Placement/ Sell Day, what the hell is it like?

Placement Day is coming up at JPM and BofAML. I am fortunate enough to be joining one of those for the summer and a friend of mine if joining the other. (We're SA's).

We have been networking and what not with the bank but neither of us has wanted to be overly frank and ask things about placement day like "how long will I be interviewed by your Group specifically and how hard is it?".

Does anyone know SPECIFICALLY the process of placement day at either of these two firms? I can't find a legitimate walk through of what this is like anywhere. I.e. timing, content, atmosphere, etc., additional specific concerns are below if this wasn't clear enough.

  • MOST IMPORTANT due to travel plans: Is it really the entire day? In the email it said 9 am - 5 pm. Although, it said the same for the original interview which was 1.5 hours consisting of three 30 minute interviews. (Also find it hard to believe bankers would want to spend a whole day with us).

  • How long do you meet with each Group? Or does it vary? Apparently, I am meeting with 3 Groups. How long could I possibly be in an interview for if I have to go visit two other floors? (Would like to mentally prepare the possibility of a marathon if that is the case lol).

  • Have you guys heard any horror stories about placement day at either of these banks? I.e. a paper LBO or an excel test or something of that nature? (I know, I know, a paper lbo isn't overly hard, but if I am supposedly meeting with two other Groups that would come off as pretty strange and is something I'd rather not unnecessarily expend time into unless I have to).

Really appreciate any and all advice thank you in advance for any help!

P.S. (Secondary question) - Really appreciate general process information and tidbits. However, if anyone knows anything about a few of the "competetive" Groups and what goes on in their interviews, it would be much appreciated. Also, I have heard most of the Groups are good at these two banks, any to AVOID? Any Groups at either bank overly sweaty or downright ridiculous?

 
Best Response

I went through the placement day at one of these two banks for Summer Associate positions, so may be a tad different but I'm sure it's pretty similar.

Timing - we had a Thursday night Happy Hour and got to network with bankers in different groups and then a bunch of the summers went out after. Friday the day was pretty much 9-5 - we may have gotten out at like 4:30. They give you a breakfast and lunch (one was larger than the other - forget which). As for bankers not wanting to spend the whole day with you, they don't - they cycle in and out so each banker may speak to 2-4 kids (other than staffers who spend pretty much the whole day doing it).

Group meetings - Each of the three groups I met with started with a 20-30 minute overview of the group with 1-4 bankers from each group - introductions, size of group, types of deal, culture, etc. Then broke into 3x 20 minute interviews with bankers from that group usually Associates / VPs, couple directors. After each group session (of 1.5 hours, you get a short bathroom / coffee break. Yes you will be on many different floors.

horror stories / What to expect - I met with two coverage and one product group (LevFin) (All solid groups). I didn't get any technicals in any of the meetings; however, I heard kids got some in M&A meetings and maybe a random one here and there in other groups - so be prepared, but I don't think it's something to stress about (no excel tests). Most of the meetings was introduce yourself (give your short story), why banking and why that group. Then it's your turn to ask the questions. Also be prepared to talk about some of your interests and hobbies.

As to what groups to avoid, I'd just look at the other threads on here about JPM / BAML top groups etc (e.g., JPM HC is a top group but works you super hard)

Some tips - 1. Have a decent reason for why that group and shown some genuine interest even if you're gunning for another group. Be polite to all bankers in all the groups. Word travels if you're cocky or rude, even to your top group.

  1. There's some gaming of the matching process that can be thought about if you're a bit risky - e.g., you're #1 group is LevFin at JPM, so you put M&A / HC (other super popular groups) and won't get chosen for M&A / HC because they are your #2/3 choices, so they stick you in LevFin. But with this you may end up with a random group if LevFin passes.

  2. If you are very interested in a group, try to reach out to someone you're close with at the group to set up time to have calls / meetings with more bankers from that group before placement day.

  3. It's a long day, but shouldn't be a marathon as it's not super intense or intellectually demanding. More of a speed dating type of thing.

