Smartest Thing you've said in an interview
Rather being a dumb monkey, aim to be a highly intelligible sophisticating creature. Not looking for a smart aleck.
Trending Content
| +34 | ADHD ! | 19 | 5h | |
| +34 | Non-Competes Banned | 43 | 8h | |
| +30 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 4d | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 2d | ||
| +20 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 4d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 4d | |
| +15 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 8 | 2h | |
| +15 | Can someone justify why is million written mm or MM? | 13 | 9h | |
| +9 | Breaking: Apple Unveils Official Dates for Highly-Anticipated 2024 Event! | 0 | 3d | |
| +9 | Winning - The Hindsight Insight We Actually Need | 1 | 2d |
Career Resources
Yes, if I get on offer from your firm I’ll sign on the spot!
An offer*
Yes, I am interviewing with this BB, EBB, top BB but I will absolutely take your offer.
ahgaha
"I may not be the smartest or most experienced person you will interview today, but I will work the hardest."
Me gusta mucho
says everyone...
The key is to mean it and deliver.
I'm really hoping my interviewers forget I said that because while I'm not the smartest they have hired, I'm also probably not the hardest working
I may come in late, but I do leave early
I never understood how that was a good thing. If you're an idiot you're going to work pretty hard and still not get anywhere. Work smart so you don't have to work hard.
Fair point! Working smart is always good and there is no substitute for a great work ethic. Now that I've spent a lot of time interviewing on the other side of the table, I think intelligence is table stakes to get invited to interview. What we are looking for during the interview, in part, is to get a sense of work ethic, humility, creativity, teamwork, etc. some of the intangibles.
Then I walk in for my interview:
"I may not be the most experienced person you will interview today, but I will work the hardest and am the smartest."
![https://media.giphy.com/media/14ceV8wMLIGO6Q/giphy.gif][https://media.g…]
haha kidding - probably not the smartest among this group of monkeys with all 155-185 IQs, I am only mensa level, I'm not even close to triple nine society (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Nine_Society)
Also, to add to the above - "I will get you the results you need" is important to convey in the interview. Being the smartest and working the hardest even with experience can yield nil results. Results are everything.
I will take your word for it that it is/was true in your case.
However, respectfully, I would not treat a candidate well who said this without having very serious supporting evidence for this claim. If an upper middle class kid from a semi-target said this, I would basically not be able to take anything else they said super seriously.
Fair point... I was a freshman in college interviewing for a sophomore BB PWM role, with a sub-3.0 GPA at the time. My prior experience was as a sandwich artist. I was confident in what I was saying. Just had watched The Pursuit of Happyness which is a movie that changed my life around, as corny as that sounds. Got the job, and now I wasn't an ex-sandwich artist, I had proper finance experience, which snowballed into the next opportunity and the next...
Well this was really for high school interviews (yes I went to a fancy schmancy private school...). It just so happens that you get to schedule your interviews for these schools.
At some point during the interview, I reveal that this is the last school I'm interviewing with.
Interviewer: "Interesting. After working in boarding school admission for 10 years, I've noticed that families schedule their top choice as their last interview. "
Me: "Well. I don't think so."
Interviewer: "Well.... Thank you for coming in. We'll let you know how it went."
LOL
First question at my Thacher interview:
"What does your dad do?"
hahahaha. Gotta maintain that "pedigree" somehow
ME:"I like lifting weights a lot in my free time"
PARTNER:"Me too, blablagymtalk"
ME:"awesome, blablablagymtalk"
Instant connection, got an offer.
I like the content-username fit
not mine but saw something on wso from a couple years ago that i instantly remembered:
I was asked: tell me why should we hire you vs. all the other candidates. Some context: I really hate those dumb ass questions. To me 95% of evaluating a candidate is about fit. Are they going to thrive in the firm culture or are they going to be miserable and make everyone around them miserable too? People who have seen this will know what I mean. You hire the wrong fit, I don't care how smart they are, they will fucking kill the team dynamic and things get really messy soon. Anyway, she asked this to me and I wasn't really hot on this company anyway so I decided to unfilter a bit so I said: "If I can be honest, I don't fucking know. I haven't met any of those people so how am I supposed to pass judgment blind? I tell you what though, if they are anything like me then you shouldn't hire any of us. We came here, spent tens of thousands a year so we can party, get drunk and occasionally go to class where 3/4th or more the courses we take are completely unrelated to the work we will be undertaking when we graduate. They don't teach us excel, or PPT or any actually useful skills and I have to pay extra to get those courses online or in person. No wonder we drink so god damn much - we need to forget the irony of paying 100K plus for an education you could have had with a library card. The only redeeming feature was all the drunken sex and free clinic on campus to cure all the VD going around. So at the end of the day, if you hire me or my fellow students you are getting the same thing: deer in the headlights look on our first day while we figure out where the copier and the break room and the bathrooms are and of course you are going to have to spend a lot more money and time to train us to do the actual work you are hiring for. You wanted to know why hire me? Here is a reason as good as any: I bet you $100 none of the other candidates will give you an answer even close to what I just said and I promise you will get the same honesty from me every damn day I work for your company."
