6 Rules to Fix Your LinkedIn for Investment Banking

March 30, 2025

The Non-Target Playbook 

By Jack Kolb

Every time you send a networking email to a banker, the first thing they do is look you up on LinkedIn.

They judge you on strict etiquette standards that’re more proper than any other industry.

If your page is “too creative” or unpolished in any way, they won't bother responding to setup a call.

When I recruited sophomore year, the exec board of our school’s academy made us fix our profiles using these “industry norms” before we could start networking.

Here’re the six rules your LinkedIn should follow to get the stamp of approval from any banker.

RULE 1 - TURN ON PRIVATE MODE

If a banker has premium, this is what’ll pop up for them when you stalk their profile before a call.

There’s no reason to make the whole “talking to a stranger” thing even more awkward than it already is.

Go to the visibility section in settings to change this right away.

Use full private mode instead of semi-private mode. (Explained in detail here - Link)

They’ll still get a notification when you stalk them, but it’ll hide your info and look like this on their end.

RULE 2 - DON’T SEND DMs

Bankers will think you’re lazy if you try to setup networking calls using LinkedIn DMs.

It’s way too informal and comes across as impersonal.

Only problem is - bankers don’t list their emails on their profiles.

To find them, you first have to lookup the specific email format that they use at their firm.

You can find the format using free trials on Rocket Reach. They give you a certain number per day.

The company’s format will be some simple combination of first and last name / initials.

For example, this is what pops up when you look up PWP on Rocket Reach (rocketreach.com).

Just beware of two common roadblocks.

  • Nicknames - If their LinkedIn name is “Becky”, odds are their company email “First Name” is Rebecca…

  • Common Names - If there are five “Alex Johnson’s” at Goldman, their email will probably also have a number. Don’t waste time trying lots of combos with these, it’s a lost cause

After that, just fill in your cold email template with a few personal details you learned on their profile.

Here’s a link to download the cold email template I used (Link).

RULE 3 - PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT

You’ll get laughed at if you have your fraternity / sorority composite as your LinkedIn profile pic.

Same goes for outdated high school yearbook pics and anything else without a suit and tie.

Just take a DIY professional headshot with any relatively new smartphone.

My entire business fraternity in college used my iPhone for our website headshots.

It can be easy to butcher these though, so here are a few tips make them seem legit.

  • Front Facing Light - Sun / window / lamp aimed at front of your face. All other lights off. Any light from behind makes weird shadows. Your facial features won’t be as defined

  • Background - Three options I recommend - (1) Solid color wall (can add green screen w/ iPhone app like I did pic #3); (2) Outdoors sunny day with scenic background (like campus quad pic #1); (3) Business building atrium (pic #2)

  • Posture - Puff your chest and raise chin. Stand at slight angle with feet pointed sideways.

Lastly – Keep it simple with a white / blue solid color shirt and red tie.

No need to get too flashy, especially for banking.

RULE 4 - SHORTEN YOUR HEADLINE

Your headline is the first few words they’ll see before clicking on your full profile.

This is NOT the place to list every internship and scholarship you’ve ever had.

Keep yours short and to the point.

Here’s the format to use while recruiting your sophomore year:

[Insert Major] Student at [Insert College]

See below for a couple good examples.

Adding additional scholarships / internships creates clutter and seems like you’re begging for attention.

Your best bet is to play it safe and keep that headline as brief and humble as possible.

RULE 5 - DON’T COPY YOUR RESUME 

Your LinkedIn should be a highlight reel that bankers can read in less than 30 seconds.

You come across as desperate if you copy and paste every bullet point from your resume.

It might be okay in other industries, but not in banking where you’re expected to network to share those personal details.

Either A) Leave description blank for each experience (like mine below) or B) Keep it to one sentence

You want them to be enticed enough to open up the PDF you send across in that initial cold email.

I ended each cold email with “I’ve attached my resume for your reference” as seen below.

Also - organize your laundry list of “campus experiences” under the education section.

It’s okay to put a couple of the most impactful up in the experience section (like I did for IBC above).

Just make sure the education section is in a visually pleasant format.

I liked using “ | ” as a separator.

RULE 6 - NO CRINGEY UPDATES 

Investment banking is an extremely hierarchical industry.

As an intern, you are at the very bottom of that totem pole.

Writing a post to flex accepting your offer is not the first impression you want to make before day one.

Bankers will think you’re just seeking attention.

Instead, update your profile quietly as shown below.

And make sure to have the “notify your network” setting off.

Otherwise, all your connections will get notified every time you make an update.

No quicker way to annoy a banker.

Good luck and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

Cheers 🥂

- Jack