"If I were to give you an offer right now, would you accept?"
If you heard this in an interview for a company that's NOT your #1 choice, what's the proper answer?
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If you want the offer, the answer is "I would gladly accept."
The caveat is that you can't do it for a summer position as they might restrict you from the full time process if they feel you were dishonest
Yes.
"I have to check with my family" - I've heard some people say that this is the good answer. But somehow I don't think traders would be very happy/impressed to hear that from you...
"Of course I cannot give a verbal agreement without seeing the employment contract, but if everything is standardized than I would gladly accept"
This is a horrible fucking answer, don't ever say that unless you want to get dinged and be the punchline of jokes for the rest of the day.
"Show me where to sign" with no hesitation
If this question comes up, they usually aren't serious. It's just a behavioral question to see how you'll react. Deristrading does have a point about the contract... so by saying show me where to sign if they actually showed you a contract to sign you could read it.
This.
derivstrading is right. you come off sorta naive if you're willing to accept without looking at the contract - what if they're offering you $15/hour to sort mail?
If it's a standard BB summer analyst or full-time position, then you probably don't need to look at the contract. If it's a firm you'd be interested to work at, then the answer is "Yes I would gladly accept." If it's Piper Jaffray and you clearly have much better options as well, then it's a tougher situation cause they might know you're full of it if you lie. Not really sure what's the best way to handle it in that case, but probably the same answer. Definitely don't say "hmm I'm not sure, I'd have to see my other options."
Yes. Always yes.
growing up my dad said there were good problems and bad problems. Having to back out of an offer at your #2, or worse, is the definition of a good problem. So when they ask if you would accept you say, "Yes, thank you very much". Then you take your offer and go shopping bro.
just say yes. bankers want to feel confident that candidates will accept their offer before they hand them out. i've seen top-tier candidates not receive offers simply because people thought they'd shop them around; last thing a bank wants is to lose out on other legit candidates while your guy shops and accepts elsewhere.
This is a "are we your #1 choice" question. Saying no, or caveating this answer is akin to them asking you if they are your #1 choice and you saying no.
I think it can be more of a "Are we your only choice, i.e can we lowball you" question.
I would not answer the question directly, but say something along the lines of: "if I receive an attractive offer, there's nothing stopping me from accepting it and coming to work tomorrow, as I would be excited to work for such a great company, bla bla bla blow more sunshine up their A bla bla bla".
LOL... "If I receive an attractive offer" ... as if you're king shit of the universe and just stroll about rejecting offers on a whim....
Just dance around it.
"I'd be very excited to get an offer with your company, but as with any decision of this magnitude, I'd of course want to do my due diligence before signing on the dotted line. With that said, I think Company X is great and that news would make my day."
Just saying "yes" is unrealistic. Personally, I hate these questions, big time, because everyone interviews with as many places as possible to secure a job. It's highly likely that you won't get your top choice no matter what.
Let's be very clear though... If you say yes, and they extend an offer, and you decline, you basically just burned a bridge with that firm. And anyone in this industy knows that it is a very very small world
Can they make the offer verbally and expect you to accept right there at the interview? And if you do accept, will they be able to hold you to it depending on whether verbal agreements are binding in that state?
TPG
Ive always responded to that with something like, "I'd like to take a look at what I'm signing and think it over, but judging by my experiences with the people here so far I can't imagine being anywhere else."
Depends... I think for the offer to be binding verbally you have to talk specifics of the contract such as start day, duration and pay. If they do extend a verbal offer and you accept, I would say that's binding. I think the bottom line is don't tell them they're your #1 choice if they're not.
Dude, take a legal studies class or something. It's called at will employment. Even when they say "we would like to hire you for a 2 year analyst program, it starts Jan 1st and pays 100K a year, do you accept? and you say "yes"" , you are still not bound. Even after you sign you are still not bound. Just like how they can extend an offer and rescind it, you can accept and reneg.
NO ONE hires "contract" employees on Wall Street, it's all at will employment (even when you sign a contract, you are not a contract employee, in fact, your employment agreement will state at will employment). You are free to leave whenever and for whatever reason just like how they are free to fire you whenever and for (almost) whatever reason.
While Gongo's fleeting grasp of employment law is worrisome, so is your assertion that "at will" employment applies to the extension of the offer, verbally or not. "At will" employment necessarily applies to persons that are actually employed, not merely extended an offer of employment. Also, while binding contracts are virtually nonexistent at junior levels on the Street, they certainly do exist. How else would you seek to explain "golden parachutes"?
Someone payed attention in b law.
Defintely a behavioral question. I wouldn't say yes immediately, that makes you look like you have no other offers. You need to say something to let them know that you think there bank is the ish and you want to be apart of it - and then you dance a little.
