Semi-Target

Everything inside the toolkit

81 guides across 10 sections, in the order you actually need them: from how banking works, to your first cold email, to the superday, the internship and the full-time offer.

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81
guides
10
sections
12h
of reading
6
interactive tools

01

Start here

The free playbook. Read it before anything else.

1 guide · about 8 min

02

Foundations

How the industries work, the recruiting calendar, and a plan for your situation.

10 guides · about 64 min

  • How investment banking works, and how recruiting runsWhat a bank actually does, what an analyst does all day, and the recruiting calendar from freshman summer to the internship.
  • How consulting works, and how recruiting runsWhat consulting firms sell, what an entry-level consultant does, and the recruiting timeline from winter prep to the internship offer.
  • How the buyside works, and how undergrads get inBuyside vs sellside, what the fund models look like, what a buyside analyst does, and the realistic paths into private equity, credit, hedge funds and venture.
  • The recruiting timeline: what to do and whenThe calendar for banking, PE and consulting from freshman summer to the internship, what to do each quarter, and how to catch up if you're late.
  • Summer 2028 application calendar: when 172 programs are expected to openA month-by-month calendar of when US finance, consulting and professional services firms are expected to open their Summer 2028 internship applications, what the shape of the cycle means, and how to use it.
  • Running finance and consulting at the same timeWhat's shared, what isn't, how to split your week, how to answer 'why both?', and how to handle offers when the timelines collide.
  • Diversity recruiting: programs, timelines, and how to use themSEO, MLT, SEO Career and the firm summits and early-insights programs. Why they exist, when they run, what they select for, and why eligible sophomores should treat them as top-priority applications.
  • No big-name internship? Build the substituteWhat recruiters actually scan for, seven options that count in order of strength, how to turn each into a strong bullet, and a 12-week plan.
  • The sophomore internship ladder: a freshman-to-junior planA step-by-step ladder from freshman year to the junior-summer analyst sprint, with the dated sophomore-programs table, the alumni-cluster tactic and the 9 to 12 month head start rule.
  • Off-cycle and lateral recruitingWhat off-cycle recruiting is, who hires outside the standard cycle, how the process differs, lateral moves for analysts, and why this is the realistic path into private equity for many semi-target students.

03

Resume & story

A resume that gets read and a story that holds up.

5 guides · about 38 min

  • The resume template (interactive)An annotated one-page resume with 14 clickable notes, the bullet formula, the formatting spec, and a ready-to-edit Word file.
  • The resume that passes the screenThe rules, the bullet formula with before-and-after examples, the two-version approach for finance and consulting, and a fix list for non-target resumes.
  • The cover letter (when one is required)Most applications don't need one. When a firm asks for it, here's the structure, an annotated real example, and the mistakes that make a cover letter hurt more than it helps.
  • Your story: 'Walk me through your resume' and 'Why us?'Build a two-minute story that connects your past to this firm, answer 'why banking or consulting' without cliches, and own the semi-target angle.
  • The elevator pitchA 30 to 60 second introduction: the anatomy, a fill-in template, and two worked examples.

04

Networking

The routine that gets you into the pile: who to email, what to say, how to follow up.