  4. In the downtime - try to meet more of your fellow interns - start building your network!

Hope this helps - feel free to PM me for any other questions you may have.

 

Placement Day isn't crazy, it's just a long networking meet and greet. If you got the offer, you'll be fine. Pick the groups you're interested in and learn a little about them beforehand but go in with questions and be curious. Nobody is going to grill you, and at this stage they're more interested in fit.

The day typically involves a big meet and greet breakfast (take these times to also try to meet your fellow SAs), as well as a quick lunch later. They're big events with lots of kids and lots of bankers, so just try not to get lost and try to meet as many people as possible (sort of treat it like a networking info session). Your actual meetings will be arranged in modules, spending 90min-2hr with each group. Usually, the staffer will do an intro, and then you'll be pulled in to meet with a few random people who happen to have a few minutes. Again, just be nice and confident and you'll be fine.

There will be kids who have networked their way into their top group but don't worry about them or about gaming the process too much. It's hard, can back-fire, and most importantly, really isn't worth it. You may not know which groups are the best fit, and if you go in there with an agenda, you can't be open-minded or curious, which is crucial if you really want to find the best fit for you.

In terms of top-groups, I think it's been addressed elsewhere but everyone will want to be in M&A and LevFin at both places, and they're top groups at both banks (M&A at BAML less so). The strongest coverage teams in terms of deal flow at JPM would probably be TMT, HC, FIG, but HC is a sweatshop and FIG has some very questionable culture. At BAML, I would say C&R, HC, REGL, and Industrials have the strongest deal flow and as far as I know, none of them have serious and widespread culture issues. REGL and Industrials certainly aren't sexy groups but if I were you, I'd take a hard look because they're top on the street and the guys are pretty laid back and down to earth in both.

That's it - anyone PM me if they have more specific questions; I went through one of these two placement days back in the day.

 

Weird, because Everyone I know is having a really hard time getting full-time offers. The irrational fear of providing the name of the BB completely makes half the information on this site useless. There's a handful of BB's that favor Stern much more than other firms (Deutsche doesn't even recruit front office here) , so its really hard to know how significant this is without knowing the firm. I know Lehman, Goldman, Citi, and ML seem to have a penchant for us...Whereas MS, Deutsche, and a lot of the 2nd tiers do not.

On the same note, the same 30 or so kids have been hogging up 5+ offers, whereas other kids can't get first rounds. The douchebags with 3.9's keep signing up for interviews with companies such as UBS after they already have a GS offer.

Also, A lot of people I know who are getting super days are having trouble getting passing it.

 

My guess would be ML. Due to the number of NYU kids that intern there as night analysts and subsequently are given offers. But I have heard night analysts had a rough time getting offers this year.

 

ixjunitxi - This was a sell day, not a superday. Everyone at the event already had an offer. untilted - Every student at both tables were UVA. Although I wasn't at the event, I had lunch with a few bankers about 30 feet from the event and we had conversed about the magnitude of students from these two schools. curiousmonkey - Yes, it was all IBD.

I guess its understandable that many banks have strong relations with NYU, due to both nature of coursework and proximity of location. Nonetheless, my head doesn't associate NYU with the pedigree typically envisioned in banking.

 
curiousmonkey:
that's really surprising. most of my nyu stern friends are gunning for equity research positions...

IBD is definitely much bigger among the people I know/friends of people I know. And I tend to know the less driven inidivduals...the quiet 3.9's are also probably all doing banking because they think it will get them laid some day...

That being said I got two ibd interviews, and zero equity research, and I personally wanted ER.

 

I work in S&T, and from what I've seen, in both IBD and S&T, BBs tend to be fairly idiosyncratic about where they hire from. Of course, all BBs pretty much look at top schools, but different places emphasize different schools within the upper echelon in part because of where influential alumni come from. After all, a heavy hitter from school X who cares a lot about his alma mater can dramatically increase the percentage of offers coming from that school.

