Qual Interview Course Manual 59d7eb4851304

Introduction and the process
Investment Banking Overview

Your story
Answering interview questions
Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

MBA & Undergraduate
Full time Internship
Resume/Info session Sept-Oct Jan-March
Interview 1 & 2 Sept-Nov Jan-March
Offers Nov-Dec March-April

Undergraduate
◦ Top “target” colleges & universities
◦ GPA minimum cut-off common (3.5)
◦ There are alternative routes!
MBA
◦ Top b-schools
◦ Finance experience/concentration important
◦ Summer internship dramatically increases full time
chances
◦ There are alternative routes!

Prepare your resume:
◦ 1 page
◦ Clear
◦ White paper – 12 point times new roman font
◦ Nothing fancy
◦ Include GPA (recruiters assume the worst about missing
GPAs)
Resources
◦ Career Center
◦ www.ResumeEdge.com

At target schools, after submitting resume it may
or may not be pre-screened for a GPA cutoff,
then:
When bank receives it, the alumni team at the
bank selects candidates from the pile of resumes
The team wants you to succeed – wants to pick
candidates that will pass Super Saturday
Process is sometimes collaborative, sometimes
not

Meat & Potatoes
Top university
GPA, GMAT, accolades
Relevant work experience (Internship at IB)
Concentration in finance, accounting, (sometimes
economics)
Leadership in IB club, other relevant organizations
Seasoning
Languages
Military
Excellence (arts, sports, non-relevant academics)

Join all relevant organizations
◦ IB club, women in business association, etc.
Contact alumni ASAP
◦ Email is best unless told otherwise
◦ Informational discussions – do NOT ask for job – let the
process evolve naturally
Leverage family, friends, anyone else
This is networking – just get out there
◦ Important for students from target schools
◦ Likely only chance for non target and low GPAs

So you’re not from a top It is not
college impossible
Your GPA isn’t high coming in
this way!
You do not have a summer
internship
You are a career switcher
It’s going to be much harder
Not impossible
The job search is going to be
a full time job

Contact your university’s career center and ask for
access to the alumni database
Contact (preferably via email) as many alumni at
investment banks and introduce yourself – ask how they
pursued careers in IB and ask for advice
If you email 200 alumni, and receive 50 responses, you
have succeeded
Follow up with those that respond, call or send gentle
follow up emails to those that have not (do not email a
third time if no response)

Contact professors – professors are often retained by
investment banks for training and consulting, and many
have strong relationships there – tread carefully here –
make them want to help you.
If you live near top universities, see if there are career
fairs or info sessions that are open to the public
(probably not too many are open to the public, but
successful candidates have been known to stand
outside, resume in hand)
Contact literally everyone else you know, too

After developing rapport with alumni (process can take
months), plan a trip to NYC (or the city where you would
like to work)
Let all your new friends know about the trip and ask if
they would be interested in grabbing a cup of coffee by
their office.
Let this process play itself out – do not shove resumes in
people’s faces – they know what you want.
Do not be surprised if you get a call for a super Saturday
interview – bypassing completely the on-campus
recruiting process!

Your job search does not necessarily coincide with
recruiting season
Good news – you can fill off-cycle hiring needs
Follow same process of networking

Not very useful for analysts and associates with no
experience
Worth a shot for off-cycle hires with relevant experience
or advanced degrees
Biggest names:
◦ Glocap Search
◦ Oxbridge Group
◦ Pinnacle Group
◦ Stratford Group

Don’t expect much success with this approach, but
certainly try – you never know:
◦ craigslist.com
◦ vault.com
◦ ibankingoasis.com
◦ Monster.com
◦ Jobsinthemoney.com

Large investment banks are perfectly willing to arrange
work visas and this often does not impact chances of
employment
Smaller firms may be less inclined to provide work visas

Do not waste time submitting resumes online to
banks directly
Be very selective with career fairs
◦ Useless unless highly-specialized

Information sessions
◦ Attend them all
◦ Dress appropriately
◦ Bring resume
◦ Come early; leave late – introduce yourself - be assertive
but not overbearing
First round: On campus
◦ Be prepared to interview with several bankers (1-5
interviews)
◦ Possibly preceded and followed by dinners
◦ Usually alumni – they know your school
◦ Be prepared for both technical and qualitative questions

Final round (Super Saturday): At company
◦ Several weeks/months after initial round
◦ Be prepared to interview with several bankers again
◦ Both technical and qualitative questions
◦ Interviewer usually not alumni
◦ Preceded and followed by dinners and social events
where you are “observed”

Know who you’re dealing with
◦ You’ll meet many people in various roles through the process
◦ Interviewers can be
Analysts (undergrad only and only in first rounds)
Associates
Vice Presidents
Managing Directors
Human Resources
◦ Some are nice, many are not (we do, after all, have a
reputation to uphold)
◦ Key to success is confidence (not to be confused with
overconfidence) and understanding your audience and
adapting appropriately.

