Why am I not getting superdays?
wondering if anyone has some perspective on this and any advice. I have had 4 interviews now for IBD SA positions and have not gotten any superday offers. The few technicals I have gotten I have nailed. everything else seems to check out on paper too:
-can walk through resume (pwm, boutique IB, investing) logically and tie each experience to why I want to do IB and how it has prepared me for IB
-logical story
-have networked with people at bank and even know the interviewers personally in one case
-have specific reasons why I want to work at THAT bank
-interesting hobbies/interests that a couple of interviewers have asked and talked with me about
-confident but not cocky, speak at a good pace, good eye contact, etc.
-clean and professional dress and appearance
only thing I can think of is a low-ish GPA, above the 3.5 cutoff but not 3.9-4.0 range...anyone experienced this before and know what to do?
you look like a very strong candidate.
it's a frustrating process but keep on pushing man. that's all.
Your interviewers may just not like you or don't think you'll mesh well with the group. GPA is irrelevant at this point - only useful for getting the first round. Maybe you're good, but other candidates are just better. There is also a certain amount of luck involved with who moves on and doesn't. Keep doing your thing man.
Maybe do mock interviews with close friends/contacts who have been through the process You sound like you know what you are talking about, but its always. possible you aren't doing the things you mentioned as well as you think you are
Yeah, likability at the end of the day is more important than anything. They would be happy to choose a 3.3er over a 3.6er with IB internship, if 3.3er is genuine and more likable.
I know likeability is huge and possibly the most important factor in the interview and I think I have that going for me. As I mentioned I knew one interviewer personally, I was in a club with him for a year before he graduated. He had helped me along the way and been a sort of mentor, didn't really ask me any real questions in the interview because he knew my story and why I wanted the job, we just talked about soccer and some professors we had both had for 30 minutes. A week later I get the standard "Thank you for your application but due to the large number of qualified applicants, we are not able to move forward with your application" email. Totally inexplicable and very discouraging.
Well, if you are certain you are a killer interviewer and have everything perfect, then there are just candidates better than you.
you sound very well prepared. A few probably reasons why you aren't moving on:
The odds are still against you...how many of the candidates are interviewing and how many are moving on? 20% move onto a superday? That means 4 out of 5 do not. You could just be missing the cut-off every time - it took me until my ~15th interview to get an offer...had only made 2 superdays prior to that at 2 banks...4 is not a lot of plate appearances. This was because I sucked in my first 5-8 interviews because I wasn't really prepared as much as I should have been. Have you been better at interview # 3-4 than interview #1-2? If so, make sure at interview #8 you are cursing yourself for your performance in interview #5-6. Get polished NOW.
Being perfectly/overly prepared can make you come across as less genuine. If you have a scripted answer for every question, sometimes it's harder to come across as a natural human being and let your personality shine. Personally, I would try to show humor (appropriate amount) if the opportnity presents itself, but also show you are sharp on the technicals (not just can answer them right, but show your reasoning / logic to display your thought process)...smart + funny = golden. This comes with mock interviews and practice, NOT scripting answers.
Not having done any mock interviews with friends or a mentor? This is a HUGE mistake. You could have some tick you are not even aware of - or a verbal crutch like "ummmm" or "ya know?" that could be getting you dinged every time. Even if you don't have an obvious flaw, you can come across as too eager, too desparate if you are jumping all over technicals to answer them fast or have perfectly crafted stories for the fit portion that sound fake / rehearsed. Or maybe your confidence is bordering a bit too close onto arrogance...that can be an auto-ding.
All in all, interviewing is a very fine balance. You have to be skilled at social CALIBRATION to have the most success - you always want to be slightly more professional than your interviewer, but you take their lead. don't think of interviewing as being put in a vacuum or going up on stage performing - it's an interactive experience with very different human beings with an entire set of predilections and odd biases. Just try your best to connect and make the interview a conversation where you are demonstrating your intellect, but also don't come across as a robot or overly rehearsed...
Best of luck! Patrick
awesome advice, thanks!
All I could say is maintain that relationship and persist at other places as well. If you land up a job this summer at these places, great! If not, start preparing for full-time recruitment and ask those people for constructive feedback for full-time recruitment.
They might even consider you again for full-time positions if you have maintained your relationship well.
Also, shit happens. Move on.
You are clearly doing something wrong or aren't as likable as you think you are. No point in asking why you aren't getting superdays only do dismiss every possible suggesting offered up by contributors on here. In most cases people aren't able to pick up on their own social awkwardness (if they are in fact coming off this way).
he isnt dismissing anyone...
I saw what you posted before. Don't worry, I am not gonna tell anyone, hahahaha.
That was hilarious though.
He dismissed the idea that likability might be the problem.
