How to (and How Not to) Use AI for Investment Banking Recruiting

AI can help you land an investment banking internship, BUT only if you use it correctly. Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of the investment banking recruiting process. Students use tools like Claude and ChatGPT to draft networking emails, prepare for interviews, research firms, and organize recruiting workflows.

The problem? Many candidates are using AI in ways that actually make them less competitive.

We spoke with students and experts to gather their insights on using AI in investment banking recruiting. One of the most valuable insights was that AI works best as an assistant, not a replacement for the work that recruiting requires.

Here's how aspiring investment bankers should (and shouldn't) use AI.

How to Use AI for Investment Banking Recruiting

1. Practice Behavioral and Technical Interviews

One of the best uses of AI is mock interview preparation. Ask AI tools to generate investment banking interview questions and then practice your responses. For example, you can prompt:

"I have an investment banking Superday next week. Act as a Vice President at a middle-market 

Tip: Upload or link to essential resources, such as the 400 Questions Guide, so your LLM can reference them.

2. Research Firms More Efficiently

Students often spend hours reviewing websites, recent deals, earnings releases, and news articles before networking calls. AI can help summarize information faster.

Good use cases include:

• Summarizing recent M&A transactions

• Explaining industry trends

• Comparing investment banks

• Creating company research briefs

• Generating questions for networking calls

The key is to verify everything independently. AI can accelerate research. It should not replace research.

3. Organize Your Recruiting Process

Investment banking recruiting requires managing hundreds of contacts, applications, events, and follow-ups.

AI can help:

• Build networking trackers

• Create outreach schedules

• Draft follow-up reminders

• Organize recruiting timelines

• Prioritize target firms

The students who win recruiting are often the most organized. AI can make organization significantly easier.

4. Improve Your Storytelling

Many candidates struggle to explain:

• Why investment banking?

• Why this bank?

• Tell me about yourself.

• Walk me through your resume.

AI can help students identify weak areas in their answers and provide feedback on structure and clarity. However, the final story must still be your own. Bankers are evaluating your experiences, motivations, and communication skills, not ChatGPT's.

How NOT to Use AI for Investment Banking Recruiting

1. Don't Let AI Write Your Networking Emails

This may be the biggest mistake students make. Bankers receive hundreds of networking emails every recruiting season. Many can immediately recognize AI-generated messages because they sound generic, overly formal, and completely interchangeable.

Investment banking is a small world. If you send the same AI-generated message to multiple alumni at the same firm, there is a good chance they will compare notes. That's not the impression you want to make.

Instead:

• Use AI to brainstorm

• Use AI to edit

• Use AI to proofread

But write the core message yourself. The best networking emails contain genuine observations, personal connections, and specific reasons for reaching out.

2. Don't Blindly Trust AI Research

AI is confident, but that doesn't mean it's correct.

In Episode 51 of the Coffee Chat Podcast, Darren shared an example of a student who attempted to use AI to scrape LinkedIn profiles and build networking lists. The results included incorrect names, inaccurate links, and professionals who weren't even working in investment banking. The student ultimately spent more time fixing mistakes than he would have if he had completed the work manually.

Tip: Major platforms often block AI bots from accessing their databases, limiting what models can "see".

Always verify:

• Names

• Titles

• Firm information

• Group placements

• Recent transactions

3. Don't Use AI as a Substitute for Technical Preparation

No AI tool will save you during a technical interview if you don't understand the fundamentals.

Students recruiting for investment banking should still be able to:

• Build financial models

• Understand accounting

• Explain valuation methodologies

• Walk through a DCF

• Discuss merger consequences

The Financial Modeling Certification® Program and similar technical training programs exist for a reason. Interviewers are evaluating whether you can perform the work, not whether you can generate answers with AI.

4. Don't Talk About AI in Every Interview

Ironically, interviewers have been known to specifically tell candidates not to discuss AI when asked about current events (because every candidate before them had chosen the exact same topic). When every candidate gives the same answer, nobody stands out.

Investment bankers care about:

• Capital markets

• M&A activity

• Industry trends

• Corporate strategy

• Company-specific developments

The Future of AI in Investment Banking Recruiting

AI will continue to become more powerful, and students who learn how to use it effectively will likely gain an advantage, but the fundamentals of recruiting are unlikely to change:

• Building relationships

• Developing technical skills

• Demonstrating professionalism

• Communicating effectively

• Following through consistently

AI can help you prepare, organize, and practice, but AI cannot network for you, build genuine relationships for you, or convince an interviewer that you're the right person for the job. The students who succeed in investment banking recruiting won't be the ones who use the most AI; they'll be the ones who use AI thoughtfully while continuing to do the work that matters most.