Analysts
◦ Get crapped on at work (work 80 hours+)
◦ Grumpy and may take it out on you
◦ Express your desire to join, but show that you understand
sacrifices and nonetheless eager
◦ Be careful to not be overconfident – if they don’t like you,
they can try to make you feel small
◦ Analysts do not interview MBAs or on final rounds

Associates
◦ Quite similar to analysts – same rules apply. Also:
◦ More inclined to ask technical questions
◦ Be sure you relate that you know you won’t be leading
conferences and brokering deals right away

VP’s
◦ Bridge between associates and MDs
◦ Actively involved in deal process and execution
◦ Generally not involved in sourcing deals
MD’s
◦ What they say goes
◦ Adapt to their style
◦ Try to read them and deliver what they are looking for
◦ They like you, you’re in
HR
◦ Testing for personality, fit within organization
◦ Gatekeepers at early stages

The intangibles
◦ Dress appropriately – get a nice suit, shirt, and shoes
(take off the tag)
◦ Remember names by repeating them “Nice to meet you,
Jim”
◦ Maintain good posture - don’t slouch
◦ Smile
◦ Make eye contact
◦ Firm handshake – not too firm (test with friends)

The intangibles (continued)
◦ Don’t jitter, shake your leg, twirl your hair, or rub your
face
◦ Don’t ever interrupt
◦ Be positive but not fake
◦ Do not ever lose your composure
◦ Before and after interviews - be careful in public –
assume everyone’s listening

A financial intermediary that performs a variety of
services, primarily:
◦ Corporate finance & M&A
◦ Equity research
◦ Sales & trading (S&T)
◦ Asset management
Investment Banks earn profit by charging fees and
commissions for providing these services and
other kinds of financial and business advice.

Offering distributed to
Company wants to various institutional
raise money by investors through S&T.
issuing stock or
debt – retains
bank
• Bank underwrites the

offering: prices, and
guarantees proceeds (less
fees)
• You do the modeling and
analysis and prepare the
presentations to client

• Company wants to Company receives
acquire a smaller solicitation to sell &
company retains bank to
• Retains bank to advise advise
• Both banks perform advisory services: find potential

sellers/buyers, marketing, valuation, negotiation, secure
financing, due diligence, fairness opinions
• You do the modeling and analysis and prepare the
presentations to clients
• Deal closes, companies merge

Industry Groups Product Groups
•Healthcare Securities Underwriting
•Financial Institutions Asset-backed securities (ABS)
•Consumer Retail High-grade bonds
•Technology/Telecommunications High-yield bonds
•Real Estate Private placements
•Financial Sponsors (Private Equity Structured Finance
Clients) Syndicated finance.
•Diversified Transportation Equity
•Natural Resources (Oil & Gas) Mergers and Acquisitions advisory*
•Emerging Markets oStrategic M&A
oJoint ventures
oHostile takeovers & defense
* M&A is sometimes organized as a separate department outside the corporate finance umbrella, and we highlight
the M&A analyst position separately from the Corporate Finance Analyst position below. Nonetheless, in most firms
(though not all), you would interview for a position as an Investment Banking Analyst and then once you have been
accepted, you’ll join a particular group within Corporate Finance or M&A.

Analyst day in the life
Sample Industry Group: FIG
9:30am
Arrive to work and check email and voicemail
10:00am
Continue working on financial model from yesterday. You are
building a credit model for a company in order to accurately price
new debt that the company has hired the bank to underwrite.
11:25am
Called in to your associate’s office from another deal team to talk
about several pitchbook pages you handed in last night for review.
You discuss possible additions and changes. You conference in the
VP on the pitch and discuss direction for the page as well as several
new pages for you to work on.

