As banking clamps down on influencers, consulting pays its interns to post on LinkedIn
If you work in banking and have an active social media presence, you may have noticed a crackdown on 'finfluencers' in recent years. If you're still intent on broadcasting yourself to the world, you may want to consider a switch to consulting.
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Insiders claim that Big Four firm PwC has offered to pay interns to post positive things about their experience on LinkedIn. The offer was allegedly to its interns in its most recent summer cohort that received return offers, and was at a rate of £10 per post. PwC did not respond to a request for comment.
Not everyone wants to be an influencer on LinkedIn, and £10 might not be enough to tempt them (or to buy lunch for that matter), but you can also post for the thrill of it on TikTok. Consultants are busy there. For example, Claudette Mae, an influencer with over 20k TikTok followers revealed in a post this week her full-title and company (engagement manager at Oliver Wyman), as well as her bonus. She previously spent over four years in JPMorgan's payments team; though her account existed before joining, she made very few posts until after she left, none of which mentioned the bank.
Banks tend to be less ecstatic about posting on social media. Rachel Wiseman, formerly a TMT banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, said in a recent TikTok that the bank has been discouraging analysts from making day-in-the-life content and has been keeping an eye on its staff that moonlight as influencers since mid-2024. "Unfortunately, if you want to work in finance and have a long term career, it's generally frowned upon to have a social media presence," she said. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Different banks seem to have different policies; Bank of America employee Juliet McKay has had various viral day-in-the-life videos which she still publishes, although she no longer works within its investment banking division. Dilan Abeya, a former sales trader across various banks, said on a podcast last year that one former employer held "six global conference calls about [his] Instagram account" once it became too popular, discussing whether he should delete it.
You'll notice that most influencers who make content about banking either hide their name/bank, or they'll only make content after they've left the industry. One RBC associate who did the former got millions of views on videos complaining about her lack of sleep. After the bank's HR was made aware of the account, it was made private. Jonathan Tristan, formerly of Deutsche Bank, has done the latter. He managed to grow a 250k+ follower base discussing finance careers on TikTok, having left the industry in 2021.
You might gain more freedom once you get more senior. Ex-Goldman Sachs MD Rebecca Anderton-Davies amassed almost 90k Instagram followers while working at the bank, although she hasn't posted since 2023. Graham 'G-Dog' Ambrose, another Goldman MD, has amassed over 20,000 Instagram followers as a 56-year-old fitness influencer.
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