10 guides · about 71 min

  • Your LinkedIn profile, set up for recruitingWhat alumni see when they click your name, the checklist, headline and About formulas, and how to use LinkedIn to find and reach the right people.
  • The networking systemWho to contact, how many, how often, how to run the call, and how to turn cold emails into referrals. Works for banking, buyside and consulting.
  • Career fairs and info sessions: how to work them without wasting the dayHow to pick which events to attend, what to prepare, how to run a three-minute conversation at a booth, how to make an info session count, and the same-day follow-up that turns a handshake into a contact.
  • Find alumni emails with Apollo and the LinkedIn extensionHow to install Apollo's Chrome extension, pull a professional email from a LinkedIn profile, verify it, and use it responsibly for networking outreach.
  • Email address finder: 62 banks and consulting firmsType a contact's name and get the likely email address at every major bank, boutique and consulting firm: Goldman to Evercore, McKinsey to Deloitte. Each firm shows the right domain, backups, and an honest confidence rating.
  • Networking email rules and templatesEight rules for cold emails, plus the outreach, reply, and post-call follow-up templates.
  • Networking scripts libraryCopy-paste emails and LinkedIn notes for every situation: cold outreach, follow-ups, thank-yous, referral asks.
  • Coffee chat playbook: 20 questions that workHow to prepare, the 20 questions by situation (banking, PE, consulting, follow-ups), what never to ask, and how to leave an impression.
  • From coffee chat to referral: the conversion playbookWhat happens after you land the chat: how to ask for advice instead of a referral, the green-light signals, the referral chain, dead-end patterns, follow-up cadence and how referrals actually work.
  • Thank-you notes: what they actually doThe honest picture: expected but forgettable. What practitioners report, the asymmetric risk, what makes a note effective, the mistakes that hurt, timing, and how coffee-chat thank-yous differ from interview thank-yous.

05

Technicals

Accounting, valuation, DCF, M&A and markets, with the answers interviewers want.

18 guides · about 242 min

  • Finance technicals: what they test and how to answerWhy interviewers ask technicals, and the three things every good answer has: accuracy, confidence, and agility.
  • How to study technicals: methods, a four-week plan and how to use the quizWhy re-reading does not work, the retrieval loop that does, an error log, a four-week study plan with pass marks, and how to use the multiple-choice quiz as a diagnostic instead of a score.
  • The IB interview question bank: 398 practice questionsEvery kind of question you can get in an investment banking interview, from 'tell me about yourself' to accounting walk-throughs, merger math, LBOs and 18 industry groups. Questions to drill out loud, with worked answers for every one that has numbers.
  • The IB interview answer key: 280+ questions, straight answersA rapid-fire answer key across fit, deal process, accounting, valuation, DCF, merger models, LBOs and desk-specific technicals (Consumer/Retail, DCM/LevFin, Distressed & Restructuring, ECM). Short, direct answers, organized the way interviewers actually ask.
  • Technicals: accountingWalk through the three statements, how they link, and the accounting questions interviewers ask most.
  • Valuation + accounting drill: 156 questions with full walkthroughsEvery valuation and accounting question worth knowing, in one drill: 65 valuation questions across methodologies, multiples and real deal judgment, plus 91 accounting questions including 40 statement-by-statement scenarios. Filter by topic, flip each card, track what you've missed.
  • Technicals: valuation basicsWhat valuation is for, enterprise value vs. equity value, and how dilution works.
  • Technicals: DCF, comps, precedents, and LBOHow to walk through each valuation method, plus the merits and downsides of each.
  • Technicals: WACC, beta, free cash flow, and terminal valueThe DCF building blocks interviewers drill on: cost of capital, levering beta, FCF, and how to pick a terminal value.
  • Technicals: valuation curveballsWhy similar companies are valued differently, ranking the methods, common multiples, other methodologies, and the apple tree.
  • Technicals: transactions, debt, and LBO returnsEBITDA, sources and uses of cash, types of debt, PIK, covenants, synergies, and the levers of an LBO.
  • Technicals: fixed income, FX, derivatives and takeover defensesBond pricing and duration, bank debt vs. high-yield vs. PIK, currencies, options and the Greeks, structured finance (MBS, CDOs, CDS), hostile takeover defenses, and a set of classic analytical brainteasers.
  • PE recruiting and the paper LBOHow PE recruiting differs from banking, what interviewers test, and a step-by-step paper LBO with a fully worked example and a returns cheat sheet.
  • Market awareness and the stock pitchA 15-minute daily routine to stay current, the questions you should be able to answer, and a two-minute stock pitch structure with a worked example.
  • Technical question bank: 60 rapid-fire questions with answersShort, interview-length answers across accounting, valuation, M&A, LBOs and restructuring. Drill these until you can answer each in under 30 seconds.
  • PE prep plan: an eight-week route to interview-readyA week-by-week plan for private equity recruiting: landscape, technicals, paper LBOs, timed modeling tests, deal cheat sheets, fit, mocks and the on-cycle weekend. Built from what practitioners report.
  • Accounting curveballs: 22 questions with full walkthroughsTwenty-two accounting curveballs, each walked through step by step across the income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet with the signs checked: NOLs, deferred taxes, leases, PPA, earnouts, convertibles, pensions, debt repurchases and more.
  • Technicals quiz: 59 multiple-choice questionsA multiple-choice quiz on accounting, valuation, DCF and WACC, deal math, LBOs and modeling habits. Pick a topic and length, get instant feedback with the reasoning, and retry the ones you missed.

