do you ever WRITE out entire answers?

i do. i memorize it. i say it in my dream.

i think it's a good idea to memorize the answers to the 5-6 most important behavioral questions.

I prefer to use bullet points, and not actually write out entire answers.  I find if I do that, I naturally end up sounding like I am reading off of a script.  I think it's different for each person.  Try both and see how you sound -- but definitely write SOMETHING to have a reference instead of just going in cold.

I do as well. But I also reduce my paragraphs to bullet points (after enough practice), and then I practice some more to make it sound natural.

That being said, what do you think are the 5-6 most important behavioral questions?

why ibd/s&t/er

why gs/ms/lehman/barclay/bear/jpm

strength/weakness

walk thru your resume

tell me about yourself

tell me your biggest failure

Try speaking it out loud in front of a friend in a "practice interview" several times until you can tell the whole thing very easily.  I've found this to be more helpful and faster than writing out your answer.  Of course you can do both, but I'd recommend practicing verbally.

whats the best way to answer the "tell me about yourself" prompt

I answer the "tell me about yourself" question by talking about:

-why I chose my university

-why I chose my major

-work experience

-what I'm involved in at school

-interests

In other words, I quickly go over my resume (key word: quickly. No one wants a 5 minute monologue from you).

There are just too many damn questions that could be asked, each with their own little spin to it that it's impossible to write out answers to every question. In the heat of the interview, there could potentially be parts where you could very well get a similiar question like "why do you want to do investment banking" but then a follow up would be "why aren't you interested in consulting or your background in math makes you a great candidate in research, why not?"

Or fit questions like "What is your relationship with your professors like?" -> it's almost impossible to prepare for these.

1. Would anyone here recommend sitting down and just going through every single question from one of those guide books (50+) and just say it out loud on the spot and record it maybe? [The down side to this is that you may not necessary be able to relate everything completely back to banking] but at least this way you're not wasting time writing out a page answers for every question but at least have some practice for pretty much every possible question they can ask you.

2. When I'm taping my response to a question like describe a failed project, how long should I aim for? I'm at around the 2 minute mark including the proper context leading up to the project. Should I try to cut it down to 1 minute?

TYIA

"whats the best way to answer the "tell me about yourself" prompt"

Well, I'm kind of a big deal, people know me.

i wrote out answers to "why ibanking" "why asia/hk" and "why XXX bank". it helps during phone interviews but i think bullets are lot better for in person ones.

The following worked for me and might NOT work for everybody:

I have a few major events that have happened in my life. While I read the wetfeet guide etc... I would look at the question and think what type of event is associated with each question. I wouldn't actually write out bullets, or write paragraphs, the drill I did in my head was just for me to remember all the major things that have happened.
Came interview time when I would hear a question I would associate it with an event and bring an example right away. I never failed an interview, must have worked :)

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Remember, you will always be a salesman, no matter how fancy your title is. - My ex girlfriend

Its foolish not to have prepared answers for every question they're going to ask you in an interview.  Most 1st yr analyst IBD interviews will be made up of the exact same questions.  Have a well-articulated answer planned for each of these questions and just make sure you don't sound like a robot when you're answering.

The MOST important part of the interview is the 'tell me about yourself' or 'walk me through your resume' question.  These are essentially the same question.  You should NOT just list your accomplishments.  You should have a prepared answer that tells a story about why you are where you are, and why you want to go where you're going.  I have found that this is the weakest element of the interview for most interviewees.