12:00pm
Back at your desk, you get to work on the changes for the pages. The pitch is early
next week and there’s still lots of work, so it’s taking precedence over the credit
model for now.
1:00pm
You grab lunch with you friends at the cafeteria
2:00pm
Conference call regarding the underwriting deal has been scheduled between your
deal team and a client to discuss aspects of the deal.
3:45pm
Back at your desk, you open up a Presentation you need to have done for another
deal team by the end of the night. Since you pretty much finished the presentation
last night, you’re now checking your work for formatting errors, etc…
6:00pm
Off to the gym for a quick workout

7:00pm
Back at your desk, you incorporate some of the changes into the pitchbook from your
meeting. You include a profile on the investment company and a page on stock
ownership.
8:00pm
You order dinner with your friends from a big book full of menus that everyone uses
on the floor and eat it in an empty conference room.
8:45pm
Around this time things usually start to settle down and you can really start focusing
on catching up on all the work you were getting distracted from during the day. You
pull up the credit model you were working on but had to stop because of the meeting
in the afternoon. You’re putting the final finishing touches on it and send an email off
to your associate letting him know it’s ready.
12:00am
Call a car and go home

Sample Industry Group: M&A
9:30am
Arrive to work and check email and voicemail
10:00am
Continue working on a buy-side client presentation (“pitchbook”) from yesterday.
Since you already finished with the “Public Market Overview” pages last night, you
now begin inserting a graph of possible exchange ratios.
11:25am
An associate calls to tell you that you have been staffed on another deal and you’ll
need to put together a PIB (public information book) about the target.
12:00pm
You finish putting together the PIB and get back to work on the original pitch

1:00pm
You grab lunch with you friends at the cafeteria
1:45pm
Back at your desk, you open up a Merger Model you need to have done for
another deal team by the end of the night. Since you pretty much finished
the model last night, you’re now checking your work for bugs, mistakes,
formatting, and analyzing various accretion/dilution results based on
different scenarios (sensitivity analysis).
3:45pm
Your associate from the buy-side pitch calls and tells you that the VP wants
to met in a conference room to look at what we’ve got so far and discuss
how to go forward.

4:00pm
You meet with the VP and your associate. The MD is traveling on another pitch so
he’s conferenced in. Basically, since the 40% of the target company is owned by an
investment company, their consent is vital for the success of the acquisition. As
such, we need to put in a few pages on this investment company into the pitch so
that our client (the potential acquirer) understands what he’s up against.
5:00pm
Back at your desk, you incorporate some of the changes into the pitchbook from your
meeting. You include a profile on the investment company and a page on stock
ownership.
7:00pm
You order dinner with your friends from a big book full of menus that everyone uses
on the floor and eat it in an empty conference room.

8:00pm
Around 8:00pm things usually start to settle down and you can really start focusing
on catching up on all the work you were getting distracted from during the day.
10:00pm
Off to the gym for a quick workout.
11:00pm
Back in the office you pull up the merger model you were working on but had to stop
because of the meeting in the afternoon. You’re putting the final finishing touches on
it and send an email off to your associate letting him know it’s ready.
2:00am
Call a car and go home

Become a pro at financial modeling
Working well in a team and getting along with your team
members
Get your job done well and without friction and on time.
Asking for help when you need it
Pretend you’re working when you’re not
Stay late even if you don’t have to
Not complaining, gossiping or whining
Know when to cheer up your boss and know when to stay out
of the way
Dressing neatly
Being reliable and on-time

• Stock analysts track 10-20 companies in a particular industry.
• Communicate their opinions about those companies (Buy, Hold, Sell) to
the bank’s S&T and institutional investors directly via reports, notes,
emails, and phone calls.
• Sales force communicates these ideas to clients, who love the analyst’s
unique insight and “throw business our way” (i.e. trade through the
bank)
• Traders act on advice for proprietary & institutional trades.
• Analysts may introduce mgmt. of companies they cover to bankers
(Corporate Finance & M&A); facilitate pitching/ deals.
• Sensitive because of “Chinese Wall” & inherent conflict
• Analyst will be supported by research associate(s).
• Associate will usually be involved in everything: build, maintain, and
update financial models and conduct analysis and research, write
reports, communicate ideas to sales & trading, and investors

Associate day in the life
7:00am
I get in the office 25 minutes early today because one of the companies we cover is
reporting fourth quarter earnings at 7:45am. I check email and voicemails and get
together all the information I need in anticipation of the press release. We’re right in
the middle of earnings season and that is the most hectic time in Equity Research.
7:15am
I pop my head into my senior analyst’s office and we discuss our expectations ahead
of the press release. Our group is comprised of the senior analyst, me, and another
research associate. My analyst covers 14 stocks, while me and the other associate
split the coverage (I support the Sr. analyst on 7 stocks and the other associate
covers the other 7).
7:30am
A PM from Fidelity calls to talk about our expectations for the company’ performance
and I walk him through our expectations for the quarter.

