Investment Banking Summer Associate

This interview was a formal "coffee chat" set up through my MBA program that took place prior to the formal resume/cover letter application. I wanted to include this experience so that others could be better prepared in the early stages of the process where there is insufficient information.

The week before the coffee chat, JP Morgan emailed interested candidates asking for a group preference so they could pair us with their bankers appropriately. My group preference was not represented in the list of available groups (even though it is the most popular group among applicants and JP has #3 presence in the space). I was instead placed with a banker who had no interest or experience in the group I wanted to speak about.

JP Morgan's representative showed up approximately ten minutes late. His demeanor indicated that he did not want to be there and much less discuss a group that he had no experience in. Surprisingly, he began putting down my group preference and stated that my group preference was not a strong group at JP.

Where most coffee chats are very informal and serve to begin a conversation between applicant and employer, my interviewer asked me about deals I was following that JP was involved with in my intended group. As the coffee chat progressed, my interviewer probed further about the deals I was following. I came prepared but my deal knowledge was not bulletproof and this showed (I was still 2.5 months away from the formal interview at this point).

My advice to JP Morgan candidates who are in the coffee-chat stage is that they need to be prepared as much as possible beyond what they may need for other banks. Where other banks' coffee chats are informal and are centered on fit, JP's coffee chat is deeper and searches for holes. Further, understand that JP bankers may not know how to value divisions outside of their own and it is on you to convince them of the value of the division you are applying to - this is odd but true in my experience. Lastly, JP appears to have a higher percent of people who are aloof, bordering on arrogant. Don't let this throw you off as it is not all JP bankers and it is likely a front.