Citi and JPM are both exceptionally technical (well... one guy of the 4-5 that interview you will be purely techinical - the other's test stuff such as leadership, fit, etc.... forget the criteria, as it was so long ago that I interviewed)
My Merrill interview was completely fit... didn't get a single technical question.
JPM asked me to do cubes in my head, then asked me about accretion dilution, then asked me about valuing non-profits, then tested me on case studies :-/
It's all a matter of who interviews you and your background. If you were a finance/accounting double major from Wharton, expect more hardcore financial questions than the econ major from Princeton or Amherst. Even then, it varies simply on the interviewers. At UBS, I didn't get a single 'technical' question, other than a brainteaser and a few very high level questions about financial statements. Then at Bear, a friend of mine got basically the same treatment while I was hit with 30 minutes of pure accounting questions, then another 30 of finance/brainteaser questions. Just be prepared for either scenario.
I went to a target school and BoA, GS, CS, and others really lobbed it to me, even having studied finance. Mostly fit interviews and getting inside how you think + analyze a problem. Did get some serious stock- and market-related questions with GIR/FICC at GS, and some IQ/brainteaser stuff on a couple phone interviews.
Most technical interview was with a private wealth manager. Loan amortization tables from scratch. :O
Citi and JPM are both
Citi and JPM are both exceptionally technical (well... one guy of the 4-5 that interview you will be purely techinical - the other's test stuff such as leadership, fit, etc.... forget the criteria, as it was so long ago that I interviewed)
lazard and blackstone
by far the most technical i have seen
i would say lazard and ubs
i would say lazard and ubs la
Houlihan Lokey grilled me
Houlihan Lokey grilled me pretty hard on the technicals. I got "technicals light" from Wachovia as well.
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CompBanker
JPM was not technical at all
JPM was not technical at all for me. Lehman was the least technical I would say and ML the most.
not anymore
Lehman was the least technical I would say and ML the most.
Don't have to worry much about this anymore!
My Merrill interview was
My Merrill interview was completely fit... didn't get a single technical question.
JPM asked me to do cubes in my head, then asked me about accretion dilution, then asked me about valuing non-profits, then tested me on case studies :-/
valuing non-profits?
How did you/how do you value non-profits??
doesn't matter
All IBD interviews in the immediate future will be like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP0sqRMzkwo
It's all a matter of who
It's all a matter of who interviews you and your background. If you were a finance/accounting double major from Wharton, expect more hardcore financial questions than the econ major from Princeton or Amherst. Even then, it varies simply on the interviewers. At UBS, I didn't get a single 'technical' question, other than a brainteaser and a few very high level questions about financial statements. Then at Bear, a friend of mine got basically the same treatment while I was hit with 30 minutes of pure accounting questions, then another 30 of finance/brainteaser questions. Just be prepared for either scenario.
What technical?
I went to a target school and BoA, GS, CS, and others really lobbed it to me, even having studied finance. Mostly fit interviews and getting inside how you think + analyze a problem. Did get some serious stock- and market-related questions with GIR/FICC at GS, and some IQ/brainteaser stuff on a couple phone interviews.
Most technical interview was with a private wealth manager. Loan amortization tables from scratch. :O
Blackstone.
Blackstone.
Top regional BB offices have
Top regional BB offices have exceptionally technical interviews.
definitely
blackstone
they know their stuff and they want to make sure you know yours.
goldman was all fit with some technical.citi, leh and jpm were all fit.
Evercore. They only hire
Evercore. They only hire people that have taken finance/accounting for the past three years.