7:55am
Company reports EPS in line with our expectations but earnings quality looks
questionable. I plug all the numbers into our model and write up a quick takeaway.
Phones are ringing of the hook but I need a solid 10 minutes to write up the note so
I’ll return the call when I’m done.
8:15am
Rush the summary into the analyst’s office and he makes a couple corrections.
8:20am
Back at my desk, I update the corrections and send the quick takeaway summary to
our distribution list of institutional clients, as well as to our sales force and traders.
8:25am
I start returning phone calls as the senior analyst gets on the department wide
intercom and gives our takeaway to the sales force and traders.

9:00am
Bring a bagel up from the cafeteria and eat it at my desk. I continue to answer phone
calls from our clients and sales guys covering various accounts.
9:30am
Market opens. The reporting companies stock is slightly down. Given the low
quality, we are expecting that the stock continues to dip through the day, particularly
after the company’s conference call at 11:00am.
11:00am
Conference call begins. I’m taking careful notes and holding all my calls. Conference
calls provide a lot of color that is often left out of official press releases. The
conference calls usually end with a Q&A where senior analysts from all the
investment banks ask questions about the quarter's performance.
12:30pm
Call is over. I begin returning phone calls.

2:00pm
Things settling down a bit. Grab a late lunch and eat it at my desk. I begin writing a
Firstcall note with an extensive wrap up of the press release, conference call, and our
takeaways.
6:00pm
Drop off a draft of the Firstcall note with my Sr. analyst and run off to the gym for a
quick workout.
7:00pm
Back at my desk, I begin incorporating some of my analyst’s edits. I need to
incorporate a segment profitability analysis into the note, so I get cracking.

9:00pm
Order dinner and eat at my desk.
9:30pm
I proof the note one last time and send it out to be published in tomorrow morning’s
research packet that’s distributed to the sales force and clients.
10:00pm
Time to go home

• Institutional investors such as pension funds, mutual funds,
university endowments, and hedge funds use investment banks in
order to trade securities.
• Investment banks match up buyers and sellers as well as buy and
sell securities out of their own account to facilitate the trading of
securities, thus making a market in the particular security which
provides liquidity and prices for investors.
• In return for these services, investment banks charge commission
fees.
• Salesforce create, maintain and manage relationships
• Sell offerings underwritten by the bank
• Traders execute trades at best possible prices for clients
• Traders make proprietary trades in line with firm’s needs and
strategy.

Junior Trading Analyst Derivatives Team day in the life
6:30am
Arrive at work and read the Wall Street Journal and breeze through
research sent by analysts. Then check Reuters and Bloomberg to
follow up on news and overnight debt and equity markets
7:20am
Attend morning meeting where the firm’s research analysts, sales
force and traders are conferenced together to get updated on
important activity from last night and this morning. The meeting is
followed by a meting with all the traders in my group to discuss
trading strategy for the day.
8:00am
I grab breakfast downstairs at the cafeteria to bring up to my desk. I
check my voicemail and I’ve been given a position to trade. Decide
what to do and when to execute the trade.

9:30am
Markets open
10am
Receive an alert from another dealer with a trade idea. I like the
idea and run it by our senior trader.
10:30am
A new employment report came out sending corporate issuances
down sharply and heading lower on heavy volume.
11:30am
Discuss a trade idea with the research analyst. We decide a pair
trade makes sense here.
12:30pm
Lunch at desk while reading some market commentary

1:00pm
Weekly team meeting
3:00pm
Time to close the book for today. Another associate is calculating the
P&L for today to be given to the senior trader and head of the desk
4:00pm
Market closes. Take calls and schedule some meetings with brokers
5:00pm
Report P&L to senior trader. Take care of emails and tie up loose
ends. The floor is emptying out.
5:30pm
Prepare for tomorrow – check for upcoming economic and deal data

• Investment Banks also manage money for institutional investors
and private clients
• “Buy side” vs. the “sell side”
• Similar to Fidelity and Putnam, banks also offer various funds to
investors.
• As an analyst or associate, you would perform financial and
valuation analysis, research investment strategies, analyze target
performance vs. actual performance, perform sector analysis,
portfolio construction, risk modeling, prepare client presentations,
and create client marketing materials

