Tej Shah is a junior at the University of Illinois who just wrapped up a sophomore summer private equity internship at Water Street Healthcare Partners in Chicago, and has an incoming analyst offer at JPMorgan's M&A group waiting for him next summer.
In this episode, Tej walks through how the IVC Scholar Program connected him to the buy side before he even started junior year recruiting, how both the Water Street internship and his Adventis certifications became instant icebreakers in every banking interview, and why sending 10–20 networking emails a day in October and November of sophomore fall was the key to his JPM offer landing in January.
We also dig into a networking mistake almost every recruiter makes on early calls and the "let the banker lead" mindset shift that fixes it.
Sign up for the Adventis Financial Modeling Certification (FMC) program at https://adventiscg.com
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Edited by Jamie Regan - @CreatedByRegan
Hosted by Ben Dowell
Guest: Tej Shah
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 — Introduction & Tej's Background
0:54 — Growing Up in Chicagoland & Choosing U of I
2:09 — Saying Yes to Everything Freshman Year: Clubs, Fraternities & More
3:55 — The PE Internship: What Tej Did at Water Street Healthcare Partners
7:08 — The Six-Week Case Study: Modeling a Pharma Carve-Out from Start to Finish
8:36 — Sitting in on Live Deals: SIMs, SIPs & Monday Morning Meetings
9:35 — Key Learning: Understanding the Buy Side Before Going to the Sell Side
10:44 — The IVC Scholar Program: How It Works & What It Unlocks
13:17 — How Tej First Heard About the IVC Program as a Freshman
15:48 — Freshman Year Strategy: Spread Out First, Then Focus Sophomore Year
17:09 — How the IVC Application & Interview Process Works
18:32 — Coming Into Winter Break With a Lead: The Fourth Quarter Principle
19:34 — How Adventis & the Water Street Offer Showed Up in Every Banking Interview
20:37 — You Don't Need a PE Internship — Any Experience Builds the Lead
22:15 — Why Interviewers Love Having Something to Dig Into on Your Resume
22:36 — Water Street Required Adventis — Tej Had Already Finished It
24:15 — How Tej Described the Adventis 90-Minute Standard in Interviews
25:48 — Why the Time Pressure Simulates Real On-Desk Conditions
26:28 — How Many Reps It Took to Get Under 90 Minutes (~10)
27:23 — The JPM Recruiting Timeline: October Outreach to January Super Day
29:11 — Going Full Steam Ahead: The Sophomore Fall Commitment Decision
30:08 — Sending 10–20 Networking Emails a Day in October & November
31:07 — JPM Chicago Specifically: Why M&A at JPM Became Tej's Top Choice
33:25 — The Mistake Every Recruiter Makes on Early Networking Calls
35:23 — The Right Lesson: Let the Banker Lead the Conversation
37:12 — The Secret Ninja Move: Showing You Can Listen
38:35 — Making Mistakes Early So You Nail It When It Counts
39:02 — Tej's JPM Offer Timing & the Decision to Accept Early
40:27 — How Many Banks Would Tej Have Pursued Without the JPM Offer?
42:05 — Target 4–6 Banks, Build Real Momentum at Each
43:59 — Refreshing Relationships After the Holidays Before Interview Season
44:23 — Reframing Rejection: It's a Selection, Not a Dismissal
46:21 — Final Advice: Enjoy the Small Victories & Trust the Process
47:30 — Closing Remarks & Congrats to Tej
