Dumb response to why Ibanking?

Hey fellow monkeys,

I recently had an interview with a weak European BB for an off-cycle internship in Europe.

Interviewer: Why do you want to intern in investment banking?

Me: I believe that it is rewarding to experience and work on the whole M&A process and its related services than only helping to facilitate deals (as I did in valuations).

Interviewer: You said you want to intern in investment banking to be part of the whole M&A execution and monitoring. Didn’t you set your expectations a little bit too high?

Me: Even when assisting my team and I still be part of the project and that is what matters to me most.

How would you assess the answer, was it ok or bad? How should I respond to those type of questions in the future?

Thank you for y’all advice!

3 Comments
 

I like the answer above ("I understand I'm not going to be instrumental in the entire process but happy to support my team in any way I can regardless") better, but the original answer was fine as well. The interviewer seemed to be digging to see if you could defend the answer or if you had just pulled it from the internet, and you passed the test.

Array
 

Perspiciatis necessitatibus neque rerum quia suscipit aut ex aliquid. Sed corporis suscipit nesciunt velit voluptas quia. Ab inventore iste porro ut quae quo.

Quibusdam possimus perspiciatis aliquid maiores voluptatem et et. Quibusdam magni sunt voluptatem et fugiat laboriosam. Nihil et eveniet qui quaerat vero unde alias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
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...”