Vault guides
◦ Often free through your school; otherwise, visit www.vault.com
Wetfeet guides
◦ Often free through your school; otherwise, visit
www.wetfeet.com
Blogs & Forums
◦ www.wallstreetprep.com/blog/
◦ www.IBankingOasis.com
Investment Bank websites – career section
Wall Street Journal
◦ www.wsj.com
◦ Keep up with latest news about the industry

Strengths
◦ What do you like to do?
Academics? Arts? Social activities? Sports? Like what?
Analyzing problems and finding solutions? Examples?
◦ What are you good at?
What have you received accolades/awards for?
What are examples that demonstrate this?
◦ What have you done to build on and develop your
strengths?
Concrete examples

YOUR
STORY!

Your desire for an IB position should be expressed
via a coherent articulation of your professional
ambition, with supporting anecdotes from your
academic, personal, and professional journey.
Your story should do the talking

Interviewing for IB analyst position
Candidate profile:
◦ 22 years old
◦ Top liberal arts college
◦ BA in economics (not finance or accounting)
◦ Finance-related internship (but not IB)
◦ 3.6 GPA
◦ Sorority member, no other extracurriculars
◦ Fluent in English, Chinese

Laying down the foundation
Academic interests (econ major) reflect a
quantitative disposition
Sorority membership, as well as several exciting
group projects reflect a passion for being a
member of a team and collaboration
High GPA (and any other achievements) reflects
intellectual rigor and work-ethic
Chinese, if used to pursue interests or studies,
could demonstrate international awareness

Why this means they should hire you
Naturally, you’re interested in IB analyst role which
rewards hard work and allows you to incorporate
both your qualitative and quantitative skills in a
way that very few positions can.
Additionally, the position provides exposure to
financial markets, which has been at the core of
your academic studies.
Each point must be supported by a reserve of
anecdotes! Only way to make the story
genuine

What your story should avoid
Harping on irrelevant strengths
◦ Example: Passion for banjo is okay because it demonstrates
dedication, but don’t take it too far
◦ Example: Military is good because it demonstrates
commitment, leadership, and teamwork, but don’t harp
Grandiosity
◦ They will call you on it and ask you to back it up
Bringing up topics you aren’t sure about
◦ If my favorite class was Asian Emerging Markets, you better
be able to answer related follow up questions.
Highlighting ANY weaknesses

Practice – over and over and over
NEVER go to an important interview without
practicing answers from a list of questions with
friends or counselor first
Practice in front of mirror
When possible, schedule more important
interviews after a few “tune ups”
Nobody is a good interviewee the first time around

In an interview, you will be asked many types of
questions
Focus today is on qualitative questions
We will now cover open-ended questions
They are your chance to shine – tell them who you are
on your terms
Opportunity to steer the conversation
Opportunity to tell the story

“Tell me about yourself”
“Walk me through your resume”
This is an opportunity to tell your story
Story should have a progression and be coherent
Focus on relevant coursework and experience
How this all naturally led to investment banking

“Why investment banking”
Directly connect your story to investment banking
If you’ve already told your story in previous questions,
focus on how your strengths and passions would make a
contribution in the bank
Depending on the position you’re applying to, highlight
different strengths
IB is really a unique opportunity – understand the
business, your role within the business, and your
strengths, and then connect the dots.
Recruiter checking to see if you understand and are
serious about investment banking

“What is your greatest strength”
Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn – that’s what they
are asking for
However, do not overdo it “I am the greatest student at
my school” – always back up statements with examples
and infuse humility “of course, I am eager to learn more”
Should highlight positive traits using anecdotes related
to your story
◦ “Through my extensive team project work in my management
classes, I found that I enjoyed and excelled at motivating the team
and providing leadership. There was a specific time where….”

“What is your greatest weakness?”
Must sell weakness as a strength without sounding rehearsed or
disingenuous
Very difficult question to answer
Possible weakness: Do you always need to know how
something works, but you recognize that under deadlines, this
thirst for knowledge might compromise the task at hand?
The key with weaknesses are that you recognize it and have
worked to correct it
Caution: have a follow up “weakness”, interviewees have been
known to counter “that’s not really a weakness, tell me a real
weakness.”
Never admit a damaging weakness (always late, no attention to
detail, can’t play with others, etc…)

