The Best IBD SA OCR, Interviews and FT Offer Conversion Posts on WSO

Thanks to my content intern @Lucas_m" for another great compilation post. This one covers on campus recruiting, interviews, and converting SA internships into FT offers. Enjoy! -Andy

1. Acing the investment banking analyst interview
posted by @frgna"

Wrapping up an interview 1. Before you ask us questions it’s nice to say “I’ve done lots of research on your firm and talked to a lot of people so I know your firm pretty well, so I really want to hear more about your own personal experiences here.”

2. Some good questions to ask your interviewers: 1) Tell me about a recent deal you’ve worked on that you liked. 2) What are the next steps from here? 3) How have you liked your experience here so far? Anything surprise you, good or bad? 4) Tell me about what you guys do for fun.

3. Some questions to avoid: 1) What are the hours like here? (get that info later from an insider that you know better) 2) Anything related to compensation 3) What are your plans after banking? (we can’t answer that and we’ll all say we’re planning on staying in the near term…duh…)

4. Don’t stand up until I stand up.

- 126 silver bananas

2. Best interview advice I ever received
posted by @jhoratio"

I wanted to share with you guys a tip that is virtually guaranteed to improve your interviews.

Here's what you do:
1. Arrive at interview location about 15 minutes early
2. Greet the receptionist, hang up coat, etc.
3. Ask to use the men's room
4. Take a shit

Sounds simple enough, right? What's the point, you ask? The fact is when you walk in for an interview you're on foreign ground, their turf. This is an away game for you. Ask any sports team: it's always tough to win on the road.

But when you stride into the company restroom and drop a huge deuce, you have essentially turned the tables. At this point, you subconsciously feel like you own the place. You relax, you let your guard down. When you get back to reception feeling right at home, you start to wonder if the lobby furniture actually might be yours. And as we all know, the more yourself you are, the more relaxed and confident you are, the better you do on your interviews.

I am absolutely serious about this, by the way. I tried to present it in kind of a funny way, but that's not to say it doesn't work like a charm every time. Just make sure you're not trailing any TP from your shoe

- 53 silver bananas

3. 11 Steps to Becoming a Finance Jedi
posted by @ichorturtle

1. Read ONLY what's important and use it actively. Use the 20 second rule. Ask yourself 20 seconds into a reading, "Is this something that will possibly benefit me over the next 3 years of my career?" You will gain years of life this way. Those mid-career losers you see who have been in the business for 10+ years but still don't seem to know anything? They tend to share a love of reading, especially the WSJ. Reading time is a precious resource. It counts only if you can use it actively in practice. Everybody can read. It's easy. Read things that stretch you and engage actively with the material.

2. Keep notes on your reading. You will be shocked, shocked at how little you retain in your little brain as you progress in your career. Massive data overload, processing complexity, and time constraint means that you will not be able to separate the wheat from chaff without re-processing the important stuff into notes.

- 47 silver bananas

4. How to Crush Your Informational Interview
posted by @NiuShi"

3) Lead the conversation by listening – You want to maintain control of the conversation, but you can’t learn if your mouth is open, yapping away. Listen intently, take notes if you want (not too aggressively – that can get weird) Show the other person you’re interested and invested in what they’re saying with classic body language of nodding, smiling, and the occasional ‘uh-huh’ or ‘okay.’

It’s almost like a date, right? Start off with small talk about this or that, so the other person warms up to you a bit and they’re willing to be candid, then shut up and let them tell you all about themselves. Throw in a memorable story here or a witty riposte there, and boom, you’re the world’s most affable conversation partner. The industry professional will be walking back to his office thinking to himself, “What a great guy!”

4) Directed, efficient questions – This informational interview is about you. You are there for a very specific mission. What this mission is, you need to decide ahead of time. It could be for a direct referral, industry background information, overall career advice, specific firm-related questions, what have you. You need that objective to drive the discussion. Don’t waste this guy’s time with, “So, what is working at Goldman Sachs like? Is it a high-pressure environment?” Ask a pointed question, receive a specific answer, and take that answer and add it to your arsenal of industry knowledge and future interview responses.

A few goldmines from past experience:
- “What surprised you most during your first year of private equity?”
- “What advice would you give to someone in my position looking for a full time offer 18 months from now?”
- “What is the most important thing a person wanting to enter PE should know?”
- “What part of the job do you find the most satisfying?”
- “What particular skills or aptitudes do the most successful PE analysts have?”
- “What are the differences between _________ and its competitors?”

