Dear All, An email was sent in error yesterday from my team. Please accept my apologies and kindly disregard it. In the meantime, I wanted to share a piece I published in the Times of India on the BDC framework - one of the six proprietary frameworks we use at Elite Careers Strategy to help candidates succeed at interview and assessment centre stage at tier-one firms. You can read it here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/harvard-to-wall-street-navigating-elite-finance-careers/how-the-bdc-framework-enables-interview-success/ Watch how to enter tier-1 investment banks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUexbyUVwPM&t=7s It is a practical breakdown of how to structure contributions in group exercises and competency interviews at the level assessors are actually trained to score against. I hope you find these useful. With best wishes, Hassan Akram Founder, Elite Careers Strategy Former Recruiter, Buy-Side and Sell-Side | 10,000+ Applications Reviewed 100+ Outcomes Across London, New York and Hong Kong Harvard, MIT and Yale MBA Club Sessions | Times of India Columnist Offer-Engineering for Elite Careers™

If I was coaching a candidate for a Point72 interview tomorrow, here is exactly what I would tell them. Most candidates preparing for a top hedge fund interview make the same mistake: they research the firm and treat conviction as a virtue. Point72 does not want conviction. It wants rigour. Three things that convert Point72 interviews: 1. Know the track you are applying to. Point72 runs fundamental equity alongside quantitative strategies. The Academy programme targets candidates with no prior hedge fund experience - it is one of the most competitive entry points in the industry. The preparation is entirely different depending on the track. 2. Your investment pitch must be actionable. A specific company. A specific entry and target price. An earnings catalyst in the next 12 months. A downside scenario that demonstrates you have genuinely stress-tested the thesis - not just found reasons to be positive. 3. Intellectual honesty over conviction. Point72 is known for rigorous internal debate. The candidate who can articulate the bear case and explain why they are still long stands out far more than the candidate who has only the upside. I reviewed 10,000+ applications from the hiring side of Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, and the Magic Circle before I ever coached a single candidate. What separates the offers from the rejections at elite funds is almost never the quality of the thesis. It is the quality of the stress-test. This is what the ECS Offer-Engineering System™ is built to produce. DM me "HEDGE" for the preparation framework. #privateequity #hedgefund #investmentbanking #goldmansachs #blackstone #financecareers #elitecareers #IBD Outcomes vary. Past results do not guarantee future results. Some clients anonymised, all evidence on file. Watch the video here: https://www.tiktok.com/@elitecareersstrategy/video/7629232938256829729?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7628786598268323329

For everyone with upcoming finance applications — the CV bullet problem. Goldman Sachs reviewers scan in under thirty seconds. They are looking for numbers. If a bullet has no number, it gets skipped. VTMR: Verb, Task, Metric, Result. Every bullet. 'Assisted with research.' Not a bullet. 'Researched 14 jurisdictions on conflicting provisions, reducing partner review time by 40%.' A bullet. Number. Outcome. Earns a second read. Post one of your current CV bullets below and I will tell you exactly how to rebuild it using VTMR. Outcomes vary. Past results don't guarantee future results. Watch here: https://www.tiktok.com/@elitecareersstrategy/video/7623295580147633440?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7621945773748831762

For everyone preparing for a Goldman Sachs superday — here is what is actually being tested. Not seven separate interviews. One continuous assessment of three things: 1. Can you hold a structured answer under probing? Generic answers collapse at question two. You need 20+ pre-built STAR-3 examples tested under live probing conditions. 2. Do you have genuine commercial fluency? Deal rationale, market dynamics, strategic logic — not headlines. 3. Does this person belong on the desk? Answered in aggregate across all seven conversations. I have a client who prepared 24 STAR-3 examples and 18 hours of FICC and Equities clinic prep. Technical accuracy: 61 to 90 percent. Top 1% from 270,000 applicants. What stage of Goldman prep are you at right now? Post below. Outcomes vary. Past results don't guarantee future results. Watch here: https://www.tiktok.com/@elitecareersstrategy/video/7621947840784370977?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7621945773748831762

Here’s what matters for Goldman Sachs, Skadden, and Freshfields