Ep. 52 - How He Landed 2 Investment Banking Internships Before Junior Year

<p>n this episode of The Coffee Chat Podcast, Ben sits down with Jimmy Johnston, a rising junior at the University of Illinois who just secured a sophomore summer internship at Morningstar and a junior year investment banking internship at JPMorgan, both in Chicago.</p><p>In this episode, Jimmy walks through how a Prime M&amp;A info night in his first month of college set him on the path to IB, how he became an Adventis Lead Trainer (completing the full model and valuation suite in under 60 minutes), and how that modeling depth helped his team be the only one to correctly call United Natural Foods overvalued in a live case competition. </p><p>We also get into his Chicago-focused recruiting strategy across 15 processes and 5 super days, why he recommends finding &quot;battle buddies&quot; for technical prep, and the lessons he learned from making mistakes during the recruiting process.</p><p><br></p><p>Sign up for the Adventis Financial Modeling Certification (FMC) program at https://adventiscg.com</p><p>---</p><p>Edited by Jamie Regan - @CreatedByRegan </p><p>Hosted by Ben Dowell</p><p>Guest: Jimmy Johnston</p><p>---</p><p>0:00 — Introduction &amp; Jimmy&#39;s Background</p><p>0:52 — Why University of Illinois: Network, Culture &amp; Chicago Roots</p><p>2:07 — Jimmy&#39;s Goal: Investment Banking in Chicago</p><p>4:21 — Prime M&amp;A: The JV League That Got Jimmy Hooked on Banking</p><p>5:43 — The Case Competitions: Winnebago and Traeger Pitches</p><p>7:50 — Strategy: Why Committing to Chicago Early Was a Smart Move</p><p>9:21 — How Prime Led to the Investment Banking Academy</p><p>10:35 — Growing Up Wanting to Take the Train to Chicago</p><p>12:10 — The Double Win: Morningstar This Summer, JPMorgan Next Summer</p><p>14:29 — Why Credit Analysis at Morningstar Will Pay Off Later</p><p>15:39 — 15 Processes, 5 Super Days: What That Volume of Recruiting Looks Like</p><p>16:19 — In-Person Office Visits: Chicago &amp; New York with the IB Academy</p><p>18:17 — Advice for Rising Freshmen: Don&#39;t Jump in the Deep End Immediately</p><p>19:06 — Testing Consulting, Law &amp; Education Before Committing to Banking</p><p>21:04 — The Go/No-Go Decision Point: Summer Before Sophomore Year</p><p>23:29 — Technical Prep: Breaking Into Wall Street Guides &amp; Note-Taking Old School</p><p>24:42 — Using AI to Understand Concepts You Can&#39;t Grasp from a Guide</p><p>25:35 — Don&#39;t Prep Alone: Finding Your Battle Buddies</p><p>26:25 — Mock Interviews: Technical AND Behavioral — Both Matter</p><p>27:08 — Brain Teasers: 10 Ways to Use a Pencil (Not Including Writing)</p><p>28:15 — Becoming an Adventis Lead Trainer: The Full Model in Under 60 Minutes</p><p>30:36 — How Modeling Mastery Gave Jimmy the Edge in the IB Academy Case Competition</p><p>33:26 — Calling United Natural Foods Overvalued — and Being Right</p><p>35:39 — Organization: The Skill Jimmy Wishes He&#39;d Built Earlier</p><p>37:11 — Making Mistakes in Recruiting &amp; What They Taught Him</p><p>38:57 — Why a Typo in a Networking Email Is the Same as a Typo to a Client</p><p>41:15 — Final Advice: Go Together, Stay Focused, Enjoy the Ride</p><p>43:21 — Closing Remarks &amp; Congrats to Jimmy</p>