You’ll notice that these are all ‘What’ questions. You don’t want to appear like an automaton during the informational interview, but I have found that asking ‘What’ questions, yields responses that give you very specific pieces of data that you can then deploy when you need. Asking ‘Why’ or ‘How’ questions are also effective, but you will get a different sort of response all together – a much ‘softer’ answer. (Note: some will disagree with me here, I’m sure – I guess it’s a personal thing, but I find getting jewels of data proves more valuable than broad brush stroke responses)

- 47 silver bananas

5. Former MS M&A / KKR here to field questions
posted by @10xleverage"

Do not turn down interviews or count your chickens before you hatch. You should not only work with all the headhunter search firms and cast a wide net, instead also make sure to be straightforward with them about what you want (do not say you are open to working in Chicago if you are not going to do this, it is a waste of everyone's time). That said, you should interview as much as you can as the practice is good for you, especially as you build up to the more difficult interviews at the megafunds. I interviewed at several megafunds and these interviews can be prepped for, but the more preparation the better. You cannot go in to one of these interviews cold and expect to hit it out of the park, that is why it is important to interview as much and as early as you can so that you get a hang of it.

Regarding the headhunters, make sure to be likable. If you're an asshole and nobody likes you, that is a big problem and it will hold you down. I mean there is only so much you can do, if you are annoying and not likable, it doesn't matter how quickly you can compute WACC in your head. The headhunters function as gatekeepers, so it is important that they like you, or else they will not put you in front of the best firms. You will have preliminary interviews with the headhunters, and although they will not be as rigorous as the real deal, they are important for making it to the next step, so you should treat them with the same respect you would treat a final round with your top choice fund, because in some ways, it is just as important.

- 34 silver bananas

6. Notes for Technical Interview Questions
posted by @Asia_i_Banker"

Just a small point to start with – Valuation is often an art and not an exact science. There are many different ways to approach the numbers, often depending on what you (and your client) want the numbers to show.

It is critical, however, that you can stand in front of a group of senior Japanese executives, for example, and confidently explain to them why your numbers stack up the particular way they do. Similarly, if you are preparing for an interview by simply memorizing valuation formulas, but you cannot smoothly explain the function of each piece of each formula, you will not (or at least you should not) proceed to the next round.

- 29 silver bananas

7. Why YOU Aren't Getting Offers
posted by @JimmyDormandy"

The following chain of events is why so many young monkeys on this forum (who go to Ivy League universities, have internships, solid grades, whatever else) are not getting jobs:

• He assumed because he went to Yale, he deserved an IB career (he basically said this)
• He was wearing a suit that had pants with zippers for pockets (obviously this fucker hasn’t read the 20,000 posts on “how to dress for an interview” – I would auto ding this kid even if he was Summa @ HBS for such a fashion faux pas.
• He focused on nothing but EXIT OPPS (which began to make my blood boil). Upon our discussion where he has interviewed and where he was going to be interviewing (which I could have been a HUGE asset on both prep and recommendations) his only questions related to where it would get him after. WSO – top exits opps will be available to a sample size of any year’s analyst class (and as the wonderful recent PE thread has addressed, it ain’t all that great kiddies).
• He was as stale as a 4 year old Triscuit in the August sun in Tuscon, AZ. Bring something to the table, I don’t care if all you can do is crank a DCF – any moron can do this.
• He could not speak to his strengths
• He could not tell his story
• He knew nothing about the bank he was going to
• He knew nothing about the market
• He did nothing but ANNOY me – asking dumb questions, ranting about DCF calculations when he was actually fucking wrong, and did not take the time to pick my brain, someone who has gone the path he is attempting and succeeded (and he knew MY story quickly because I know how to tell it).

Monkeys, bottom line – if you have the tangibles required for banking / finance in general and are still not receiving offers (whether FT or SA) you are lacking the intangibles. I know many people on this forum say all they want is an excel machine, but there is much more to banking – and finance for that matter. Take a step back, and really examine your process thus far if you are without an offer.

- 22 silver bananas

8. UG Recruiting Part I: How a resume becomes an interview posted by @Marcus_Halberstram"

In the meeting, we like candidates with high GPAs that communicate a strong interest in finance even if they are comparative lit majors with no finance experience. Did they do case competitions? Did they list interests with an inclination to banking?