If he has great experience, a solid GPA, a good story, and has gotten along well with his interviewers then he should be getting every super-day right?
Thanks for your help guys. Maybe I am awkward, who knows. I'll try to set up a practice interview with someone. Also I have never really asked for feedback after an interview so is there a good way to do this?
When I attended my career recruiting class, the one thing the HR director emphasized was asking for feedback at the end of the interview.
Reasons: 1. It is a pretty bold move 2. Any criticism they have (e.g. you did not explain your weaknesses enough) can be countered after they finish speaking 3. It is a good way to show you are receptive to critical feedback.
I have actually used this 3-4 times (depending on how the situation ends) and for the most part I have gotten good responses from it. One of those times I was actually dinged already and they just deferred their feedback for the rejection email.
Typically I approach this through two ways, but there are probably a million ways to do it. 1. One thing I like to do before each interview is to get some feedback on the performance of my interview, could you please give me some feedback especially on what I can do to improve? 2. I am curious to know how I stack up against the other applicants?
Note that each question is in response to a certain tone and person, if everything is smooth sailing and the interviewer is HR, I use #1.
First, keep pushing along. Recruiting is a grind and results can be inexpiable but things usually work themselves out. After reading what you list about yourself it seems like a likability/perception thing. Why do you want to do banking? Is it prestige/money/status/etc.? If you don't have somewhat of a real answer then it's really easy to pick up on. At the end of the day some people have the tendency to rub people the wrong way, especially when they want something badly and they think they're more than qualified for the position.
Practice more. You sound good on paper but that doesn't mean shit if you're not poised and confident in the actual interview room.
Do you go to a target/semi-target? If you go to a complete non-target without a lot of alumni, then it might be more difficult. Plus its December and lots of superdays are in January, so maybe they're holding out until more 1st rounds are done.
No Superdays as of Yet (Originally Posted: 09/30/2017)
Hello Everyone,
I applied to pretty much everyone BB and EB but I haven't had any luck in receiving a single first round or any superday. Do I still have a chance to get IB gig for next summer??
Thanks.
Don't just apply to BBs and EBs. Apply to MMs as well. Last year when I went through recruiting I sent in over 200 applications. Also, look into corp dev roles a mid-sized firms; that's what I did after my sophomore year, and had a great experience.
isn't to late to apply now? or are there still Boutiques, and MM hiring?? I have send out almost 50+ apps so far. Planning to send more in a day or two
Can't get to Superdays (Originally Posted: 12/09/2014)
Anyone have any tips on how to ace your first rounds?
likely that your story and why banking are weak
i've done banking before. maybe the story though
Hard to say not having interviewed you or heard more, but I always asked the people who interviewed me after I failed to secure superdays what happened and how I could do better.
So, try to do that... then you know for sure why. Maybe 50% of interviewers responded.
Things I was told: - Stronger "Why banking" and how your story ties into that - I didn't believe you really "got it" in terms that your life is gonna suck and you are ready to do all the grunt work - Along with this - Don't be overzealous. "I'm gonna put my head down and crank" matters more as an analyst than things like "I speak French and you do a lot of business in France". #1 thing you want them to think is that you are a likable workhorse that won't jump after a year. - Missing a technical question that was easy (this was actually a misunderstanding of the question on my part... so I started to always clarify with the interviewer what he was asking to make sure I was solving the right technical) - Missing "Why this firm" for MM interviews
Good luck.... But seriously, if you can, reach back out to the people that interviewed you and ask for advice. That goes a long ways. I reached out to a guy you turned me down for one firm, and then he moved to another firm and pushed my resume there after we talked. Another guy introduced to me his friends at another firm - and these were BB and EB people. I only mention that because I feel like people are afraid to reach out to people at these firms for fear of bothering a busy person... everyone is busy, even people not in banking, but if you are genuine, people remember being in your shoes.
no one has asked me why banking though... seriously. i wish they asked.
yea it's inputed in my story. i say it fits my personality more, its fast paced and i like having a meaningful impact with the companies i'm working with
Can you really say banking is fast paced? Transactions take months and months to close...
everyone and their mom says that - why not say something that is actually tailored to yourself?
Yeah, you need a stronger story. Many first rounds are checks to make sure that you know the basics about investment banking and have a good story. As you seem like you are good with the basics, create a kickass story. Talk to your networking contacts at banks and run your story by them. Make sure you have it down pat and you should get to those superdays.
No superdays yet? (Originally Posted: 01/11/2015)
Are super days mainly done? If I haven't been called to super days, am I screwed? I'm at a top15 university, target for some BB, and the deadlines for the career portal at my school at mostly within a week or two. I figured maybe the banks recruited late my school but now I'm not sure what to think. I feel like everyone has been through their superdays and now there are very few positions left? Am I unnecessarily freaking out?
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