"The Pulse" --#46

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The Pulse
April 14, 2024

SA 2025 interview szn is HERE! Don’t fall behind your competition by wasting time tracking applications.

Instead, use our Premium Database to gain access to 200+ banks/consulting/buyside firms. Venmo @ThePulsePrep $50 and shoot us an e-mail @[email protected]. Additional details of the database can be found below. Gain an edge over everyone by accessing a wealth of recruiting resources and detailed explanations of the interview processes of each firm.

Video of Premium Database——>The Pulse Database Video

Looking for interview prep or a coach to help you navigate the process? Check the “Going Forward” section below for more details.

Last year, 85% of students coached received offers.

Recruiting Timeline:

Banking:

Where We’re At:  

  • SA 2025: HSBC, Performance Trust Capital Partners, and Mesirow opened applications this week. So far ~94 banks have opened applications. Please reach out if you’re looking for mock interviews or any coaching!

  • The process is 80-85% complete. As previously stated, we expect the bulk of offers to be given by May/June

Newly Released Applications:

  • HSBC: Large global bank building U.S. presence (SA 2025)

  • Performance Trust Capital Partners: Small boutique (SA 2025)

  • Mesirow: Small boutique (SA 2025)

See below to gain access to our premium database, updated weekly, which houses the application processes for over 200+ banks/consulting/buyside firms! Gain an edge over everyone else by not having to spend countless hours tracking applications and deadlines.

Consulting:

Where We’re At:

  • SA 2025: Nine SA 2025 applications have been released so far along with a few sophomore programs. Oliver Wyman released their SA 2025 intern role last Friday and Bain has released their Associate Consultant Intern position for 2025.

  • Do not wait to apply–there is a huge first-mover advantage. Keep in mind that consulting firms are keeping an eye on headcount so this process will be particularly competitive this year.

SA 2025 released apps:

  • KPMG: Advisory Intern, Deal Advisory - Financial Due Diligence (SA 2025)

  • PWC: Business Processes Intern (SA 2025 - Closed).

  • Curtis & Co: Boutique firm (SA 2025 - Closed)

  • Protiviti: Tech Consulting (SA 2025 - Closed)

  • RSM: Tech, Risk, and Business Improvement Intern (SA 2025 - Closed)

  • Deloitte: Business Technology Solutions Summer Scholar (SA 2025)

  • Bain: Pre-consulting Women's Leadership Summit (Spring 2024 - Closed)

  • Cornerstone Research: Sophomore Summit (Spring 2024)

  • Berkeley Research Group: Associate Consultant Intern (SA 2025)

  • Oliver Wyman: Summer 2025 Intern (SA 2025)

  • Bain: Associate Consultant Intern (SA 2025)

Apply ASAP if you’re interested!

Buyside:

Where We’re At:

  • SA 2025: Bracebridge Capital opened its SA 2025 apps this week. So far ~76 buyside shops have opened applications.  

  • The process is ~70% complete

Released apps:

  • Bracebridge Capital: HF looking for quantitative investment interns (SA 2025)

Premium Database:

The database is updated weekly and contains 200+ Investment Banking and Consulting internships/full-time positions along with:

  • Interview tips for specific companies

  • Interview prep material

  • Applications and deadlines linked so that you can apply with one click

  • Insider information about the application process

  • Professionals to network with

  • Buyside deadlines, interview prep, and people to network with for the sweatiest of students

We send the updated dataset every week with the latest banking and consulting job postings. We released our 46th update today.

Students we have been helping have already landed roles at Blackstone, Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Citi, and Solomon.

To get access to the database and the weekly updates, you pay a one-time fee of $50 (Venmo ThePulsePrep) that grants you annual access to the updated database (You can enable purchase protection if concerned). If you don’t find our services helpful, we simply ask for feedback on an area we can improve upon and will refund your $50.

This is a small investment for a huge payout when you secure your dream offer!

