Case Study: Karam's 3-Year Journey: Exeter Student → HSBC, Blackstone, and 3i

How Karam From Exeter Landed: HSBC Blackstone, and 3i

A 3-Year Journey: Exeter Student → Bulge Bracket IB Offer

The Starting Point

Karam came to us as a sixth-former with A-Level resits ahead of him. No finance experience. No connections. No spring weeks.

He was targeting investment banking at bulge bracket banks — roles with sub-1% acceptance rates.

The odds said no.

The 3-Year Journey

Year 1 (Sixth Form)

• Rebuilt his CV using VTMR™ — every line showed impact, not activity

• Won his school's Economics Prize

• Achieved A*AB at A-Level (after resits)

• Started building commercial awareness and deal knowledge

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Year 2 (First Year, Exeter)

• Founded and became President of Exeter's M&A Society

• Landed HSBC Global Banking & Markets Spring Week

• Secured 2-day PE internship at 3i through networking strategy

• Built technical interview skills: DCF, unlevered beta, synergy analysis

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Year 3 (Second Year, Exeter)

• Converted HSBC Spring Week → Summer Internship offer

• Landed Blackstone Spring Week

• Reached interview stages at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley

• Secured HSBC Capital Markets & Advisory Summer Internship 2026 (conditional offer)

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The Outcomes

✅ HSBC — Capital Markets & Advisory Summer Internship 2026 (Conditional Offer)

✅ HSBC — Global Banking & Markets Spring Week 2025 (Converted)

✅ Blackstone — Spring Week (April 2026)

✅ 3i — Private Equity Work Experience

✅ J.P. Morgan — Interview Stage

In His Words

"Thanks so much for your help and support Hassan — honestly I couldn't have done any of it without you! Like honestly you're the best in the business and I still think of you as a friend as well. It's just too good. I'm so excited! This is hopefully the start of something big for the both of us and I know we'll be close for many good years to come 💯"

• We work with just 30 clients globally per year across all programmes, with just 5 in the flagship programme.