...and then the whole office started clapping.
This is a joke response, right?
go ahead and chalk this one up as "something that didnt happen."
Perhaps not, but it's certainly how I dream of it. The MD shakes my hand and gives me the keys to the executive suit and to my brand new company convertible. Then the song from An Officer and a Gentleman plays, and I go pick up the hot girl-next-door analyst right out of the bullpen and carry her off into the sunset while everyone applauds. "Love lift us up where we belong..."
I mean, it is just a slightly updated quote from Good Will Hunting IIRC
This monkey’s name, Albert Einstein.
once gave a very detailed response to walk me through a dcf (1st question of this interview but 2nd technical interview) which resulted in the interviewer flipping the technical question page over and us just talking about her family for the remaining 28 minutes
This is how I hope all my interviews look like.
I had the same thing happen to me. The first technical question was a softball, and then I was asked to walk the associates interviewing me through a DCF. I nailed the question and they proceeded to say "Well, it's clear that you know your technicals" and the rest of the interview became behavioral/fit. Was extremely relieving and eased any nerves I had
This is the best advice. When asked a technical question, answer it and then continue to answer everything around it. You'll display all of the knowledge you have without the interviewer having to probe. I was a prior engineer and used this technique for those interviews as well as finance.
Disclaimer: read the room - if they're glazing over or you're coming off like pompous jerk, wrap it up.
Best feeling is when they can tell you know your shit and just kind of cut you off since they don't want to hear something they already know for the next several minutes
Definitely! Not going to lie, as an interviewer it's also very fun. "Okay, stop, let's use the remaining time for Q&A" is my favorite part of interviewing. They start beaming and get to finally ask the questions they have.
Once during an interview with a law firm, the Partner expressed concern at how people in the past had told her that they would be the hardest-working person on her team and then not follow through on that promise once they got the job, so I put the burden on her and, after walking her through my experiences, said: "Look, I think my experiences are very telling of the level of commitment you can expect from me. However, I do understand your concern, and I'll be very happy to address that and any other concern you may have in any way I can, beyond what I have already shared with you - just let me know how."
I can see how some people would push back on this approach, but I did get that offer AND it hasn't failed to subsequently get me further offers, every time I've pulled this tactic in similar situations - they never follow up on that response.
Have I said or done anything that makes you doubt that I am a good fit for the role?
Nothing up until this question right now...
Is it really that bad? Could you elabarote why? Serious question
happened with a senior at my uni Interviewer at GS: Can you explain why you only managed 65 in your applied ethics class? Interviewee: I just wanted to demonstrate that I’m well suited for the job.
Got the job lmao. GS is jokes
I showed this to my mom. she laughed.
Superday at bank in tier 2 city:
“Why should we hire you over other candidates”
“I’m sure at this point in the process that all the other candidates are all smart, experienced, and have similar academic profiles. That said, I believe I’m the right candidate for the job as a result of my experience in xx transaction for previous summer internship, my experience at my current internship, and my experience living in (same city).
I want to work for you guys, I want to live here, and I’m willing to work as much as you’ll let me”
Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never met, never had no problem with, get killed. Now the politicians are sayin', "Oh, send in the Marines to secure the area" cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, gettin' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass.
And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile, he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And, of course, the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon.
And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with the icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks cause the shrapnel in his ass is givin' him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starvin', cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State.
So what did I think? I'm holdin' out for somethin' better. I figure fuck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president.