Hence we cut candidates with high GPAs irrespective of major, who have no interest in banking on their resume. We cut candidates who can't highlight/explain their experience properly/impressively. We cut candidates who don't list interests outside of working/studying. We cut candidates with low GPAs (sub-3.3-ish). We cut candidates who are on the line and could have arranged/presented their resume in a more impactful manner... the thinking being #1- you're probably using one resume for all internship, which means you didn't tailor your resume for this position, which means you dont want this internship enough to warrant spending extra time making your resume as attractive to us as possible; #2- poor judgment call to list your 3 RA stints as independent experiences and place them above your finance case competition runner-up.

- 20 silver bananas

9. How I got into Banking posted by @CompBanker"

All of my preliminary interviews were done over the phone. Banks simply didn't go to my school. I spent about 30 - 50 hours going over my resume, perfecting answers to any possible question that could be thrown at me. I continued to read the WSJournal daily to ensure I was up to date (not to mention I think its interesting ... but thats besides the point). I practiced doing math quickly in my head while I was in the shower. Interview prep took over the little free time I had and was always the last thing on my mind going to bed and first thing in the morning.

Another thing. Every company that granted me an interview I researched intensely. If they were publicly traded, I read through their 10Ks and charted their historical stock performance. I had at least 10, sometimes 20 questions prepared per interview. Often times I was telling the interviewer things they didn't know about their own company.

I fumbled up on numerous accounting questions during my interviews and my SAT scores weren't 1600. However, I was able to really demonstrate my interest and excitement to be an analyst and that was the key selling point. Most of all, I was sincere. This is truly the career path I want and the work is thousands of times more interesting than coding 9-5 in some dark room.

- 15 silver bananas

10. Gekko's Guidance (10 Rules to Interviewing) - Part 1 of ?
posted by @Gekko21"

Rule #6-Watchout for WMDs (Words of Mass Destruction) Every time you open your mouth to speak, you are simultaneously bending over and asking the interviewer to fuck you up the ass. NEVER EVER, EVER mention a subject that you are not 100% confident in. If you are not strong with options and derivatives, don’t mention them. The second you bring up a topic it is fair game. Nothing can castrate an interviewee or turn a rock star into a mumbling pile of piss faster than a WMD. Screw it up badly enough, and you can go from moving onto the next round to dinged in a few minutes. The two biggest WMDs are “Why” and “Tell me more about X” It is these questions that separate the mice from the men. If an interviewee is going to mess up his interview, the chances are that it is going to be because he mentioned the wrong topic and the interviewer dropped a WMD.

Rule #7-Control the Interview This is learned more with experience, but there comes a point in the interview where you have the ability to gain control of the interview and steer it in the direction you want. If you’re having a conversation about China or Michael Lewis—you can keep it going by talking about another book that you have read. If you are asked a question, you can answer it in a way that almost guarantees the next question—which you will be prepared for. The number of choke points in an interview where you can gain control and dictate flow is endless, you just need to learn how to spot them.

Rule #8-Never Take Anything for Granted I always like to send a thank you email (no cards please). It won’t affect your offer or non-offer, but I think it shows class and it can’t hurt to send a 2-3 line email. Just don’t be offended if they don’t respond.

- 15 silver bananas

11, Convert Your Summer Internship Into a Full-Time Offer
posted by @Aaron Burr"

Don’t be afraid to say no Summer analyst staffings are largely opportunistic. Nobody expects you to know much or do more than the very basics (and even then, your work will be checked). So don’t try to be a hero and accept every request that comes your way – always keep in mind that the quality of your work is far more important than the perceived quantity.

Take your time In a similar vein, nobody expects you to be very fast either. You will be expected to get up to speed on simple tasks, such as printing books, assembling PIBs/data room books, but for most other tasks, you’ll get tons of time. Again, focus on quality – make sure your work is as error-free as possible. Always print and check the hard copy – there’s something magic about HP printers that somehow makes mistakes pop out on paper. The quality of work given to you will increase with the quality of work you have proven you are capable of producing, so slow down and get it right.