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Show that you understand the career progression
They are not necessarily looking for “I want to move from
analyst, to associate, to VP, to MD” – in fact, this usually is a
negative
Answer depends on the role you are interviewing for
B-school (for undergrads), Private equity, Asset management,
these are the standard exits for analysts and associates
OK to say that your near term experience as an analyst or
associate will help to identify exact career paths, but you need
to express a general desire to stay within the industry, and
reaffirm that it is because of the unique opportunities,
experience, and exposure this position provides that you will
be able to move towards your career goals.
Do not say “I want to be Federal Reserve Chairman”

“Why should we hire you?”
“What sets you apart?”
This is another opportunity to tell your story
Although the question seems to ask for it, avoid

speaking negatively about others – focus on your
strengths, not on the weaknesses of others

“Why do you want to work here?”
Do your research about the company you
interview with
Know the organizational structure, culture, recent
news, name of CEO, head of IB, etc.
Vault guides, company website (make sure to
read press releases)
Tie to your story

“Where else are you interviewing?”
“Are you also looking at consulting?”
Do not mention unrelated companies (consulting,
marketing, advertising)
Mention only banks – limit specifics, and never
criticize other firms
Reiterate your enthusiasm for the position with the
interviewer
Reiterate your enthusiasm for the company you
are interviewing with

“What is your take on the markets recently?”
“What are your thoughts on the Chinese economy?”
“Where is the Dow/ (or NASDAQ, Fed Funds rate, LIBOR) now?”
“Tell me about a story from the WSJ today”
“What do you think about the problems in the credit markets?”
Wants to know you are reading the paper
You ABSOLUTELY MUST read the Wall Street Journal for several
weeks ahead of interviews

“Tell me about a risk you have taken in your life”
May be opportunity to explain holes in resume
“Describe your 3 best personality traits”
If you say “sense of humor,” be ready to tell a joke
“Describe a time in which you failed at something?”
Pick a failure that does not reflect a fundamental weakness
May also be opportunity to explain problematic areas in resume

“When is it better to follow than to lead?”
You will have to follow a lot as a banker, so provide examples that
reflect your understanding that deferring to the expertise of others is
important
“Who are the 3 most influential people in your life?”
Stick to personal relationships – family, friends, mentors, professors,
be ready to explain why
“Who do you most admire?”
Avoid controversial figures
“How would others describe you?” Strengths/Weaknesses?
“What book are you currently reading?”
Don’t say “monkey business” – it’s lame (but do read it!)

Do not ask logistical questions (i.e., what are health benefits, salary,
when is super Saturday)
Always have several questions prepared, and some new ones may
emerge during the interview (as they come up remember them for
when the interviewer opens the floor to your questions)
Consider asking questions about the interviewer’s experience (be
careful not to ask inappropriate questions):
◦ “What surprised you the most about your role as an analyst?” is appropriate
◦ “Was your bonus really high?” is inappropriate.
Consider asking questions about the company - this is an
opportunity to show the interviewer that you have done your
research

What is your firms strategy / how is your firm
positioned vis-a-vis the current challenges in the
credit markets (insert topical issue here)
◦ Should be prefaced with something that reinforces that you’ve
done research, like “given the company’s focus over the last 5
years on high-grade structured finance products….”
What type of person have you found succeeds
in this organization?
What parts of your position have you found most
exciting / interesting?

How do analysts/associates get assigned to
groups after training?
◦ Most of the time, you get assigned through an internal interview
process during training, other times you are preselected into
groups
◦ Avoid this question if the answer is readily available from
company’s website or is explained in info sessions
How are deals staffed?
◦ Usually there is a dedicated staffer per each group
◦ Same caveat as above – avoid asking if answer provided
elsewhere

It is important to know your audience
◦ Do not ask an analyst about his thoughts about the company’s prospects in light of
a recent acquisition – he’s just slightly more qualified to answer that than you are.
◦ At the same time, do not ask a managing director about what he finds most
interesting about his job – it’s actually not relevant to your job and seems
contrived.
Do not ask irrelevant questions just to ask questions
◦ Do not ask a NY banker about the company’s approach in the Middle East unless
you have a good reason to and it ties somehow to recent events or your story
Do not ask questions you could have found the answers to by
attending an info session, reading the company’s website, reading
the news, or doing company research
◦ How many employees at JPMorgan?
◦ What is your most profitable business segment?