06

Financial modeling

Build the models and pass the modeling test.

8 guides · about 69 min

  • Financial modeling best practicesThe habits that separate a model people trust from one that gets thrown out: structure, formatting, checks, and the errors that sink candidates.
  • Excel shortcuts for financeThe keyboard shortcuts that make you fast and accurate in modeling tests, plus the functions you'll use constantly. Windows and Mac.
  • Build a three-statement model, step by stepThe full build order for linking the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, with a complete worked example that balances.
  • Build a DCF model, step by step (with Excel template)A complete DCF build with worked numbers, both terminal value methods, sanity checks, and a working Excel template you can download.
  • Build an LBO model, step by stepSources and uses, the debt schedule, the exit, and IRR, with a complete worked example and sensitivities that show what really drives returns.
  • Build a comparable companies analysisChoosing peers, calculating enterprise value and multiples, calendarizing, cleaning the data, and turning it into a valuation range.
  • Modeling tests and case studies: how to pass themWhat banks and funds test, how the timed Excel test and take-home case work, and a minute-by-minute strategy for the build.
  • Modeling interview questions and answersThe model-mechanics questions interviewers ask, with clear answers, plus a worked accretion/dilution example.

07

Behavioral interviews

Every fit question, with structures and stories.

12 guides · about 100 min

  • Finance fit interviews: what a good answer looks likeThe four components of a strong qualitative answer, and why 'why banking?' drives everything.
  • 'Why banking?', the most important questionHow to build an answer that shows real interest, with a full example and the follow-up 'where did your interest begin?'
  • Resume walk-through and 'where else are you interviewing?'How to walk through your resume in two minutes, and how to answer questions about other offers, big banks, and long-term plans.
  • Strengths, weaknesses, and team storiesHow to answer strengths, mistakes, failure, feedback, multitasking, and teamwork questions with real stories.
  • What bankers do: industry knowledge questionsAnswers on the job, lifestyle, product and industry groups, pitch books, sell-side M&A, divestitures, and advisory questions.
  • Market and deal questions: trends, a company you admire, an M&A deal, pitch a stockHow to answer the four questions that test whether you actually follow the markets.
  • Non-target curveballs: 'Why should we hire you?'How to answer 'I just talked to two kids from Harvard,' 'why did you pick your school,' 'you have no finance experience,' and 'why did you get a C?'
  • The 'why this firm' answer bankHow to build a firm-specific answer for 10 to 15 banks: a research method, group-specific angles, and three fully worked examples using fictional firms so you can see the structure.
  • Behavioral interview question bank: 36 questions with practitioner answer frameworks36 fit questions in five types, each with the structure practitioners recommend, plus the cross-cutting answer formats and the failure modes to avoid. Frameworks, not scripts.
  • Score your own behavioral answers: the rubric, STAR, and twenty example answersA five-part scoring rubric with 1, 3 and 5 anchors, the STAR structure with where the time should go, the four ways answers fail, and ten strong and ten weak example answers across five question types.
  • Follow-up probes: the questions that expose a thin behavioral answerThe follow-up questions interviewers ask when an answer is missing your role, the goal, the exact actions, the result or the lesson, sorted by what is missing, and a drill for answering them before they are asked.
  • Behavioral practice questions: 145 real prompts, grouped by what they testA long practice list sorted into nineteen themes, how to map your six core stories onto it so you never need more than six, and a starter set of twenty to drill first.

