Summer Associate Interview Prep, MBA candidate
This fall I'll be in the first year of a top 10 MBA program, and my goal is to ace the summer internship interview for an investment banking role at a BB or EB. I have a non-finance undergrad major and non-finance work experience with minimal Excel experience. To prepare for the technical interviews, what particular books and courses are useful? I have read that BIWS is great, as are Rosenbaum and Pignataro's Financial Modeling.
Many thanks.
Your investment banking club will give you everything you need. It's too early for you to really start preparing, IMO. You won't have interviews for another 12 months. That said, the one thing I might do prior to school is go through Rosenbaum and the questions that go with it. Then sometime during the fall you'll get your BIWS/etc guides from your school and you'll want to know those back to front, including all the extra online quizzes and what not, by the time interviews happen.
You won't get any technicals during the networking stage (only ever heard of this at lower ranked schools). You are better off making sure you have an air tight story about why banking, learning about the banks, and knowing more qualitative answers because those are what you'll get asked about early on (and anything on your resume).
Also, at least at my M7, BB interviews were pretty non technical. Very basic check the box type stuff like walking through a DCF. Only tough technicals were in EB interviews. Meaning, the networking and soft part of the process are much more important for MBA recruiting.
Kids from my target bschool got technicals during the informational process typically for the following reasons - 1. had a finance / accounting background, 2. the banker was not an alum, 3. student talked about finance subjects or 4. banker was having a bad day. More so since you're coming from a non-finance background, be prepared for the questions, "what are you doing to prepare yourself for the internship?" or "how do I know you will excel in this role?"
Some BB's had difficult technicals and this also varied over years and banker to banker, so don't go into a BB interview thinking you will be getting all softballs. All EBs were pretty tough when I went through it.
Networking/informational interviews are relaxed at the beginning, but you'll get questions as you get closer to interviews (Oct/Nov). From a non-finance background myself and a number of BB's liked to ask "What do investment bankers do?" and "What is the role of an associate?" pretty early on, which is a fair question at any time.
Comment removed
Agree with above comments to read up on technicals and nail down your story.
One more recommendation: start putting out feelers to bankers you know through family, community, house of worship, etc. Anyone you already know/have met. Don't reach out to any alumni yet - that'll happen on campus.
Summer Associate Interview (Originally Posted: 01/03/2017)
Did a forum search and got mixed responses. For some background, I'm an MBA at an MBA business schools">M7. Non-finance background. Have ib interviews for BB and middle market summer associate positions. My classmates have shared materials with me that I see people on here use when applying for summer analyst positions. Is summer associate interviewing supposed to be a more intense process than summer analyst? Want to make sure I'm prepping using the proper materials (ex. BIWS guides).
This needs to be managed carefully especially if you go to a target school. If you go to a target school do not flaunt these connections to your school's recruiting team. If you meet with a family connection maybe have them email someone on the recruiting team vouching for you. If you don't go to a target school, then it's a bit more useful to use these connections fully.
Agree with this. If you're at a top 10 program you will likely have a standardized recruiting process. Follow the steps and stay hungry.
They aren't anymore technical (and often are less, IME) than summer analyst interviews. BBs in particular are pretty easy technically. MM are a little more technical in my limited experience with EBs being the most technical. BIWS will cover everything you need to know for BB and MM interviews, for sure.
Follow whatever guides your school's Finance/IB Club provide and you should be prepared. Technicals aren't bad at all at most banks--walk me through a DCF, if you overstate depreciation, how does it impact the 3 financial statements, etc...
If you nail those, some firms will continue to ask you progressively harder questions to see how far they can push you, but for the most part if you confidently and sufficiently answer a few technicals, they'll move onto the fit/behavioral pretty quickly.
If your background is super non-finance (i.e. you didn't even work in an office before but were military, an actor or athlete), where there is a bit more skepticism on your technical abilities they may push you a bit more.
