Why do you want to work for XXX bank?

In my interviews I always found it best to mention something unique about the bank you are interviewing with or the specific program. Whether it be a specific training method, small deal teams, etc. Make sure it is something specific to their bank, not something that you could use for a number of different places.

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Convenience is right. Do your research on the particular firm you happen to be interviewing with, and find out what makes it unique. Not just general things that they all claim, like innovative strategies and global leadership, but specific, non-bs examples, like, for instance, if the bank has recently expanded its overseas presence, you can tell them that this excites you because you want to have the opportunity to work on projects and deals that are going to have ramifications throughout the world in both established and developing markets.

Alright.... maybe that sounded a bit scripted, but you get the picture. You just have to make it sound real, and not like a canned response.

Paraphrasing here: at the end of the day, people who talk about the bank's strategy, position, etc. are telling us something: either they don't know anyone at the bank or haven't reached out to anyone, where the latter is usually the case. The best answers are about the people and what someone can tell you about their experience here. At the end of the day, the training, the financial skills, the modeling, the way a bank values a company: these differences are minute, though each does things slightly differently, at the end of the day, your experience is going to be very similar if you take out the prestige in the equation. That said, it shows you what matters: the value of the bank is the people: the culture in the office, what others who have been through it have said differentiates the experience, etc.

I come from a non-target, but I managed to sniff out the handful of people that are/were in IBD, and they can give you a pretty good overview of things, even of differences between banks (since they often room with other analysts).

I hope that helps. I know you mentioned you have no contacts, but bluntly: make some. Cold-call/email anyone, even if they are in different parts of the bank.

Having a personal story, such as "I met so and so who told me [all this great stuff] and really impressed me" and such is generally the best strategy.

Ultimately, banks are all professional services organizations... so the only way they differentiate themselves is with the people.

You have to be careful with saying something generic about "culture" because it's easy to get that wrong, especially if you're not an expert on the topic.

It's better to focus on the personal, if you can do so.

If you can't, generally if you're going to a boutique or smaller firm for example, focus on the leaner deal teams / more responsibility aspect... if it's for a bulge bracket, focus on recent deals / friends you have there / getting to work on the most well-known projects. If you're going to an industry group, focus on your interest in that industry.

But as Alphaholic said, all those are secondary to the people. If you don't know anyone at a bank, get to know them ASAP... and then talk about them in your interviews.

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I have an interview on monday and i havent gotten in touch with any of the firm's employees.... i am completely fucked?
also, i didnt go to their information session, will that make my situation even more fucked?!?!

Any suggestions as to how I could answer the question of, why work for us?