1st part of IB (Rosenbaum & Pearl) sufficient for first interview?

Would reading through just the comparable companies analysis, precedent transactions analysis and DCF analysis chapters be sufficient for a first ib interview?

Sort of started revision crazy last minute (aka 4 hours ago) and the interview is in 19 hours so trying to decide whether I can just wrap up these 3 chapters then read up on some current deals tomorrow morning or I'll need to stay up all night to finish the book.

Any advice appreciated!

11 Comments
 

Stick with first three chapter. Realistically you won't remember the later chapters in the interview if you are just reading it the day before. Focus on consolidating on what you already know and prep talk yourself for confidence. Goodluck!

 

I definitely agree with this. The Rosenbaum and Pearl book goes very in-depth, and I found that the Breaking into Wall Street or WSO guide would have been sufficient to prepare me for all of my interviews. I would gloss over those guides if you have them. Then, make sure you understand what's going on with the markets/in the news, and be able to elaborate on a few recent deals. Most importantly, make sure your story is down pat.

That being said, I think the Rosenbaum and Pearl book would be great preparation for your actual internship.

Best of luck with your interview!

 
Aspiring_Analyst

I definitely agree with this. The Rosenbaum and Pearl book goes very in-depth, and I found that the Breaking into Wall Street or WSO guide would have been sufficient to prepare me for all of my interviews. I would gloss over those guides if you have them. Then, make sure you understand what's going on with the markets/in the news, and be able to elaborate on a few recent deals. Most importantly, make sure your story is down pat.

That being said, I think the Rosenbaum and Pearl book would be great preparation for your actual internship.

Best of luck with your interview!

Thanks for the advice! I pretty much got the first 3 chapters down although I'm finding the NSS method a royal pain in the ass to really understand. I'm currently working in the markets so am pretty familiar with what's going on with FX, rates and equities. Any good resources you would suggest for learning about a few recent deals? I am completely clueless there.

This is a long shot but if anybody has the files for BIWS or WSO, would you mind sending them to me?

If all else fails, I'm not too shameless to whip out some subtle cleavage.

 
Random Name

One man. One interview. The challenge is to learn banking in one night. Can he do it?

haha
"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 
Random Name

One man. One interview. The challenge is to learn banking in one night. Can he do it?

Is this a bet? What's the wager?

 
bromilian

I'm rotting away while building these models that I learned from Rosenbaum over the past 6 months, countless repetitions of "my story" whenever possible and hitting the phones as soon as I'm out of class by 4 to break into the industry and you miraculously land an interview and wait a day before hand to start preparing? Makes sense.

Yeah, realized my post came off sounding very nonchalant and dismissive of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

Just to clarify, I did a masters in finance, which means lots of classes in financial modelling, etc. Even though I never really read a thing I was technically supposed to during the degree, the classes gave me a pretty good foundation so I was really just recapping a lot of stuff and trying to understand everything in more depth.

Hope that explanation makes you feel a little less bitter.

P.S. Purely coldcalling is probably not the best networking tool.

 

Asperiores ut nemo iusto rerum molestiae ullam ut. Quod voluptatem autem autem mollitia ut nobis dolores. Non facere quo possimus et. Sed ab hic id temporibus. Sapiente est ut qui dicta est laborum. Et culpa beatae magnam optio quia dolorem necessitatibus. Necessitatibus commodi dolores odit dolorem ad ipsam ea labore.

Iusto nulla ea deleniti molestiae. Quod nihil mollitia beatae voluptas facere et.

Magnam nulla est quibusdam est voluptas quisquam. Placeat aperiam dolores blanditiis officiis.

Alias deleniti nemo quis praesentium nesciunt debitis est. Quas animi voluptatem vero sed nulla numquam aut. Veritatis nesciunt in minima beatae necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”