"The Pulse" --#73 / Interview with Alex Mason-Host of IB Insights

SA 2026 interview szn is fast approaching! 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 or pay with credit card (ThePulsePrep—Stripe.com) 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.

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

Last year, 95% of students coached received offers.

• Pay for 3 coaching sessions, get one FREE! For the next month, we will be offering an exclusive offer to pay $150 to receive 4 coaching sessions with a current or future analyst (Venmo @ThePulsePrep or pay with credit card: (Coaching Bundle $150 for 4 Sessions). Interviews are right around the corner and we want you to be as prepared as possible. Last year, 95% of those coached received offers!

Recruiting Timeline:

Banking:

Where We’re At:

• SA 2026: Raine Group opened its SA 2026 application! There are now 2 banks actively recruiting for SA 2026. We are about 20% complete with the SA 2026 recruiting process as networking should be wrapping up as apps open over the next few months.

• FT 2025: Bank of America and Alliance Global Partners opened their applications this week. There are currently 59 firms actively recruiting for FT 2025. Please reach out if you are looking for coaching!

New SA 2026 Applications:

• Raine Group: Tech-focused merchant bank (SA 2026)

New FT 2025 Applications:

• Bank of America: Bulge bracket, looking for TMT analyst (FT 2025)

• Alliance Global Partners: Boutique (FT 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:

• 47 SA 2025 applications have been released along with 53 FT 2025 apps. This process is nearing the end. Only boutique firms will continue to open apps.

SA 2025 released apps:

• Genpact - Business Analyst Intern (SA 2025)

FT 2025 released apps:

• None

Apply ASAP if you’re interested!

Buyside:

Where We’re At:

• SA 2026: No updates here. There are currently 4 buyside firms recruiting for SA 2026 seats. Expect more volume closer to December. 

New SA 2026 released apps:

• None

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 73rd 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 / Credit Card: (ThePulsePrep—Stripe.com) 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!

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Market Update:

Interview with Alex Mason—Host of IB Insights

Alex is a current MBA student at Cornell, a future M&A banker at Lincoln International, and the host of IB Insights—a weekly production breaking down technical aspects of investment banking. Thousands of students tune in to get sharper on techs before interviews. Please give it a listen.

I also really enjoyed speaking with someone who publicly operates their platform! This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alex to dig a little deeper into his background and how he approached recruiting.

At the same time, Alex interviewed me and you can listen to that feature on the next episode of IB Insights!

Below, you’ll find our interview with Alex. We hope you enjoy.

“Alex, thanks for joining us. First, let’s run through a few background questions.”

1. What is your goal with IB Insights and how did you get started with it? Would you ever go full-time? Why did you choose to be public? What led you to the podcast format vs. a newsletter?

Funny enough, I started IB Insights to teach myself about technical information needed for investment banking associate recruiting. Having the twice a week podcast was a swear jar of sorts to hold myself accountable to dive into new technical topics. At the same time, I’d help others learn them. 

Regarding full-time, I haven’t put much thought into it. We’d have to grow really large for me to dig in full-time. For now, I enjoy producing the podcast as more of a hobby and the work doesn’t detract me from my MBA work or work at Lincoln. I chose to be public because it felt right for me in order to create a presence via IB Insights. When I got the job at Lincoln, I let everyone know that I run this podcast called IB Insights and would be looking to continue production while also working at Lincoln. Everyone was very supportive of the process and didn’t really care if I ran it on the side as long as I prioritized my work at Lincoln.

I chose to go the podcast route because it’s a media format that fits better with my preferences. I used to run a different podcast picking apart markets and businesses which really didn’t do that well. However, we have certainly built some traction with IB Insights which is really exciting!

2. What brought you to the world of finance? –outside of money and prestige and what was your background getting into finance (target or non-target, internships, etc.). Why did you switch out of engineering?

So, I used to be an aerospace engineer. I had a full career before pursuing finance!

When I went to get my MBA at Cornell, I learned more about investment banking and the fast-paced industry with intellectually stimulating work really caught my interest. 

Engineering is cool because you’re actually building real products. However, processes can be slow and career progression can be drawn out. I was ready for something different which carried more of an interpersonal component and provided me with a wider range of skills.

“Let’s dig in a little more on the engineering front.” 

3. What were the most daunting aspects of your recruiting journey? I’d argue engineers can have a major leg up due to their proven technical acumen. What is your advice to all of our engineering undergrads looking for a job in finance?