- 12 silver bananas

12. UG Recruiting Part III: The Super Day and Offer
posted by @Marcus_Halberstram"

One main thing I noticed is that everyone in superdays is pretty well prepared and generally interview well. So after the first interview, people feel like they’re getting the hang of it… their nerves subside and they loosen up quite a bit. As a result, they come off pretty cocky and don’t have that level of nervousness that is actually necessary. You shouldn’t be too comfortable. I’ve seen this time and time again, so don’t think you’re on a roll so you can really flex your interviewing muscle. The kid who said something stupid and as a result didn’t get an offer, did so in his final interview. The kid who was way too cocky and I ended up shooting down, I was part of his team of final interviewers… etc… Stay sharp and stay on your A game, don’t get too comfortable/confident cuz that’s usually when you come off cocky and usually when you say something stupid.

Our intern class is just a pipeline for FT hires... so our main concerns are would they fit in with us? Would they bang out all their work? Are they interesting to talk to? Are they likely to accept our SA offer? Are they likely to accept a FT offer if we give them one.

A few things you DON’T want to do is tell each interviewer you interview that you are interested in THEIR group, because trust me they all compare notes.

Some other reasons people were dinged... they were foreign students with very thick accents and communication would definitely be an issue... lack of compelling interest in banking... too casual... too clueless... missed technicals... didn't know our company... were socially awkward (this was one of the leading torpedoes for otherwise super sharp kids).

- 10 silver bananas

13. Q&A: Incoming IB analyst – international student, survived FT recruiting twice… posted by @dotcross"

FT hiring is mostly ad hoc, and HR can be very opaque. Banks need to hear back from their Summer interns before doing any hiring, so nobody really knows how many kids they’re hiring. This means one bank could conduct multiple superdays on a rolling basis, even for the same group. There is often no formal “process” where you attend an info session, drop your resume, and wait a couple of weeks – spots open and close from day to day.

Most BBs tend to hire group-specific. Because most of the class is recruited from interns, headcount for each group is different. This means you should be in touch with not just HR but also analysts within all the groups you would be interested in.

Some places have accelerated recruiting. These are for kids with exploding offers elsewhere, and happens around August/early September. Even if you don't have an exploding offer, try to get into this pool.

Ping constantly. Don’t harass your contacts, but given the opaque FT timeline you need the latest intel from the right people. Does your contact know which analysts/associates are most involved in recruiting? Which staffer is in charge this year? Has anyone heard internally of any spots opening up?

Don’t give up. Pep talk time guys – if you want to do the college-to-analyst route for sure, FT is your last shot. Yes, the odds are against you. Yes, recruiting sucks and it can be very, very taxing, but banks do recruit ad hoc all the way until May/June before their analyst class starts.

- 7 silver bananas

14. Tips for Conversations with Recruiters
posted by @NoName"

Be confident in your body language and voice.

This is extremely important. A candidate who is visibly and audibly confident will strike me as much serious than a candidate who is slouching, or saying "umm" a lot, or just looks plain scared. This is true even for email and phone conversations; recruiters can distinguish the confident candidates from the scared ones. However, don't overdo it and overpower the recruiter -- that is a definite turn-off for the recruiter and will not play well to your favor.

Have a list of questions and comments in the back of your mind, and use it when appropriate.

I know this seems very obvious, but it's crucial. I've had too many conversations with candidate where I finish answering a question, and there's an awkward silence when I wait for the candidate to respond or ask another question. Remember, it's your job to direct the conversation. The recruiter is there to answer questions that you have, not give you a presentation or a guided tour -- so you need to be prepared to fill all the gaps in the conversation and make it seamless.

- 3 silver bananas

15. UG Recruiting Part II: The first round interview
posted by @Marcus_Halberstram"

Generally speaking... in order to make it to the super day you need to be able to:
1. prove you're a smart and driven overachiever
2. demonstrate you understand what banking is and why you want to do it
3. intelligently explain why you want to do it at my bank
4. cite examples of how you are a leader
5. you are a fast learner and are OCD with details/not making mistakes
6. you are a dedicated, reliable and mature hardworker

One of the key things here is intelligence and maturity. And that is communicated by someone who can accurately zero in on weaknesses in their candidacy and address them. I've always tried to preemptively address them , but if you got an interview, most likely the interviewer is going to poke and prod and try to understand if there is an explanation behind any weakness/questions in your candidacy, so they don't even have to be preemptively addressed.

As an interviewer, in addition to the above, I'd like to feel strongly that the candidate would accept an offer if given one, would be a good intern, would be likely to accept a full-time offer if given one, would be enjoyable to work with.