Insider Today: Wall Street recruiting hell

In this Sunday edition of Insider Today, we're talking about private equity firms recruiting earlier than ever.

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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of our top stories. New York City started its closely watched clampdown on short-term rentals like Airbnb last year. So far, it's mostly benefited the hotels: occupancy and room rates are way up.

On the agenda today:

• A former SAP account manager is breaking her NDA to speak out about a workplace sexual assault.
• CEOs and pro quarterbacks have to take this cognitive exam. Now you might, too.
• Google studied Gen Z's actions online. What they found was alarming.
• Private-equity firms might be taking their "Hunger Games" recruiting tactics too far.

But first: High-status jobs are facing their AI moment.

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This week's dispatch

AI is here

Investment banker. Consultant. Software engineer. Venture capitalist. They're among the best-paid and highest-status jobs in corporate America.

They're also about to be transformed by AI.

Goldman Sachs plans to have AI tools available to its workforce as soon as next year, with the potential to change the roles of junior bankers in particular.

Consulting firms are also adapting to a deluge of client questions about implementing AI. One senior partner at McKinsey told Business Insider that helping clients use generative AI might become most of the firm's work in the future.

In Silicon Valley, the use of AI copilots in software engineering has become so common that there's a debate over whether to allow these tools in technical interviews where job applicants have historically been asked to showcase their expertise.

Some venture capitalists have gone further, using AI to replace associates.

The impact of AI on these professions demonstrates the sharp difference between this technological revolution and earlier advancements. Whereas in the past, lower-wage workers felt the effects of automation and increased competition, this time, it's white-collar workers who face the biggest impact.

That includes me. I used AI to help edit this newsletter.

A former SAP employee breaks her NDA

After Ashley Kostial reported being raped by a colleague during a work trip, she felt pressured to sign two nondisclosure agreements — one with SAP and its subsidiary, Ariba, and one with her insurance provider, Aetna.

She's decided to risk coming forward now because she views the NDAs she signed as unjust — and wants to see the use of NDAs ended for other victims of sexual assault.

Read the full story.

The new job stress test

If you think getting a job now is tough, wait until you add this test into the mix. Administered by testing company S2 Cognition, the evaluation feels like a cross between playing Pong and taking an eye exam.

It's used by the NFL and college teams to scout top athletes, but it's rapidly spreading beyond sports. The company is now serving law enforcement, the military, and even the boardroom. Your job might be next.

More about the high-pressure test.

Google's Gen Z study

Researchers at Jigsaw, a subsidiary of Google, unearthed alarming findings about Gen Z's internet habits. They know the difference between hard news and AI-generated memes — they just don't care.

Instead of trying to fact-check online news, Gen Z tends to rely on other users' opinions to inform their own. In the age of influencers and cancel culture, they're taking cues from their peers rather than traditional forms of authority.

Inside Gen Z's online habits.

PE "Hunger Games"

Private equity's annual recruiting process kicked off earlier than ever this year, sending young bankers into a frenzy. The process is already a strain on junior bankers, and earlier start dates add to the stress.

BI spoke with a headhunter and a former junior banker about the pros and cons of an earlier-than-ever start — and what PE firms actually gain from the process.

Here's what they said.

Also read:

• Top private-equity firms, including Apollo and KKR, just kicked off 2026 associate recruiting. Wall Street juniors are shocked and scrambling.

This week's quote:

"We're playing chase."

— An Amazon employee on the company's ChatGPT competitor, Metis. Amazon is far behind other companies, which have long had AI chatbots.

More of this week's top reads:

• The biggest scandal in gaming right now, explained.
• Netflix's co-CEO explains the price hikes for ad-free plans.
• Citi Wealth's horrible tech is infuriating clients and employees.
• Job-hunting is a nightmare right now, with power back in employers' hands.
• Tal Alexander will step down from his brokerage firm amid rape allegation.
• The fastest-growing career in the US is in wind power. Here's how to land a job.

• See the résumé that helped this worker get a $350,000 job at Google.

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  The Insider Today team: Matt Turner, deputy editor-in-chief, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.