By Emilia Pietrynek, MFA2026
My path into finance has been quite deliberate, but not necessarily straightforward. During my undergraduate degree, I actively shaped my academic and professional experiences around the goal of building a career in finance. Internships in corporate finance, alongside analytical project work, gave me early exposure to how financial decisions are made in practice. I found myself particularly drawn to valuation and financial modelling, especially the process of breaking down a business and stress‑testing assumptions. What stood out to me most was how much judgement sits behind the numbers, and how different assumptions can completely change the way a company is interpreted.
By the time I joined London Business School, my goal of pursuing investment banking was already well defined. I had a solid foundation, both technically and in terms of understanding the industry, and I had already begun engaging seriously with the recruitment process. However, what became clear quite quickly was that success in recruitment is less about broad preparation and more about precision, particularly in a market as competitive as London, where small differences in how you present yourself can significantly change outcomes.
A key part of the experience for me was access to a highly engaged alumni and professional network. Throughout the programme, there were numerous networking events and small‑group sessions with alumni working across investment banking and other areas of finance. These conversations were particularly valuable because they went beyond surface‑level insight and provided a clearer understanding of how different firms operate in practice, what differentiates teams, and what recruiters are actually looking for at each stage of the process. What stood out just as much as the content of these sessions was the willingness of alumni to be genuinely supportive and generous with their time. Whether through formal events or informal conversations, there was a consistent sense that people wanted to help, which made it much easier to build meaningful connections and refine my understanding of the industry from a practical perspective.
One of the most impactful aspects of the LBS experience for me was how it helped refine that precision. Rather than changing my approach entirely, it pushed me to be much more targeted and intentional in how I positioned myself. For example, when working on my CV, the focus was not just on listing experiences, but on clearly demonstrating impact in a way that directly aligned with investment banking expectations. This meant going beyond describing responsibilities and instead quantifying outcomes where possible, clarifying exactly what I contributed to each project, and tightening language so that every bullet point reflected analytical ability, commercial awareness, or technical exposure. Even small changes in wording often made a noticeable difference in how effectively an experience came across.
A similar level of detail applied to interview preparation. While I had prior exposure to technical concepts, the programme encouraged a much deeper level of clarity and structure in how I approached both technical and behavioural questions. In practice, this meant being able to walk through a valuation methodically without rushing, clearly explaining assumptions and trade‑offs, and staying structured even when questions became more challenging or less predictable. For behavioural questions, it was about moving away from broad descriptions and instead building more focused, evidence‑based answers that clearly demonstrated impact and ownership. Mock interviews and continuous feedback were particularly useful in identifying small but important areas for improvement, whether that was being more concise, improving transitions between points, or sharpening the way I framed my reasoning under pressure.
The academic and practical elements of the programme reinforced this development in a very direct way. Engaging with finance coursework while simultaneously going through recruitment created a constant feedback loop between theory and application. Concepts such as valuation, capital structure, and market behaviour were not just academic topics; they became tools I was actively using to strengthen interview answers and refine my commercial thinking. This made the learning feel highly relevant and immediately applicable, rather than abstract or separate from the recruiting process.
Another important element was the environment itself. Being surrounded by highly driven peers targeting similar roles created a natural standard of excellence. Conversations often extended beyond formal sessions into how different people were structuring their applications, preparing for technical interviews, or thinking about different firms. This exchange of perspectives was valuable because it exposed me to different approaches and ways of thinking, while also reinforcing discipline and consistency in my own preparation.
Being based in London also added another layer of advantage. Proximity to the industry meant that market conversations, firm insights, and recruitment expectations were constantly visible and evolving. This helped me stay commercially aware and more intentional in how I approached applications, particularly when tailoring my preparation to specific firms and understanding subtle differences between them.
I came to London Business School with experience and a clear goal, but the programme and support of the Career Centre helped me become significantly more precise in how I communicate my story and more structured in how I approach problem‑solving. As a result of this combination of prior preparation and focused refinement, I was able to secure investment banking internship offers, which represent a meaningful step in my long‑term career trajectory.