16 Comments
 

“Obsessed with prestige” but can’t get a job in IB, can’t get decent A Levels and didn’t go to a target university. Lol

 

I actually Lol'd. I don't like that answer to your weakness tho. Not achieving goals (regardless of how high) wouldn't be something I'd flaunt despite your efforts to spin it in a positive light. My advice would be to play it safe with the classic 'perfectionist' weakness saying how you can sometimes spend too long on a task because you want to make sure it's perfect -- the 'how long could you polish a quarter scenario'. This answer always gives IB interviewers a hard-on cuz that's literally an analyst's job. 

 

Setting unrealistic goals and consistently failing to hit them isn't a weakness to advertise. It just makes you look incompetent with a naïve ego to boot. The answer was a symptom of a much larger problem of a severe recurring inability to gauge your own capabilities which any interviewer worth a damn that gets your first answer will likely catch on to and ding you for from the get go. Your slip up was just adding insult to an already gaping injury. You're better off with something like "I sometimes get sucked into the weeds of projects and end up overanalyzing things to the point where I get buried in details rather than focusing on the big picture" because at least that alludes to you being thoroughly detail-oriented (an inherent positive for an analyst candidate) while being something they can easily envision training you out of. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Sit autem voluptatibus est dignissimos officiis. Architecto inventore officia et. Eaque velit aut quo debitis maxime. Voluptatem ut non aut quisquam doloribus et quidem distinctio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”