Some interviewers will ask questions more aggressively than you’re
comfortable with
Remain confident
Most aggressive questions are just standard interview questions
wrapped in a blanket of aggressiveness
“Why didn’t you study something more related to finance if you want
to do banking so much?”
◦ If your school does offer finance and accounting courses but you did not take
them, talk about how your interests have changed because of how interesting IB is
for you now that you have learned about it – and then launch right into your story
about why IB! Remember, most questions can simply be opportunities to tell your
story.
A large part of the interview is seeing how you deal with stress –
expect the unexpected and remain calm

Bring it back to your story
Provide anecdotes

Answer directly
Put positive spin on everything

What if you do not know what the Dow closed at?
◦ These questions are designed just as much to test how you handle
stressful situations
◦ You will not know, and are not expected to know, the answers to many
closed-ended questions
◦ If for example, you know that the Dow has trended down over the last
several weeks, a perfectly legitimate answer is “I did not know where
the Dow closed yesterday, I know it has been trending downward over
the last several months, coming off a peak of 14,000 in August, to the
low 13,000 currently, mostly in light of pressures relating to the
subprime defaults and resulting concerns about the credit markets.”
◦ If you have no idea, sometimes it is best to say “Unfortunately, I do not
know the answer to that” and leaving it there, rather than rambling on
making excuses for yourself.
◦ Being able to say you do not know properly is a skill in and of itself.

1. Walk me through your resume
2. [Interviewer: pick the most impressive job and ask:] “Tell me about your role at
Company XYZ.”
3. [Interviewer: pick the most impressive bullet from this job and ask:] “Tell me more
about this particular task.”
4. Why did you pick your major?
5. Why investment banking?
6. Do you follow the markets?
7. What are your thoughts on the credit crisis?
8. What did the Dow close at yesterday?
9. How do you feel about working 80 hour weeks?
10. Why do you want to work here?
11. Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role
12. What is your biggest strength?
13. What is your biggest weakness?
14. What’s another weakness?
15. Teach me something
16. Do you have any questions for me?

◦ Walk me through your resume – Your story goes here
◦ [Interviewer: pick the most impressive job and ask:] “Tell me about your role at
Company XYZ.” - You should know your resume inside out and have
specific things to talk about for each bullet, anything is fair game
◦ [Interviewer: pick the most impressive bullet from this job and ask:] “Tell me more
about this particular task.” – See above
◦ Why did you pick your major? – You should have a well thought out reason. If
it is not business related, it is fine, bankers recruit non business majors
often, but you need to articulate your interest in IB.
◦ Why investment banking? – Your story goes here.
◦ Do you follow the markets? – Yes, despite that you are extremely busy with
school.
◦ What are your thoughts on the credit crisis? – Read the WSJ at least several
weeks before, be able to explain major events .
◦ What did the Dow close at yesterday? – Read the WSJ carefully before any IB
interview

◦ How do you feel about working 80 hour weeks? – You understand the
sacrifices and are extremely excited about the opportunity for professional
development.
◦ Why do you want to work here? Absolute must – research your companies
before you interview and have reasons why you want to work there.
◦ Tell me about a time when you took a leadership role – Group (for MBAs, also
and leadership questions ) are asked very often in IB interviews because
you will work in groups. Have answers, backed by many anecdotes ready.
◦ What is your biggest strength?
◦ What is your biggest weakness?
◦ What’s another weakness?
◦ Teach me something
◦ Do you have any questions for me? Always have several prepared.

1. Tell me about yourself
2. [Interviewer: if the GPA is below 3.5: ask] “Why is your GPA low?”
3. What is your favorite class? Why?
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
5. Why investment banking?
6. [Interviewer: if the major is not business related: ask] “If you want to pursue
investment banking, why didn’t you pursue a business major?”
7. Why should I hire you, given all the other qualified applicants?
8. Why our firm over the others?
9. Tell me about your experiences working in groups?
10. Are you also looking at consulting?
11. Do you follow the markets?
12. What did the NASDAQ close at yesterday?
13. What is your biggest weakness?
14. Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully
convince someone to see things your way?
15. Do you have any questions for me?

◦ Tell me about yourself
◦ [Interviewer: if the GPA is below 3.5: ask] “Why is your GPA low?” - Explaining
your GPA, GMAT, and any other scores that may be low should be
expected. Do not get discouraged, once you’re in the interview, your low
GPA will not hinder you – only a poorly articulated, insecure explanation
will.
◦ What is your favorite class? Why? Class should be at least tangentially
related to banking, so if your favorite class really was music history, you
may want to keep this to yourself. At the same time, Intro to Accounting is
lame. Pick something related, but that you can discuss enthusiastically if
asked a follow up.
◦ Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This is a fundamental part of your
story and you should have a well articulated answer – expect this question.
◦ Why investment banking?