08

Consulting

Cases, market sizing and fit for MBB and beyond.

9 guides · about 59 min

  • Case interviews: how they work and how to run oneWhat a case is testing, the six-step flow, how to build a structure that isn't canned, and the mistakes that end most candidates' chances.
  • Case types and the structures that work for eachProfitability, market entry, growth, pricing, M&A, operations and new products: what each is really asking, and a tailored structure to open with.
  • A full profitability case, worked start to finishA trucking company's profit falls 58%. Follow the whole case: the opening, the structure, the data, the math, and the recommendation, with every number.
  • Case math: mental math drills with answersThe math habits that stop you from making errors, 30 timed drills with an answer key, and how to read a chart in a case without freezing.
  • Market sizing: a method and six worked drillsA repeatable structure for estimation questions, with six fully worked examples, sanity checks, and prompts for you to try.
  • Consulting fit interviews: build a story bank that worksHow firms evaluate fit, the six stories you need, how to structure and deepen them, and questions to expect, with a worked example.
  • Case library: casebooks, practice cases and how to use themFour full business-school casebooks to download, the official practice cases from McKinsey, Bain, Deloitte and Accenture, and a plan for working through them.
  • McKinsey PEI story bankThe reported format and dimensions, the SPAR structure with a worked example, three story archetypes with fill-in skeletons, a probing drill and a failure-modes checklist. All framed as reported practitioner experience.
  • Bain written case playbookThe reported format of a written case, a read-first method, the 3 to 4 area framework, pyramid-principle slide writing with a worked example, pre-built counter-arguments, the 'CEO hated your recommendation' framework and a timed practice protocol.

09

Interviews & offers

Online assessments, superday, deadlines and choosing between offers.

4 guides · about 25 min

  • HireVues, online assessments, and first-round screensHow to prepare for the automated and phone rounds that eliminate most applicants, for finance and consulting, with setup, answer structure and sample prompts.
  • Superdays, final rounds, and negotiating the offerWhat to expect on the final day, how to prepare in the last week, how to follow up, and how to handle deadlines and competing offers.
  • Converting your internship: the return-offer playbookWhat return-offer decisions are usually based on, how to get staffed on good work, how the mid-summer review works, the mistakes that cost offers, and what to do in the last two weeks.
  • EB vs BB vs MM: choosing your offerThe competing cases for elite boutiques versus bulge brackets, why group matters more than logo, regional boutique tradeoffs, an exploding-offer extension script, and a scoring framework. Reported sentiment, not a ranking.

10

Tools

Trackers, the DCF lab, and the weekly market update.

4 guides · about 38 min

  • Application & networking tracker (Excel)A dashboard and four trackers for firms, people, interview prep and interviews, with a 'next action' that tells you what to do each day, plus a database of 1,200+ finance internships and full-time roles with dates and links to apply.
  • Interactive DCF labBuild a DCF in five guided steps. Move the sliders and watch revenue, free cash flow, the discount rate and terminal value change the valuation live.
  • The PowerPoint speed toolbarA custom Quick Access Toolbar and ribbon tab that puts alignment, shape drawing, merge shapes and slide tools one click away, plus the keyboard shortcuts that make it fast. Windows only.
  • Market update: midday every weekday, deep dive every MondayA midday update every trading day on what's moving and why, a deeper Monday issue, plus a live snapshot of the S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow, the exact fed funds rate, Treasury yields, oil and the dollar that refreshes automatically. What moved, what it means for a model or an interview answer, and why.

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