"let's see the contract" I think that is a safe answer that doesn't make you look like a tool
If this is with a BB or reputable boutique, do NOT say anything about seeing a contract first. I'm a first year analyst and I fully understand that I'm still just a kid. Talking about seeing a contract--particularly when some of you won't even be legally allowed to drink--is absolutely absurd. You just look like a big tool. All the contracts are standardized and no one is looking to dick you over.
With that said, if it's some tiny no-name boutique, you should probably glance at the contract before signing.
Otherwise, say YES. We're big on that question in my group and unless the answer is a resounding "YES!" it's almost always a ding. When we give out an offer we want to be largely certain that you'll accept. There are too many eager and entirely qualified kids vying for spots for us to give you some sort of special treatment.
wdr i really feel this is the right direction to go for this question. really great response
I don't think it's a serious question and it should not deserve an answer that is too serious... let's say you do say YES and then you get an offer the next day from a firm you liked better. What then?
At my school one BB is known for asking this question and then if the BB likes the interviewee they will pull out a SA contract and ask the interviewee to sign at the end of the interview.
the answer is always "yes"
this is not a trap question. you are not being tested. they aren't going to make you sign on the spot. (candidates are often discussed one final time after any round of interviews, and official approval is requested) banks don't want to waste time with candidates who will ding them. there's too many other serious candidates out there, and this question is just designed to gauge how interested you are.
you can always ding them at a later date, but just get the damn offer first. any response other than "Yes", or "I really want to work here, assuming a standard contract, of course" is pretty much an auto-ding IMO. If you're at an interview, you should be interested in working there.
With regards to "at will employment", actually it's not always the case. Depends on the jurisdiction you are in. The OP didn't specify he was referring to employment in the USA, and all top tier investment banks have strong presence in most of the regions across the globe. In some countries the laws are such, that if the company extends an offer, it is legally binding (i.e. there is no option for the company not to honor this offer of employment without breaching the law or reaching some sort of mutual agreement with the offeree). At the same time, signing of such an offer is not legally binding for the (potential) employee - i.e. for the employee, the employment is indeed "at will". Hence the desire of a potential employee to have a look at the contract and, even more importantly, to have a contract on hand, is more than understandable.
Say yes
Yes all the way
people have actually gotten that question? from targets, i mean.
What is all the fuzz about. If you go to the interview , you want to join the firm, right? So you accept. Simple as that. What is the trick part? You can still renege if they give you a reasonbly bad pay - and you mentioned the point appropriately when reading the contract - and nobody anywhere will get excited about it.
DontMakeMeShortYou, pretty silly considering that those who had offer letters from Lehman got compensation whereas anybody who just had a verbal offer didn't get jack. You can't accept if there's no offer. And it's not an offer until it's on paper.
Notice how most of the people who aren't in the industry are giving you these flowery answers telling you that it's ok to hesitate, etc.
Now notice that people who are in the industry have commented that you answer "absolutely yes" without hesitation or you are dinged instantly. We've interviewed people before, we know what we want to see...
You do the math.
I don't understand what upside you think you would get out of any of these asinine "Well, I would have to blah blah blah." You always tell them you would say yes. It's not like by doing that you are signing some blood pact giving the firm your soul and first born offspring.
from what i understand GS actually does require a first born as collateral
phew they rejected my app the fastest out of all the bbs. waitasec... are they saying my firstborn isn't good enough? hm now I'm insulted :\
Yes. I would say it with a smile and maybe a bullet point about how great the bank is.
Those flowery answers are fucking awful if you don't already have an offer and they're pressing you to sign the contract. After all, you want to know the details of what you're getting yourself into.
At a botique shop it's ok to say "As long as the contract is industry standard, absolutely yes." I did that, but I'm good at phrasing things in a very politic manner and I've been boned by non-competes.
Please stop this "absolutely YES" BS, guys. This is true only for intern/junior analyst positions. For more senior roles, it's not the same, not in the slightest. And the OP didn't say ANYTHING about the level of position.
Of course, there could be the times when you are, let's say, pretty desperate to get a job. In these situations it's better to grab what you're offered without hesitation. There could be the other situations - when you already have a (good) job, when you are pretty damn good at what you are doing on your job, and when you know you made a really, really good impression during the interviewing process, It's totally different - good employees choose the employers just the same as employers choose employees. You have choice. You have negotiating power (to some extent, of course, but definitely it is materially higher than nil). You understand what terms of employment you will be happy with. So, you don't have a need to accept whatever is being thrown up your face, you have a luxury to read through the offer and think about it, maybe even negotiate something. If you are in such a situation, you have already impressed your potential employer. And you have a luxury to take your time to decide - nothing wrong with you having balls to tell the bank about it. If you can do it during the interviewing process, you can also do many other things when working, and these are very valuable qualities.