◦ [Interviewer: if the major is not business related: ask] “If you want to pursue
investment banking, why didn’t you pursue a business major?”
◦ Why should I hire you, given all the other qualified applicants? Opportunity to
tell your story and sell your strengths, not to criticize others.
◦ Why our firm over the others? Do your research!
◦ Tell me about your experiences working in groups?
◦ Are you also looking at consulting? Recruiters want to know that you are
focused on Investment Banking. If you are actively pursuing other
positions, try to minimize this as much as possible without blatantly lying.
◦ Do you follow the markets?
◦ What did the NASDAQ close at yesterday?
◦ What is your biggest weakness? Have this question, along with a follow up
weakness, super polished.
◦ Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully
convince someone to see things your way?
◦ Do you have any questions for me?

2. What do you like to do for fun?
3. Tell me about the biggest risk you have ever taken
4. Why investment banking
5. Tell me about a time when you mediated a dispute in the group?
6. Do you prefer working in teams or by yourself?
7. Are you prepared for the personal sacrifice involved in this position?
8. What would you do if your brother is getting married but you’re needed on an
important deal?
9. Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself
from a difficult situation.
10. Would you say that you are the type of person that works best when receiving
clear instructions or when given flexibility in decision-making?
11. What are your three best traits?
12. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
13. If you could have a 3 hour meeting with any business leader, who would it be and
what would you ask them?
14. What questions do you have for me?

◦ Tell me about yourself
◦ What do you like to do for fun?
◦ Tell me about the biggest risk you have ever taken
◦ Why investment banking
◦ Tell me about a time when you mediated a dispute in the group?
◦ Do you prefer working in teams or by yourself? Don’t just say group work and
leave it at that. A lot of the work is group work, but much work is also done
individually. Your answer should reflect the dynamics in the specific
position you are applying for.
◦ Are you prepared for the personal sacrifice involved in this position? Recruiters
want to know that you are aware of what you are signing up for and have
given it some thought.

◦ What would you do if your brother is getting married but you’re needed on an
important deal? This is the type of no-win question that is best answered by
acknowledging you understand the sacrifices of this job, and you
recognize that there will be many situations in which the interests of the
firm come before personal interests. If you quickly blurt out “I’ll skip the
wedding – no problem!” You seem inhuman and phony. If you say, “family
comes first no matter what!” they’ll worry you might not be ready for this
job.
◦ Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself
from a difficult situation.
◦ Would you say that you are the type of person that works best when receiving
clear instructions or when given flexibility in decision-making? This is a version
of the leader vs. follower questions. Depending on the task, you excel at
both environments. Use anecdotes to support your answers.
◦ What are your three best traits? Be ready to back them up.
◦ If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? Hint: You’re
interviewing for IB.
◦ If you could have a 3 hour meeting with any business leader, who would it be and
what would you ask them?
◦ What questions do you have for me?

1. Walk me through your resume
2. What is your GPA/GMAT score? [Interviewer: if low, ask why]
3. [Interviewer: pick the least impressive job and ask:] “Tell me about your role at
Company XYZ.”
4. What did you learn from this position that would help you as an investment
banking analyst/associate?
5. Why IB over marketing or consulting?
6. Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses that tested your
coping skills.
7. Tell me about some of the most interesting group projects experiences in your
school
8. Would you describe yourself as a leader?
9. Is it always better to lead than to follow?
10. What book are you reading right now?
11. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in
solving a problem.

2. Why did you pick school XYZ for undergrad?
3. [For MBAs only] Why did you pick this school? Where else did you apply?
4. What did you learn from this position that would help you as an investment
banking analyst/associate?
5. What’s in a pitch book?
6. Describe your biggest accomplishment
7. Describe your biggest failure
8. Give me specific examples of times you led and times you were a follower
9. How would your classmates describe you?
10. What do you do for fun?
11. Give an example of a time in which you had to be relatively quick in coming to a
decision.
12. If you could have lunch with anybody, dead or alive, who would you have it with,
and what would you ask of them?
13. Name 3 people who have inspired you and why

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Introduction and the process

Investment Banking Overview

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

• Bank underwrites the

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

• Both banks perform advisory services: find potential

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Licensed to Scott Chen. Email address: jc4138@columbia.edu

Story should have a progression and be coherent

Focus on relevant coursework and experience

How this all naturally led to investment banking