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

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”