Have internship interviews been always very technical or have they become tougher?
I completed a set of interviews last week for SA roles in 2025 London.
I'm finding that I get a lot of sector-specific questions even though I have no previous background in M&A or coverage groups.
For example, when interviewing with a BB, I was sat with a FIG M&A associate who asked me about banking regulations (Basel III, Dodd-Frank etc.)
I was also given a capital markets DCM VP who asked me about banking risks (markets, credit, operational, reputational etc.) which I'd never thought of before.
I was given an healthcare interviewer at another firm who asked me to discuss the FDA approval process from Phase I to Phase 3 (again, I'm not a healthcare individual but my point is that all these technical aspects are sector-specific and far beyond the generalist knowledge I have of M&A and IBD.
Are these interviews designed to be super specific to a sector? I've had 3 already and I'm starting to get really annoyed because how (as an engineering student) can I be expected to understand all these aspects?
I ask because in eg the MS email, it says:
Your interview will draw on the experience and details noted in your application, and may include some technical and/or industry related questions.
The emphasis I make is on "may include" - my interviews practically seem to be 6 min on my CV, firm and IBD then 20 minutes on the entirety of a sector before 5 min at the end for Q&A. 66% of my interview is on technicals and this has been repeated a number of times.
Socialism will do it to ya.
I'm sorry but I don't follow what you mean.
Agreed - got absolutely hammered with some FIG questions last week. Calibre is just getting stronger, Laz literally got 9k applications for their London office this year so it’s a matter of differentiating.
The AC I attended last week: you could count probably on one hand the number of people who could understand the FIG questions given. I don't get it: I'm an engineering student, not a business student. I have no residual knowledge of how a CET1 capital ratio can be calculated like where do you even find that information? Does it not mean that at this point, the only people capable of doing these interviews are those with past experience or business school / economics knowledge because I certainly couldn't answer those questions, nor could anyone else in my AC group.
This extends to the other sectors too: how can I answer these questions if none of my past work relates to it in any way, shape or form?
and the number of people who get an offer you can count with one hand- see?
Lol I think we had the same AC and I got a question about CET1 in my interview.
To be fair I disagree with your view a little bit. I come from an economics background and have learned very little relevant to FIG (and broader investment banking) from my university course and background. Everyone is expected to know a certain level of technicals because you can find it online - FIG obviously is just one of the most technical groups on the spectrum.
They are still easier compared to their US counterparts. I personally interviewed with EBs on both sides of the pond.
Sounds truly weird. I'm a medical doctor with previous non-healthcare IB internship experience – & I have no idea about FDA Phase 1–3 bla bla bla.....I think these sector-specific questions are unfair for anyone who hasn't done previous internships in that specific sector
What bank asked these questions?
More like these guys forgot their basics already so they just ask you something right on hand that they spent their day and night data mining and refreshing
That must explain why someone will think it's a good idea to ask an intern about FDA phases in London of all places
The only reason I could remotely answer this was because I did a McKinsey case study last year which was about the valuation of a drug through clinical trials so I knew that the percentage probability of success at every stage decreased, which would affect its valuation etc.
Still, I can't believe that something remotely so off-topic was something I got asked to think about. To the interviewer's credit, they did ask me to think about what tests could be done i.e. animals, then humans, then clinical trials etc. followed by FDA approval for pharma.
It doesn't explain why it went so off-topic so quickly.
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