"I was raised by a single mother from Mexico. Here's how I got a Goldman Sachs internship"

Brian Landeros has a fine looking resume. - He's completed internships at major US banks (Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley). He's been an investment banking analyst at Evercore. He's even worked in private equity. Now, Landeros, is trying something else. He wants to help people like him to rack up a similar list of achievements. 

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"I was raised in Arizona by a single mother who'd emigrated from Mexico," says Landeros. "She used to work with me on her back at the flea market. I didn't have a father who was a banker - I didn't even have a father!"

Growing up, Landeros says his role models were lawyers and medics. He wanted to be a medic himself. "I was a neuroscience major when I arrived at college...But then I saw all these people from more affluent backgrounds who were studying economics saying they wanted to work in banking. Initially, I thought they wanted to be bank tellers." 

Landeros was hooked. It was 2014. He discovered that banking wasn't just about being a teller; then he discovered the pay. "Banks were paying $25k to interns and $185k all-in straight out of college," says Landeros. He switched to studying philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Claremont McKenna College in California. 

A year later, he was one of six people accepted to Goldman Sachs' sophomore investment banking division internship in New York, and a year after that he was one of seven people accepted by Morgan Stanley's M&A team for a summer investment banking internship in New York City. "The others included rich Latin Americans, a member of the British nobility and the son of Kenyan royalty," he recalls. 

So how did Landeros do it?

"An immense level of grit" 

Most people from low income families go into lower paid jobs in the back and middle office, but Landeros landed internships directly with some of the top teams at the top banks. 

He says that doing so took "an immense level of grit." He would spend two or three hours a night scouring the internet for resources on how to get jobs in banking, and he taught himself accounting and finance. 

"I literally came across all these resources online telling me how to network," says Landeros. "I started reaching out to alumni. There was all this stuff that I realised I needed to do." 

Rules of the game

If you want to get into the front office of a top US bank from a standing start, Landeros says there are a few rules to follow.

1. Never mention your background 

Socioeconomic diversity is the wrong kind of diversity, says Landeros. "I avoided talking about my background like the plague," he says. "I grew up in a golf town in Arizona, where people only really came during the winter months. An MD once asked where I was from, and when I said Arizona, he said, 'No one is from Arizona.'"  

2. Put in the groundwork 

If you want a front office job in banking, you need to know exactly what that job involves, and more. To get a sniff of a job in M&A, you'll need to understand accounting and valuation methods. You will need an excellent degree from a top-ranked university, but you'll also need to put in hours and hours of research into the job in your own time. 

3. Don't miss the internship application window

Even if you follow steps one and two, you won't get a job in an investment bank if you only apply during your final year. To succeed, you ideally need a sophomore internship (spring internship in the UK) during your first year at college/university, then a second year internship. You need to convert that second year internship into a graduate offer. 

There are very brief periods when you can apply for these internships. In the US, second year internship applications often open in January of the year before the internships happen.

"The door opens up for one semester, and then it closes forever," warns Landeros. 

In other words, you really need that critical summer internship. You won't get a front office job in a bank when you graduate if you haven't completed the summer internship first.

4. If you get an internship, leverage it to your advantage

Landeros used his sophomore internship at Goldman to get his summer internship at Morgan Stanley and then his Morgan Stanley internship to get his full-time job at Evercore. Once you have something relevant on your resume, you can use it to "make a jump up in prestige from bank to bank," he says. 

5. If you don't have an internship or a graduate job, delay your graduation 

What if you don't have an internship and your graduation is approaching? 

"There are candidates who get to the second year of college and who had no idea what banking was but are suddenly interested in the industry," says Landeros. "It's difficult because they feel like they missed the boat and the opportunity is gone forever." 

In this case, you need to try your hardest not to graduate, says Landeros. Not by failing your degree, but by delaying your graduation date so that you have a chance to complete an internship that will lead to a job. Failing that, you could do a top Masters in Finance and apply again for an internship during or before the course. 

6. Speak to Landeros

These days, Landeros no longer works for Evercore or in private equity. He left the industry in 2023 and now helps students into banking via his firm 'GoldStreet.' Last year, he had a 100% success rate with 20 candidates, 13 of whom came from colleges outside the top 26.  "There is no one who knows more about investment banking recruitment than me," he boasts.

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