 

Not to mention the sheer size and location of NYU. Imagine how much easier it would have been if you could have met NY bankers regularly for lunch / coffee. Networking in my own backyard would have been infinitely more effective. Anyways, NYU and UVA being heavily recruited doesn't surprise me.

Duke and Georgetown were by far the most well represented schools in my class.

 

There are probably a fair number of students at NYU that are originally from the area, living on the upper east side. These students are likely very connected and have a relatively easy time getting a spot.

 

I went to one of those schools, Wall Street isn't as popular as people on this site make it out to be, even in the best of times. At my school consulting and law school were far more popular than banking - and this was a few years ago when recruiting was solid.

I'm not saying it's THE reason, but it's certainly possible.

 

I'm an NYU alum, and I can say that we get solid recruitment at virtually all of the banks (BB, major and minor boutiques, MM, basically everything except DB, lol) and even some hedge funds. Top Consulting doesn't really actively recruit, though they will look at a few top kids. Oh well.

 

This is a sell day for a summer internship; the conflict is a banquet held by a firm that is currently holding a full-time offer until after this summer

Sell day is when a bank brings in new hires/interns for to meet and greet with different groups so that each side can rank who they want assigned where.

 

I just went through one. Essentially all the groups at the bank give a presentation and then you rank them afterwards. I was also told that they rank you. I know that all the presenters had a copy of our resumes.

 

It can take the form of mutual rankings like Steve wrote above. Or it could just be after you get an offer, when they try to "sell" you on why you should go to them. The second case happens more often if you have competing offers and are considering alternatives.

Don't really need to prepare anything, just be on your toes, fully rested, etc. Some background research into recent activity and different groups at the firm may be helpful as well.

 

If you have received a "platform offer" for IBD, Sell Day is usually in January/February (I am talking about FT positions) where all the different groups wine you and dine you, you rank them, they rank you, and you get placed into a specific group. That's my experience with it.

 

Networking before a sell day is def a good idea. My sell day is in March but I was able to get my offer changed to group specific for the top group in the bank through networking after receiving the platform offer.

If you interviewed with someone in a group you're interested in, reach out to them and ask if you can talk more about their group and how they like it. If not, use linkedin to do the same thing. Ask for what their group looks for in SAs and express your interest.

Is this the only way to get a solid group placement? Probably not. But you might as well tip the odds in your favor as much as possible.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 

Laudantium est velit ut odit. Sit harum occaecati qui maiores quia minus quisquam alias. Non distinctio ab nisi sint consequatur. Distinctio rem qui et inventore.

 

Nam aspernatur hic vel sit eos facere. Aut voluptas libero nemo voluptatem repellendus qui vitae. Nisi molestiae harum ab facilis officia sunt. Harum est aperiam praesentium molestiae aut ut. Ut ut voluptas odit eveniet quia architecto. Provident voluptatem quidem nam est necessitatibus voluptatem aut eius. Quae nam earum ut temporibus aut amet. Nisi beatae molestiae amet eligendi placeat quae.

Numquam ullam sapiente deserunt ipsam harum voluptatem sit iusto. At voluptate ipsum aut quas nisi. Quo inventore delectus doloremque. Sit delectus velit voluptatem minus quas quasi.

Aut placeat et qui aliquam laboriosam corrupti dolor. Quisquam impedit quas rerum illum similique id. Aut fugit sed dolores et minima ut quaerat. Nihil ipsam et qui voluptatibus corrupti neque distinctio. Hic veniam ut aperiam quaerat rem.

 

Eaque dolor pariatur voluptatem ad doloremque dolore id. Accusamus ipsum sint ipsam non quisquam. Ducimus ratione sint reprehenderit distinctio et voluptas et.

Eum sed omnis expedita quia. Neque voluptate ut assumenda.

Facere ut eaque velit et aut consectetur rerum. Nisi quis perspiciatis doloribus incidunt. Placeat aut nam deleniti sed. Qui soluta tenetur illo nobis optio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”