People assume engineers are going to be good with numbers and there is truth to that. However, finance felt like a different language. It’s not a hard language, but it’s definitely different. Things like accounting terminology can be difficult to grasp at the beginning. Attacking those principles up front is really important to understand the terms like a finance person. 

So, my advice is to get familiar with financial acumen by opening up 10-Ks, parsing through earnings summaries, and staying on top of the news.

4. What are the pros and cons of Investment Banking compared to your previous career in engineering?  Will you ever consider switching back to engineering in more of a management or strategy capacity?

The pros of engineering are that you get to make cool stuff and build systems. Aerospace engineering was very tangible. 

However, the downside is that things move a lot slower. It’s difficult to innovate and get things across the line. It can be hard to make large-scale change and get the influence to do more–it takes about a decade to rise through the ranks and have decision-making authority. 

I’ve only worked in IB for 10 weeks so my list isn’t too extensive. That being said, the biggest con of IB is the long hours. It’s atypical when compared to other industries but still nothing super, super crazy when you have the right mindset and support system. My wife has been a key player to help architect our lives together and me working in IB fit into the puzzle. The pros are that the role is super interesting when learning about different companies and business models. You keep learning and compounding knowledge to apply to more complex challenges. Other industries can’t really offer that. 

I love the fast-paced nature, doing intellectual work, and meeting different people. This summer, I had the opportunity to meet really interesting people during management meetings and pitches. Also, the potential for quicker growth and career progression is attractive to me. In general, it seems like once you’re in the door, stamina goes a long way for career progression in IB.

“With our last few minutes, I’d love to cover a few more quick questions if you don’t mind.” 

Yeah let’s do it!

5. What’s your funniest / worst interview story?

Haha I have one.

It was during a coffee chat with bankers at Lincoln. Coffee chats are funny because you rarely actually go get coffee, you usually just chat together somewhere on the floor or a different area of the building.

Anyways, this time we actually went to get coffee. I’m not really a coffee drinker, so I went up to the counter and ordered something I’ve heard before—that being an espresso. So, when everyone’s order arrived, I was given this little shot of espresso compared to everyone’s typical cup of coffee.

It was a really funny moment and everyone laughed together and then they showed me how to turn that espresso into an Americano. For me, that moment spoke to the quality of people at Lincoln. Everyone is there to work together and get along. After all, you won’t like where you work if you hate the people. At this stage of my career, I care a lot more about just being happy and doing high-quality work in a growing environment you respect. Lincoln provided that for me.

6. As an associate, how is the job different from being an analyst? For someone who didn’t go A -> A, how do you manage the relationships and work load with your analysts?

Critical thinking. Analysts are super smart people who execute tasks. No matter how small or diverse. Being an associate is very similar, but associates are tasked with actually positioning the business. We look to help interpret any given info to assist the senior bankers with decision making.

Thank you, Alex! As previously mentioned, please give IB Insights a listen!

It’s a great pod breaking down technical concepts of banking and my side of the interview with Alex will be posted on the next episode!

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

Behavioral Interviews

Behaviorals are what land you the job.

These are all questions which don’t require numbers, memorization, or forced learning. Behaviorals are applicable for any job across any industry. 

“Walk me through your resume.” “Tell me about your greatest strengths.” “Tell me about a time when you had a shitty teammate.” 

^these are all examples of behavioral questions. Every single banking or consulting interview will contain some behavioral component. Your response helps the interviewer assess 3 things:

1. Can this kid speak professionally?

2. Does their EQ fit the job / firm?

3. Can they think on the spot?

There are so many robots who compete for banking / consulting jobs and they may know every single technical question inside and out. However, it can be incredibly challenging for them to get across the finish line because they bomb the behavioral interview. 

My guidance:

• Come up with 5 stories which can be flexxed to apply to any question (keep all answers related to situations which happened in the last ~3 years)

• Make your responses ~30 seconds

• BLUF. Bottom line up front. State your answer first, then walk through the story

The best thing about behaviorals is that the questions don’t change throughout your life. All you have to do is adapt your story to keep it current.

Don’t overthink behaviorals, just be honest with yourself and try to make it more of a conversation with your interviewer.

Going Forward:

If you’re a senior thinking about buyside recruiting, we want to chat! Please shoot us an email @[email protected], would love to help you out.

Coaching Details:

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• 30-minute session = $30. Venmo @ThePulsePrep or Credit Card: ThePulsePrep—Stripe.com

• Email us with your availability and we will be happy to schedule a session @[email protected] 

Students we coached for SA 2025 have received offers at Goldman, JP Morgan, Evercore, and many other firms. Roughly 95% 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

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The Pulse

“The Pulse” #73