Video of Premium Database——>The Pulse Database Video

Market Update:

Higher for Longer and Longer

First, a quick snapshot of some key economic data:

  • CPI print at 3.5% YoY for March (far above the coveted 2%, but remember that the FED prefers the PCE index as a closer measure of inflation. The next PCE print will be April 26th)

  • Wage growth steady at 4.1% YoY

  • Strong jobs report (303,000 added in March, unemployment rate sticky at 3.8%)

  • PPI at 2.1% YoY

What do these points tell us? Rates will remain higher for longer. Jobs are strong and inflation is still hotter than desired. Therefore, the FED will maintain rates at 5.25% - 5.50% until we see dramatic changes in either report.

Me Staring at the Concoction of Events Required for the First Rate Cut

The first cut will be treated like a national holiday. The markets will be greener than an Irish Pub on St. Paddy’s Day.  

Unless shit really hits the fan, the FED will likely not cut rates at the speed they hiked them. However, cuts will still be made in material, periodic increments in order to unwind the constricting effects of quantitative tightening.

Back in December ("The Pulse" --#28 (beehiiv.com), we mentioned our expectations for ~75-100bps of rate cuts in 2H24. We hold firm in our view.

The worst thing that could happen is for the FED to cut rates and for inflation to expand. If this happens, the FED will need to raise rates again. This would be volatile.

Everyone hates volatility because it creates unpredictability.

A unique point I want to touch upon is the fact that corporate balance sheets have benefited from strong credit markets keeping spreads tight and debt as inexpensive as possible. If spreads weren’t historically narrow, the cost of debt could be ~100-300bps greater for any given corporate (depending on its creditworthiness)! That is a material difference in the cost of debt which will delay the erosion of corporate earnings which would otherwise create a need for rate cuts. Shittier earnings = greater cost cutting = more layoffs = greater unemployment.

Disclosure: Nothing written here is financial advice or should be used for investment decisions.

Learning Point of the Week:

You Landed the Job, Now What?

  1. Celebrate!

    Drink a beer, hang with friends, call your parents. Whatever you choose to do, you should celebrate. A prestigious, 6-figure job is nothing to dismiss. After all, you have been working at it way too long.

     

  2. Ask dumb questions

    Learn everything about the industry you possibly can. Look up definitions, read Rosenbaum & Pearl, digest recent deal announcements, etc. Intellectual curiosity is critical for success as a junior in finance. There is so much more to the industry than memorizing how to walk through a DCF.

    After I got my SA offer, I took the time to really soak in all finance-related content I was learning from class, seeing from FinMeme accounts on Instagram, or reading in the news. This was one of the best decisions I made in my life because it really sparked my interest in finance. I always had to bullshit my “why finance?” answer during interviews because I really had no idea what the fuck I was talking about. Actually learning about the industry and trying to understand the material rather than memorizing it showed me that I really enjoyed the world of finance. Genuine interest in the field separated me from the pack as a summer analyst and is definitely a motivator for writing The Pulse today.

    It is crazy to me the amount of full-time analysts there are who i). hate finance or ii). don’t truly understand the purpose of their job. IMO, a huge benefit of an early recruiting cycle as seen in banking/consulting/buyside is that it gives you a window of stress-free, post-offer time to figure out whether you’ll like your job or not.

  3. Take your foot off the gas (just a touch)

    You’ll never have as much free time as you do in college (unless you go to grad school lmao). Taking your foot off the gas and spending your time the way you want to is easier said than done.

    However, I’ll remember a spontaneous weekend trip with friends more than grinding for some shitty exam. It is still important to maintain strong grades post-offer, but you should definitely prioritize your free time as well (plus it’ll make you a more interesting person to speak with at networking events or on the desk).

Overall, slow down and appreciate the moment. Your entire life, you have been working for the next milestone. It is exhausting. Save your next miserable chase for on-cycle private equity recruiting! That shit sucks and is way worse than summer analyst recruiting (more on that in the future).

Going Forward:

Want to make some bread selling the database or being a coach? Shoot us an email and we would love to work with you.

Last year, we paid $ thousands to our members who helped sell the database.

Coaching Details:

Students we coached for SA 2025 have received offers at Goldman, JP Morgan, Evercore, and many other firms. Roughly 85% of those coached received offers last year!

Please reach out to us with any questions about recruiting or if you’re interested in meeting the team! ([email protected])

We are happy to chat, review resumes, or help set up a coaching session

Check us out on LinkedIn too! The Pulse

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“The Pulse” #46