National Gaaawd
Had to memorize this monologue for my public speaking class in HS senior year - always stuck with me
Love the ending that Robin Williams (RIP) ad libbed: “Son of a bitch, stole my line”
Allegedly, what I am saying is your situation will be concurrently improved if I had two hundred bucks in my pocket right now.
Wo wo wo I didn’t say that!
“I am going into banking because of the learning experience, not the money”
Woke up on time but still drunk to go to a Friday morning early interview. Went in, and since I was at just the right amount of lightly-drunk/tipsy I was totally chilled out. Interviewer went into technicals and asked me to build the model manually on a whiteboard (just to lay out the basics). I started to write out the steps, but the brain fog was making my normally dull brain even duller. So at a fairly early point I realized it was going to get ugly if I kept digging. So I put down the marker, gave the interviewer my broadest grin and said "Let's put this aside for now, and talk about what really matters in the case. Let's talk about the broken business model of this company... and how we can help them fix it." Interviewer loved that answer and we riffed on problems and solutions, and I got the internship offer.
legend
.
"Sir, this is a Wendy's."
"I know."
OMG, YES!
"I'm definitely not the smartest guy you will interview for this role"
I find when I talk to senior folks like the Chief Investment Officer (usually the last round of interview) you think what the hell you going to talk about. Anyways, if you start jiving talking about investment philosophy, appreciation for economic cycles and history, risks, that’s usually a good sign. Depends how bookish they are.
Alternatively you can talk about drinking, fishing, hunting and golf. That’s at the VP level interviews. Again depends how much of deal sourcing person that VP is.
When asked if I “can do” those things (drinking, fishing, etc meaning could I crawl out of my bookish self and be sociable), I said Absolutely. Got the offer.
Q: Why should we hire you? A: I'm the guy who would be down to seamless the 50 McNuggets fries combo together with you and eat them at 2am while we grind out these comments
No way this worked
Under the right circumstances this could work beautifully but it probably requires you were in the same frat or something.
Last round with one of the partners at a regional boutique, he figured from my resume that his children attend the high school I went to. He asked who my favorite teacher was - turns out he also got eyes for that hot philosophy teacher I had in senior year They offered me a position the same day that I ended up not taking
I was interviewing for Tier-1 Tech Corp Dev role and was chatting with one of the senior group members. For some reason the Paleo Diet came up (this was the mid-2010s after all) and when he found out that I generally was trying to keep Paleo, he asked me in a semi-mock fit interview question style (half serious, half self-amused):
"So, are you a hunter or a gatherer?"
Without skipping a beat, I looked him dead in the eyes and said:
"I'm a farmer"
(which I think worked especially well for a forward-thinking tech role)
He then had a big grin and we laughed a bit, I think he appreciated the banter. Got the offer too.
FLOOR GANG!
OUH OUH
Ceiling gang works in compliance!
Vitae perspiciatis corrupti ea laborum ut dolor modi. Nobis id velit aut non. Recusandae dolores deserunt et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Labore voluptate est ullam ea error veniam. Ut unde ducimus aut. Consequuntur quia exercitationem autem aliquam numquam. Architecto fugit velit necessitatibus nihil incidunt.
Ut quaerat expedita et modi omnis inventore maxime perferendis. Consectetur nesciunt autem dolorum ut aspernatur quae totam. Qui voluptatem sint natus ea assumenda totam eos. Nam pariatur rerum minima ipsam fugit dolor nulla.
Repellat ea architecto maiores cum voluptates. Reprehenderit vero facilis fugiat ab et quis consequatur. Quia quia minus repudiandae et.
Et omnis nihil enim cum est qui qui. Nostrum sit itaque omnis sapiente qui. Deleniti et magnam similique natus. Beatae est beatae quia nesciunt pariatur eius commodi ut. Iure ea voluptate veritatis accusantium tempore velit.
Quidem voluptatem laborum illum voluptatem. Sed quo libero corrupti omnis ad et quo. Officiis ipsa aspernatur eveniet dolores provident et itaque quis.
Dolores aliquid ipsam ipsa. Odio necessitatibus qui sapiente sequi numquam occaecati iusto. Aliquam veritatis voluptates quia ullam voluptates. Sapiente ut voluptatibus quas accusantium laboriosam alias repellat quis.
Tempora non accusamus animi facilis iusto tenetur ut ipsum. Et consequatur quam adipisci omnis sit.
Cumque veniam tempora assumenda voluptas suscipit. Soluta vero qui officia et.