I like how this thread came up almost exactly two years ago:
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/if-i-gave-you-an-offer-now-would-…
Best Way to Handle This:
I have other offers that I have gotten the deadline extended to the end of the week so that I could interview with your bank. Then I would like to compare all offers side by side with my wife/dad/mom. Is that something you would be comfortable doing so that I can ensure I'm picking you guys for the right reasons and that my family is on board? I know it's a little different doing things this way, but I like to make sure I'm looking at every piece of information I need before coming to a decision as big as this.
This works 100% of the time so long as you don't get into a conversation about "well what are their terms". Try to act as friendly as possible while throwing these words at them.
I wouldn't do this... Of course they know you're going to talk everything over with your family... Saying "I have offers extended and I want to compare" is retarded
It's actually very far from retarded if you can keep up. I am smart enough to know that I shouldn't turn down offers or accept my first offer, so I got them extended until I could get an interview here, the place I think I really want to be. By granting those extensions for over a week it shows that they really want me. Now I have leverage with this final bank. So, when he asks if I would accept the offer he knows that I will need a short 24-48 hour period to talk it over with family and make sure that they're the number one bank like we had been hoping. I now have slightly forced him into giving me the offer on the spot and i have 3 offers to sit down in private to compare and make the best decision. I can definitely understand where having that freedom of choice could seem "retarded".
i ask SA and FT candidates this question every time if I think he/she performed well and will likely to get an offer. If the person's answer is not anything close to "YES" or " I really like what the group does and this position is definitely on top of my choices", I can guarantee you that the person won't get an offer no matter how well he did during the interview.
Ya I think the above falls into the category of yes. Of course you fill it with all of the BS about the groups culture and how much you can learn from them. You have already mentioned that they are your #1 choice. You're definitely getting the offer.
lol, I've interviewed people before for my firm. If I interviewed you, and you said what you said previously, I would ding you. So, I think that pretty much ends that idea. Can't get much clearer than that - straight from the source.
And to the person that said we don't know the OP's level of seniority. Just asking this question pretty much reveals the OP's familiarity with the interview process which I think is a pretty damn good hint. Let's not get carried away and try to be contrarian for the sake of sounding different. Again, anybody interviewing with me or any of my colleagues who doesn't come off as if they'd give their arm for the job (i.e. saying "yes absolutely show me where to sign) will be dinged before the next question. - Again, straight from the source.
Can we get a little background info on the "source"? What type of firm you work for, where does it stand in rankings, pay, size, etc?
That's just not the way to answer that question... sorry...
Well, it seemed to work pretty well for me. Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it.
I think the best answer is "Let's see that contract." Followed by a smart-ass grin.
Double post.
"If we gave you an offer would you sign?" ---> "Yes" or you're toast.
"Are we your number one/where are we on your list/etc?" ---> "You guys are at the top of my list... because"...(people etc).
You definitely don't have to say "you are my #1/top/lottery/first round/draft pick"...saying they were at the top sufficed every time this situation arose.
Look, don't even bother arguing on this. There is only one answer to this question:
"Yes, absolutely."
Boom. That's straight from an MD... I think he knows what's up... so nb84 maybe you should start heeding the advice that people give. Even if you were able to get an offer using your answer, why would you continue to do so when you have a Managing Director telling you what that question is trying to ascertain? That's just blind pride...
When I had this question, I responded without hesitation, "give me a pen and show be the dotted line." Interviewer responded, "um... well we will see, there is a lot of great candidates..." Wasnt too reassuring however I got the offer.
Guys, once again: the answer depends on the situation.
Let's say, there is a currently employed investment banker working in a reputable (or extremely reputable) bank, who's been approached by headhunters and has several interviews with the competitors. Why the hell should he say "yes, absolutely" to the aforementioned question? The answer would depend on the terms of employment offered - he's not desperate to move, he is a good performer (actually, that's why he's approached by headhunters in the first place), and he would be happy to stay at his current firm - unless competitors indeed offer him something materially more attractive.
Graduate candidate, seeking for his first serious employment. Of course, in this case he doesn't have negotiating power whatsoever, and it's much more advisable to accept an offer (and, already having it on hand, one might try to leverage it at other places, if there are opportunities).
