How to Ace Coffee Chats During Your Internship (9 Steps)

July 13, 2025

As an intern, the one thing you should NEVER do is EAT ALONE.

This was #1 piece of advice the director of our investment banking academy told us before starting our intense junior year internships.

“Culture Fit” plays a huge role in whether or not you get a return offer -

So it’s crucial you come out of your shell & do tons of 1:1 coffee chats to pass the personality test.

The scariest day of your internship is your end-of-summer review.

Every banker that’s interacted with you fills out an evaluation -

And your senior mentor goes through comments 1×1 with you before letting you know whether or not you’re getting that return.

In my review, the first thing the MD mentioned was how impressed people were with my networking.

I took full advantage of the fact full-timers love doing coffee chats & lunches with interns -

And ended up doing over 50 by the end of those ten weeks.

At first it felt super awkward approaching bankers to ask for these -

But by the end of summer I had a system down pat.

Here’s the exact nine step routine I used to schedule these chats and execute them to perfection.

Bankers will be impressed by your level of professionalism if you can come out of the gates hot and start building those key connections from day one.

STEP 1 - FACE-TO-FACE INTRODUCTIONS

It’ll be awkward if you email a coffee chat request to someone you’ve never met face-to-face.

For each full-timer you want to chat with, you first need to go to their desk and introduce yourself.

In those first few weeks, I focused on scheduling 1:1’s with four groups of people -

  • (1) BANKERS ON MY DEAL TEAMS - I was staffed on two deals from day one - one in healthcare & one in consumer. Each team had ~4-5 members with both junior and senior bankers. We got staffed over email, so I went to the desks of the analysts & associates on each of those teams to introduce myself in-person.

  • (2) “INTERN BUDDIES” - My bank assigned each intern a junior and senior mentor. My junior mentor was an associate in FIG and my senior mentor was a partner in industrials.

  • (3) BANKERS NEAR YOU ON SEATING CHART - I sat on the healthcare floor with ~10 bankers in my row. I found a seating chart in the shared drive that had everybody’s name and slowly made my way across the row then rest of the floor (~40 bankers total) during the first couple weeks. You’ll be see those same faces over & over walking around the floor during the summer and it’s good for those people to know your name.

  • (4) BANKERS YOU INTERVIEWED WITH - I swung by the desks of the four bankers that interviewed me during my superday. Easy first points of contact since they’re familiar faces.

I was always scared to interrupt & didn’t want to seem annoying, especially if they had headphones in.

Eventually though, I got good at picking my spots and gauging whether or not they could take a break and chat for a minute or two.

Right after lunch was my sweet spot and I found it easy to approach bankers during that window.

Typically right as they were getting back and just about to settle back in.

I’d swing by, give them a firm handshake and say something like -

“Hi I’m Jack Kolb…..one of new interns here. Just wanted swing by and introduce myself since I know I got staffed on that deal with you earlier this morning…..”

Then just make two or three minutes of small talk. No need to talk their ear off for that initial intro since they’ll probably want to get back to whatever they were busy working on.

Then at the very end before leaving, ask if they’d “…be open to grabbing coffee or lunch sometime at some point this summer….”

They’ll say yes every time, so now you just have to go back to your desk and follow up to schedule it.

STEP 2 - FOLLOW UP EMAIL & CALENDAR INVITE

Right when I got back to my desk after introducing myself, I’d send an email similar to the one below.

Then once you settle on a time - send over the calendar invite.

*FYI - This should all be done using your corporate outlook email / account. I’m using my Gmail for demonstrative purposes*

A few tips / rules for those.

  • (1) TITLE - Use YOUR name (think how it will appear in their calendar)

  • (2) LENGTH - Always 30 Minutes

  • (3) LOCATION - Include coffee shop / restaurant you decided on via email & mention where meeting / leaving from in notes 

STEP 3 - PREPARE QUESTIONS

Most kids make the mistake of wanting to seem impressive & dive right into the professional questions.

What you need to understand is the #1 GOAL of these chats is to build a personal connection. Try to do as much “non-banking” talk as you can because that’s what makes them like you as a person. If you can build that trust and 1:1 relationship, they’re much more likely to want to fight for you when it comes time to decide who gets a return offer.

I found the best way to initiate personal talk without making it seem forced was to ask specific follow up questions based on small talk at the beginning.

For example, with one associate I started off by simply asking him about his weekend. He mentioned he needed to go shopping so I asked “What for?”. He said he needed a new ski jacket because he had a trip coming up. I also happen to be a big skiier and could talk skiing for days….

So one thing led to the next and we ended up down a rabbit hole talking all about his backcountry skiing trip to northern Canada last winter. Barely even got to any banking talk with that guy.

You should still prep professional questions - especially for the senior bankers - but try and save those for the second half of the convo if you can.

Here are examples of the professional questions I’d ask depending on whether they were a junior or senior banker.

