Cracking under stress in an interview

Just came out of an interview. Interviewers were super kind. Had me walk through resume etc + some behavioral questions. All good. Then was asked a very basic multi-step problem of finding some key numbers for company (think EBITDA, EBITDA margin, FCF, etc -- basic stuff). Let me tell you, I have done a TON of preparing, and I knew exactly what they were asking for and how to find it. Problem is, when someone is reading out numbers in the heat of interview - I just completely lose focus. I'm pretty good at mental math normally, but I swear when I'm being interviewed my IQ drops like 50 points and the easiest mental math becomes completely impossible for me. I make extremely stupid errors, like forgetting components of equations or making calculation errors and stuff like that. And it just compounded on itself, as I made one mistake I kept making more.

I feel like I bombed, but it's so disappointing because I could have gotten the right answer 10/10 times if I just stopped panicking. The worst thing is, there isn't something tangible I could improve on for the next interview. Like, if I did not know a certain key term, I could go and study afterwards and make sure I knew it for next time - but no amount of mental math practice is going to help because I can do it normally. Jeez I just feel pretty disheartened. 

13 Comments

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • 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 98.2%
  • 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 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 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 (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”