262: Talking About a Trend or Deal You've Been Following 11:17

1+ y ago11:17

11:17

If you're interviewing for a specific coverage group and not a generalist program, there are some additional interview questions you'll have to prepare for.Specifically, there are industry specific questions around trends and deals you've been following in the space.Want to see what the preparation looks like for one of our students who has an inte…

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Episode 261: How Victor Became the Top of His Non-Target School to Land Investment Banking 39:02

1+ y ago39:02

39:02

Victor is one of the most committed clients we've ever had. He landed a junior summer internship from a non-target state school that only places 4-5 students into investment banking each year (out of 8,250+). And he did all of this without having a ton of relevant finance experience. Hear him talk about how he did this despite the odds being stacke…

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Episode 260: Guaranteed 3 Statement Questions You Need to Know 7:50

1+ y ago7:50

7:50

When it comes to investment banking technical interviews, three statement questions are the most basic and almost guaranteed in any interview.It’s not just about recognizing the line items, but connecting them and showing how changes flow through the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet. Sometimes not all the information will be…

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Episode 259: Investment Bank App Just Opened...Submit ASAP or Wait? 6:20

1+ y ago6:20

6:20

With investment banks opening their applications earlier and earlier every year, it's important to stay on top of the recruiting timeline if you want to land the best offers.One of the most common questions we've been getting from students is "Should I apply right away or wait until I've added more experience to my resume?"This can be tricky to fig…

1
Episode 258: M&A Mock Interview Question Example 4:38

1+ y ago4:38

4:38

If you're hoping to land a top offer in investment banking, you should be prepared to answer M&A technical questions. This is especially true if you're recruiting for elite boutiques, which are primarily M&A advisory shops.And this doesn't mean just memorizing the formula for accretion/dilution... anyone can do that.Understanding the strategic rati…

1
Episode 257: How Rahul Improved His Candidacy and Successfully Recruited for a Full Time Offer 52:17

1+ y ago52:17

52:17

Our client Rahul was caught off guard by the accelerated summer internship recruiting process but secured a small regional boutique offer. Not satisfied, he came to us for help with the full-time recruiting process, which was going to be even harder given the number of jobs available. He gives a ton of advice on what he did to end up with a much be…

1
Episode 256: Advanced DCF Question Example 5:21

1+ y ago5:21

5:21

The discounted cash flow ("DCF") is one of the most commonly tested topics during investment banking technical interviews.However, gone are the days where you can just memorize the formula for the DCF and expect to get by. Pretty much anyone can do that at this point, that's just the bare minimum...What is becoming more common is for the interviewe…

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Episode 255: Investment Banking Info Sessions - Must Attend? Or a Waste of Time? 5:09

1+ y ago5:09

5:09

If you go to a target school, investment banks often come on campus to hold info sessions.Will attending these events boost your chances of getting an interview? Or are they a complete waste of time?With the outrageous banker to student ratio at these events, is it even possible to stand out and make an impression?Listen to this podcast to find out…

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Episode 254: How Vivian Landed a Sophomore Diversity Internship at BoFA from a Non-Target School 24:28

1+ y ago24:28

24:28

Our client Vivian joined WSMM during her freshman summer, after struggling to formulate her behavioral answers and learn the technical concepts on her own. Coming from a non-target state school, she knew that she had to get a head start if she wanted to break into investment banking. Hear her talk about what WSMM did to help her break into Bank of …

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Episode 253: Feel Like You Don't Have Time for Investment Banking Recruiting 5:04

1+ y ago5:04

5:04

Recruiting for investment banking can be overwhelming if you don't have a set strategy. With apps opening earlier and earlier, time is of the essence and how you prioritize what you spend time on can ultimately determine if end up with a job offer.Keeping your grades up? Networking? Getting more relevant internships? Doing case competitions? Focusi…

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Episode 252: Got an Exploding Offer from an Investment Bank? 6:14

1+ y ago6:14

6:14

You finally received an investment banking job offer - congrats! The only problem is, it's an "exploding offer" and you've been given a very short deadline to accept the offer.If this offer is not from a bank that is your top choice, and you're still waiting to hear from other banks, what can you do?Is it possible to accelerate your other interview…

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Episode 251: How Noah Went From a Non-Target School to an Offer From Morgan Stanley 1:06:21

1+ y ago1:06:21

1:06:21

Our client Noah is from a non target school and came to Wall Street Mastermind in January of sophomore year. Prior to joining our program, he had big dreams of working for a top tier bulge bracket bank, but struggled with landing interviews so much that he considered doing PWM as a backup option. Hear him talk about how he overcame seemingly imposs…

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Episode 250: Better Exit Opps: Investment Banking or Hedge Funds? 4:30

1+ y ago4:30

4:30

Today, more buyside firms like Bridgewater Associates, Millenium, Ares, and Blackstone are starting to open their apps for summer analysts, competing with banks for young talent and recruiting them early. Although still very limited, there are increasingly more options to go straight to the buyside and skip investment banking altogether. As apps op…

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Episode 249: How Amit Went From Being New to Investment Banking to Breaking Into an Elite Boutique 42:40

1+ y ago42:40

42:40

Our client Amit joined WSMM during the summer after freshman year because he was serious about getting into investment banking and wanted the most efficient and successful way of doing it. Prior to WSMM, he did a lot of research on the recruiting process and realised that it is extremely competitive. Coming from a semi-target school, he knew he had…

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Episode 248: How to Prep for Advanced Investment Banking Technical Interview 7:11