SENIOR BANKER QUESTIONS

Background / Career Journey / Firm Questions

  • How figured out vertical to focus on & when JRs should start thinking about specializing

  • What excites them most about banking & has kept them in in for so long

  • How roles & responsibilities evolved while climbing ranks & challenges each new position

  • Thoughts on MBA (if they have one) and if worth it in this day & age

  • Vision for where they think firm / group will grow near future

High-Level Advice

  • Most important traits that allowed them to keep climbing ranks & get promoted

  • What makes BEST JR bankers stand out from the GOOD

  • How to make the most of the short summer internship / where to focus

  • If they have had any career mentors & best advice for finding one

JUNIOR BANKER QUESTIONS

Experience

  • How group placement & staffing works

  • Types of deals they get exposure to & which people / types of projects they like most

  • Heard that it takes 6 months to get up to speed - any advice on how to accelerate that

Tactical Advice / Firm Logistics

  • What annoys them most about interns & how to build trust of bankers during internship

  • Best pieces of advice for securing return offer

  • How to approach the final project

Professional Development

  • If have mentors / SR bankers they gravitate towards & how to cultivate that relationship

  • Tips managing personal life transitioning from college lifestyle to banking schedule

STEP 4 - SEND REMINDER

I ended up re-scheduling over half of my intern coffee chats.

Bankers schedules are incredibly unpredictable since they’re constantly putting out fires.

They’ll have meetings / deadlines come up and forget about your chat -

So make sure to check in with them morning of to see if that time still works for their schedule.

This is just a quick, two-sentence message - either on the same email chain or MS Teams.

Say something like - “Hi Quinn! Just wanted to check and make sure this time still works for you to grab coffee this afternoon. Let me know either way and looking forward to it!”

STEP 5 - EXECUTE CHAT TO PERFECTION

Ten minutes before the chat, I’d wrap up whatever I was working on and make my way to their desk.

I’d usually swing by, ask if “we’re still on to leave in ten minutes or so”, then hit the restroom real quick.

A few logistical tips.

  • (1) SAY THANK YOU - They will always pay for your order. Even though they’re expensing it on the company card, use your manners and say thank you.

  • (2) NO MESSY / FANCY ORDERS - If grabbing coffee - order something simple, no obnoxious cocktail with a bunch of add-ons. If going to lunch - order something that’s easy to talk & eat.

  • (3) NOTEBOOK FOR SENIOR BANKERS - Bring a notebook for senior banker chats only. No need to take copious notes, just a couple notes on key pieces of advice towards the end.

  • (4) BE MINDFUL OF TIME - Be cognizant of how much time has passed. If you can tell they’re getting antsy, they probably have something to get back to. Don’t keep grilling them with questions if you’re getting that sense. Mention you want to be respectful of their time and should feel free to cut you off at any point & to let you know if they need to get back.

STEP 6 - THANK-YOU NOTES

Either later that day or the next morning, send a thank-you message to that banker.

For senior bankers - send it on that same email chain. For junior bankers you can use MS Teams.

Keep these short and sweet but add a specific detail or two to show you were listening.

This can be a key piece of advice they shared, a reflection on a funny story they told, something interesting you learned about their background, etc.

Here’s an example.

STEP 7 - ADD TO TRACKER

I kept track of all my coffee chats in an excel tracker.

This helped me stay on top of each relationship and know when to follow up for repeat chats.

I had columns for the following items.

  • Name - First & Last

  • Group & Role - e.g. “Analyst, Healthcare”

  • Introduction - Brief reminder way we met (e.g. “Intern Welcome Event”)

  • Chat 1 Date - Date of first coffee chat

  • Chat 1 Thank-You? - Yes / No of did I send thank-you for first chat

  • Chat 1 Notes - Any key pieces of advice / insight I learned that wanted to remember

  • Chat 2 Date

  • Chat 2 Thank You?

  • Chat 2 Notes…

Typically didn’t get the chance to have more than three repeat chats with a single person.

STEP 8 - FOLLOW UP CHATS

Using my tracker, I’d reach back out every couple weeks to a few groups of people for repeat chats.

  • (1) “BIG BROTHER” - My best mentor ended up being someone who wasn’t one of my officially assigned buddies. You should find a junior banker you hit it off with most very early on and make an effort to become close with them. That way you’ll have someone there you can ask all the dumb questions to and not be scared of making a fool of yourself. I met an analyst at the first intern happy hour that also played hockey in college. We immediately bonded over that and he became my #1 mentor that summer. I had regularly recurring coffee chats every Friday afternoon with him. He was also key when it came to giving edits and doing rehearsals for my final intern presentation.

  • (2) DEAL TEAMS - You should be catching up with all bankers you’re staffed on teams with on a weekly basis. Getting to know each of them on a personal level makes working professionally with them much more enjoyable. Plus - these are the opinions that will carry the most weight when it comes time to decide whether or not you get a return because they worked the closest with you throughout the summer.

  • (3) YOUR STAFFER - You’ll be in regular communication with your staffer regarding workload / capacity throughout those ten weeks, but you should have regular in-person chats with them as well since they’re key in making sure you get exposure to all the deal / industry types you want to.

I also made a concerted effort to network with the groups I wanted to be placed in for full-time.

Internships are typically generalist and group placement will happen summer before starting full time.

If you’re strategic and network in-person with your top couple groups during your internship -

There’s a much higher chance you’ll get placed in one of those groups at the top of your list.

STEP 9 - HANDWRITTEN END-OF-SUMMER THANK-YOUs

Most interns write emails to thank the bankers they worked closest with that summer.

An easy way to “go the extra mile” is to write handwritten thank-you’s instead.

I ran to Walgreens and bought a pack of 15 thank-you cards.

I wrote short paragraphs to the 15 bankers I got closest with that summer - reflecting on favorite memories & thanking each of them for their mentorship and career advice.

I sealed them up and hand delivered them second-to-last week of the internship.

This can go a long way and leaves a great taste in their mouth before return offer decisions are made that next week.

Cheers 🥂

- Jack