To provide some context, I am coming off a CIB SA and looking to pivot for FT to MM IB roles. I have my first IB interview in 2 days.
As you can imagine… I’m feeling a lot of pressure to have a solid interview and make a good impression. If anyone can some insight into depth of technicals I should be prepared for, it would be greatly appreciated.
| +268 | UBS Layoffs (October 2026) | 81 | 21m |
| +120 | Do people still want to go PE? | 36 | 11h |
| +96 | UBS Tech layoff | 31 | 7h |
| +36 | Lazard hirevue | 11 | 1d |
| +36 | What Differentiates the Best Analysts as AI Improves? | 9 | 1d |
| +31 | Quitting After First 4 months | 10 | 1d |
| +31 | How do YOU manage networking requests? | 6 | 4h |
| +26 | MBB Pay Raises | 11 | 2h |
| +25 | Cornell Club T10 Rankings (UPDATED 10/2026) | 16 | 6h |
| +23 | Are target prospects getting dumber? | 11 | 7h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Might be controversial but my own experience the biggest decider of how hard technicals were in FT interviews(interviewed at 8 places across BB/EB/MM, would say i had maybe 15-20 separate interviewers) was whether or not my interviewer was a MBA asso. You won't be getting interviewed by analysts anymore in most places unlike SA interviews. For me the first interview was always almost always an asso doing techs while asking the required behavs(tmay, why swap banks, did u get a RO)
I've gotten grilled on niche industry specific techs all the way to my interviewer being surprised i could walk from revenue to levered free cash flow, and its pretty much always A2A asking the harder q's.
Most of the technicals themselves are not much more difficult than SA. still an emphasis on:
valuation methodologies and ranking them
effect of X on 3 financial statements(more multi-step than SA)
walking through a dcf
fcfe/fcff and how to calculate it
accretion/dilution
LBO and its drivers(although i was in a sponsors group so that might've been why)
WACC/COE
From my experience interviewing FT for IB, it’s not enough to just know the 400 questions anymore (it’s a good starting point) but to look at even more advanced questions.
Would recommend IB Vine.
Really appreciate the response! Without giving away too much, the assoc doing the interview is a lateral from another industry. Does this apply to 1st Round even at a MM?
Sit quidem aspernatur eaque enim voluptas debitis atque. Est eum doloribus sit ex. Ipsam reprehenderit rerum voluptatem alias aut quaerat necessitatibus. Assumenda consequatur maxime excepturi dolor. Ut facilis suscipit rerum necessitatibus sapiente fugiat. Voluptatem sunt itaque veniam dolorem magnam molestiae earum. Mollitia sed est id velit incidunt vel unde.
Saepe magni corporis quaerat. Voluptas id reiciendis quia et dolores qui. Quam facilis amet voluptatem et molestias et placeat qui.
Ut molestiae in sed aut rerum. Totam cumque velit quasi laborum ut. Cupiditate accusamus eligendi qui est.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...