1+ y ago7:11

7:11

Elite boutique investment banks have become the toughest investment banks to get offers from.This is partially because they are just as prestigious as bulge bracket banks and oftentimes come with even better pay and exit opportunities. But the other reason is because they're known to ask much tougher questions during their technical interviews.If y…

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Episode 247: How to Get Into the Best Groups at Your Investment Bank 9:28

1+ y ago9:28

9:28

If you recruit for headquarters locations like New York City and London, usually you won't know what group you'll get placed in until after you accept the offer and have gone through the group placement process (this does not apply to regional offices).Group placement is important because it can have a huge impact on your experience as an analyst a…

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Episode 246: How Bryant Secured Both US and Hong Kong Offers From Top Banks During COVID-19 1:10:54

1+ y ago1:10:54

1:10:54

Our client Bryant was an international student from Korea who became interested in banking after serving his military duty. Hear him explain why the help he got from WSMM was more useful than the advice he received from upperclassmen. We also discussed the difference in IB recruiting between the US and Asia, given he got offers from both Evercore N…

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Episode 245: How to Discuss the Strategic Rationale for an M&A Deal 14:04

1+ y ago14:04

14:04

One of the trickier questions to answer during interviews is talking about a deal that you've been following.Typically, we recommend talking about M&A deals over capital raises, because it gives you more interesting talking points that you can bring up.The key to answering these questions is being able to explain the strategic rationale for doing t…

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Episode 244: How to Make Sure Your Networking Contacts Don't Forget You 7:10

1+ y ago7:10

7:10

If you want to get more interviews, networking is going to be the most important part of the recruiting process.But networking is not just having a single conversation with a banker and then moving onto the next. You have to learn to nurture the relationship over a longer period of time so that it doesn’t feel transactional to the banker.But how ca…

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Episode 243: How Matthew Ended Up at Lazard After Getting Multiple Rejections On His Own 53:44

1+ y ago53:44

53:44

Our client Matthew went a top target school and had multiple relevant finance experiences on his resume. He considered joining WSMM freshman year but passed initially because he thought he could break into a top tier bank by himself. After failing the superdays for three different bulge bracket banks’ sophomore programs, he decided to join WSMM to …

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Episode 242: How Isaac Used SEO and Wall Street Mastermind to Land an Offer From Morgan Stanley 31:03

2y ago31:03

31:03

Our client Isaac initially planned on pursuing a career in accounting. By the time he realized that he actually wanted to go into investment banking, it was already halfway through sophomore year. Knowing he was late to the game, he joined WSMM to give himself the best chance at beating out his competition. Hear him talk about the difference betwee…

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Episode 241: How Jared Ended Up Choosing Bain Capital Over an Offer From Citi 34:49

2y ago34:49

34:49

Our client Jared started working with WSMM during his sophomore spring. His original approach of reading interview guides from upperclassmen wasn't clicking for him, so he decided to get help. Hear him talk about how he was able to secure 15 different interviews (with over half of them that barely asked any questions from the popular guides), and w…

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Episode 240: How Cameron Landed Offers From Moelis and Rothschild NYC 51:32

2y ago51:32

51:32

Our client Cameron had dreams of working in NYC. Unfortunately, UT Austin was only a target school for the Houston office but a non-target for NYC (only ~1 in 10 students from the school end up in the NYC office). Hear how Cameron overcame these odds to receive offers from both Moelis and Rothschild in NYC, in addition to Citi in Houston. Also hear…

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Episode 239: Adding Incoming Experiences On The Resume 6:37

2y ago6:37

6:37

Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to add a new internship to your resume, even though you just started (or are about to start) and you haven’t really done any real work yet.This need arises mainly because investment banks are recruiting earlier and earlier, and oftentimes that creates more urgency to add your “incomi…

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Episode 237: Making Tradeoffs On Your Resume 9:03

2y ago9:03

9:03

When it comes to resume building, how do you know whether you need to go out and get another relevant internship or not?Or sometimes, if it comes down to staying at your existing internship longer versus getting a new internship, which is the better move?This is a question that students commonly have, but the answer is actually more straightforward…

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Episode 238: Why Daniel Passed on Working with WSMM Before Coming Back Just in Time to Win an Offer 56:37

2y ago56:37

56:37

Our client Daniel first spoke to us early on during sophomore year, but wasn't ready to commit to our program. About a year later, he came back to get our help after struggling to secure any offers on his own. Despite not leaving us a lot of time, we eventually helped him land a great offer at one of the top niche-specific banks, where he beat out …

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Episode 235: How To “Trade Up” To A Better Bank 9:03

2y ago9:03

9:03

For most people, just getting ANY offer in investment banking is the goal. But for others, merely getting an offer is just the minimum acceptable outcome. What they want instead, is to be at the best bank possible.So say you only end up at a middle market bank for your summer internship. What can you do to leverage that internship into a full-time …

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Episode 234: Why This Middle Market Bank 10:45

2y ago10:45

10:45

In our experience, a lot of students struggle with answering “why our bank” if they’re interviewing with a middle market investment bank.After all, the middle market bank often wasn’t their first choice, but they also can’t just say “oh it’s because I didn’t get into a bulge bracket or elite boutique bank.”So what makes a good answer when it comes …

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Episode 233: How Brandon Went From Big 4 Auditor to Investment Banking and Doubled His Salary 59:39

2y ago59:39

59:39

Our client Brandon is living proof that it's possible to break into investment banking after college without getting an MBA. He landed two offers from boutique investment banks after less than a year at a Big 4 accounting firm. Not only did he leave a job that was making him completely miserable, he also doubled his salary! Hear him talk about how …

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Wall Street Mastermind By Sam Shiah Podcasts

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