I'm certainly not trying to say that my response is the only way to answer it. The main reason that I stay away from saying "yes, absolutely" when it isn't your #1 choice (which is what the OP was asking) is because I did say that to a firm that was more or less my last option. They extended me an offer very quickly before I had even finished first rounds with the BBs, and I was put into a situation where I had to explain why I said "yes, absolutely" and then needed time to think about it when they presented the offer. I agree that if you're interviewing with most banks, especially ones that you have a desire to work for, you should say "yes" or "where do i sign?", but in my case it ended up putting me in a situation that I realized could have been avoided if I had answered differently. I'm sure rufio has much more insight into the best way to answer this question, but I don't think that you can safely say that the answer should always be "yes".
^What you're talking about is inconsequential. Having to explain your way out of an offer for another offer is much better than not getting an offer. That's a pretty damn good problem to have. I still fail to see any downside, other than the "inconvenience" of having to back out of something. Get the offer first, worry about how to deal with it later...or you might as well just not show up to to the interview and waste everybody's time.
I agree with you that my situation was definitely better than not getting the offer at all. It was just a little embarrassing explaining why I said yes and then needed time to think about it when the offer came. I think that if a bank wants to extend you an offer, they're going to extend you an offer so long as they have a feeling that you're seriously considering accepting it. How people get that across may be different, but so long as they're getting offers it can't be completely wrong.
Doesn't by answering yes, you could potentially burn bridges?
The dumbest arguments on this thread are by people saying that "you aren't legally bound". Of course we all know that, thanks. But, wouldn't a bank be pissed if you said that you would work for them and then later say you won't take the offer? Thus leading to them in the future immediately dismissing you?
WTF are you talking about? Talk about dumb arguments. By definition if you say you would work for a firm and then later say that you won't take the offer, then it pretty much logically follows that the original firm will have no chance to "immediately dismiss you" in the future as you have already taken another offer with another firm.
i think he means that if you were to try to lateral there later you would immediately be dismissed and not even given the opportunity to interview for the position because you have already essentially burned that bridge by telling them you would take the offer and then going back on your word...
Really awesome when you flame someone and it turns out you're wrong rolls eyes... Yes I was obviously referring to a scenario where you turn them down once after saying you would take the job, and then later on in the future (ex. as lateral hire or when you applying for FT (assuming the first situation was for SA, which I was), then I was wondering if this could hurt you.
To the last poster who said that they don't give 2 shits about Analysts, but what about if you turn them down for a SA role when you said you would take the offer and then when you are applying as a FT analyst, wouldn't this hurt you?
You don't want to get into a flame war but you're the one who started in with calling others dumb then posted this nonsense: "thus, leading them in the future immediately dismissing you" Yeah, real fucking clear, reatard. It was so clear that of the two people who read it, one got it and one didn't.
Seriously, if you write like somebody who just fell out of a three storey building, don't have a pissy fit when people think you've made no sense whatsoever. (BTW - Looking at it again, I'm still not even convinced that I was originally wrong about what you meant. I think there's at least a 50-50 chance that you meant what I thought you meant and then that guy who followed me saved face for you with a meaning that made sense, and now you're just playing it off.)
^^^If that is what he meant, it is correct, it's something to take into account when deciding upon offers. Though, if you can see yourself at that firm in the future, you're obviously better off just working for the firm right away. If you have to turn them down and burn that one bridge, then so be it...there are plenty of other firms in the sea.
The only answer to this question is an unqualified "yes, please!" or some variation thereof. Any mention of "seeing the contract" or adding a qualifier such as "provided the contract is standard" is ridiculous and a surefire way to blow-up an otherwise good interview. In the extremely unlikely scenario where they actually whip out a contract (this is not going to happen in real life) then and only then, it would be fair to say you'd like to read it before you sign.
Also, this whole thing about "getting black-balled from the industy" for going back on this type of statement is really absurd. Nobody cares enough about an analyst to remember...don't flatter yourselves.
A common problem with young interviewees is that they often have a hard time conveying that they are excited about the job...and when they do convey this excitement it often is for a job they arent applying for. Ie when I interview a research analyst he will show me that he is excited about being a portfolio manager as opposed to being excited about the job he is actually applying for. This question is an easy, tee-ball way to show you are really excited about the job...answer enthusiastically in the affirmative.
^^^No you weren't "obviously referring to a scenario where you turn them once and later on either as lateral hire or when you applying for FT" because what you wrote was barely fucking comprehensible as is your newest post. So, either learn English and then post, or expect to get flamed when you post something that looks like nonsense.
I'm not going to get into an online flame war, seriously grow up. I'll admit my 2nd post made no sense (I typed it on my phone and was in a hurry), so I just edited it. But the first post made perfect sense which is why everyone else got it and not you. Maybe think about that.
it was pretty obvious to me that he meant such a scenario, although the first sentence did come across a bit engrish
Wow, I haven't been in an AOL chat room since the '90s...
Seriously, this new group of kids on WSO is driving me crazy.
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