For nailing MBA interviews, being able to sell yourself on fit and convince firms that you'll accept if given an offer play the biggest role. Technicals are more of a yes/no check the box--they won't win you an offer but can lose you one.
Summer Associate Interview Questions (Originally Posted: 09/05/2008)
I'm about to begin interviewing for summer associate positions at most of the I-banks and a few buy side PE mezzanine funds. I don't know what I don't know...if that makes sense.
Can anyone give me advice on the tech questions that are asked in these kinds of finance interviews.
Thanks, Treavor
I don't have anything to add but you'll probably get a better turn out response wise if you let everyone know what kind of prior experience you had before B-school. That way those who have gone through associate level interviews will have a good idea what you already know.
vault guide and google search man.. you have some serious work to do.
With no relevant work experience, you'd really need to nail the case interview if you get one (we put all our associate candidates through a case). Basically, if given an example company, you need to be able to identify the questions you would ask to extract key data. Basically a test of your knowledge of what makes a good business. Sorry if this seems abstract, but I've never administered or gone through our case interview.
Do you want specific interview questions from IB's? There are technical questions and specific questions here.
Thanks Bumble.
I'm a finance / econ undergrad and the terminology doesn't scare me. DCF, CAPM, etc.
However, most sites have very generic information. I'll check out the site you posted.
Just did my rotations for some BB Summer Associate roles and it was all behavioral, except for generic "Where do you see the market going".
Summer Associate Interviews, final invitations (Originally Posted: 12/27/2016)
When do all of the Summer Associate final interview or superday invites go out? I would assume they all go out prior to the end of this week?
That's going to depend on your school's OCR. For the MBA business schools">M7 MBA programs almost all of them have compressed first and second rounds in mid to late January (i.e. interview in a Monday/Tuesday and have your super day later that week if you get the invite).
But as far as I've heard from my friends at other schools most non OCR processes have had second round invites earlier this month with only a handful still outstanding. But even in those non-OCR processes many are still a school dependent.
I'm at an MBA business schools">M7 and am waiting to hear whether or not I've been invited to the interview process in January. I recruited well with multiple banks and was told that I would receive an invite from a few banks but I have yet to hear back.
Summer Associate?
For our first years, offers have already been given.
Depends on your school and when interviews are. I'm on the recruiting team for a school that does interviews the first week in January on campus...we sent our invites out a week ago. If your slots are mid January, you likely will hear this week or next.
I appreciate it. I go to Booth.
Summer Associate - Have some phone interviews coming up (Originally Posted: 11/22/2010)
I'm purusing Summer Associate opportunities and have a some phone interviews coming up with a couple BB's including JPM. I'm starting to prepare and was curious as to what to expect. Ideally, I'd like to know specifics such as what questions I will be asked and how long the process takes.
Also, do Summer Associates get compensated?
Thanks in advance.
My background: I'm currenlty in Asset Management, 2nd year MBA-ER at a top tier school, and an active CFA candidate.
If you are a 2nd year why are you interviewing for summer associate?
Are you sure this is an interview and not an informational? It's a tad too late for FT associate hiring and a tad too early for summer associate hiring, at least at my school. All of our first rounds are on campus...
Sequi et minus molestiae nostrum nostrum nesciunt quibusdam. Necessitatibus nihil perferendis fugit quas natus minus non. Dolores et non ea.
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...
Hic voluptatibus voluptas est corporis. Velit ab est sunt modi quasi. Laborum quo et maxime ipsam occaecati. Dolores quae sequi consectetur repellendus veniam.
Quis nam nihil sed ex. Nesciunt fugit consequatur et nemo assumenda minus dolorem voluptatem. Maiores velit est ullam officia aut at.
Magnam ratione ab voluptatem ut nobis. Quod suscipit qui ut et quia. Veniam expedita eaque deleniti dolores. Quo fuga ipsum sequi doloremque autem. Delectus aut non et provident voluptatum numquam porro.