Have you ever passed an interview you thought went poorly?
Had a lateral interview today that didn’t go so hot. Nothing terrible, but I got a technical wrong and just didn’t feel as eloquent about my answers as I would of liked to have been.
Maybe for my own catharsis, or maybe just curiosity, but has anyone came out of an interview thinking they were definitely dinged and then got through to the next round?
If so, what’s the story? What was the position, what did you mess up on, and how bad was it?
I've gotten past an interview while missing a technical or two (I'm guessing these were technicals that most people missed tho, not something simple). I think getting past the first round interviews for IB recruiting was a bit of a crap-shoot for myself. I mostly interviewed at boutiques, where most technical questions were focused around LBO and Merger Model. I'm guessing the majority of the interviewees got at least some of these wrong, honestly. There were some that were a bit more straightforward where I killed all of the questions, but still didn't make it to the second round. Most of my first rounds were fairly technical focused as you might imagine from the above.
Never gotten past a super day without feeling like I killed it. Even small errors have meant no offer. I could generally tell whether or not I was getting an offer by the time I walked out of the interview room though. That said, I've heard about other people who work currently at BB in IB where they said they felt like they got killed and then got an offer.
-----------------
So for the story itself. I had a first round with a well known independent advisory IB firm. The whole interview was three technical questions. Got the first two no problem. Fucked up the third one, but not that badly. Was convinced it was over. Start negotiating the answer with the banker, and get the right answer by the time the interview is over. Thought there was no chance I was making it past the first round. Got a super-day invite that evening. Killed the super-day and got the internship.
For FT analyst position, boutique: did not feel like the superday went exceedingly well having somewhat tripped up on a multi-step technical. I didn't leave thinking I had blown it but knew I was not 100% on my A-game. Ended up getting the FT offer which truly surprised me, accepted that. A year later I stumbled into a folder of resumes for that superday and was blown away by the caliber of candidates I was up against. I guess my "fit" outweighed a fumble or two. Conversely, I have smoked technicals and fit questions and not moved on...
Out of curiosity, how do you "stumble onto a folder of resumes" for the exact superday that you were at?
I think he's referring to when he got a full time offer, he was able to see the resumes or profiles of the people also joining full time.
I got to do the same when joining both my internship and my full time. I admittedly wasn't the most impressed with the people who were working at my internship (had high expectations but recruitment was less impressive than expected), but was blown away by the people who are working at my full time shop (had low expectations but was far more impressive than I expected).
No it was quite literally a folder on the drive that contained the resumes. I'm sure it was there so interviewers could access and just got forgotten about.
Had superday with top MM and only thought one of the 6 interviews went well; I got an offer for the group that the 1 person I clicked with was in
was this a super or just round
Was very ill and had 10mins to prepare for an interview, literally received an email while in bed asking if I can jump on a call right away. I thew on a shirt and tie, no pants because it was video invite and honestly did not think it was necessary. Jump onto the call and say hi xyz - he corrects me as i called him by the wrong name. He introduced himself, and then the second sentence says “its always great to meet people via zoom, appreciate you putting on a tie but I expect your probably not wearing pants” - or something to that effect. I awkwardly laughed it off, and he kicked off technicals. I cooked it badly, mind was spinning because i was so sick. Eventually internet cuts out (i was in some hostel internationally doing some travel), and I frantically dialed back in, his still on… i say sorry xyz, internet cut out… he says no problem but my name is yxt… I had gotten it wrong twice lolAt this point i just wanted to get off the call, literally got nothing right. I pushed through and finished the interview. Still remember this 5 years later hahaLong story short… i got to the next round and did 6 more rounds, ultimately did not get the offer but was for unrelated reasons. This was for a Evercore in NYC with an MD, so definitely dont need to be perfect to get through the first few rounds!
Never lol.
Never happened to me and if it did I am sure would be fine. Here's the deal I'm the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.
Aut enim quae illo tempore fugiat. Voluptatem sit perferendis voluptatibus. Velit voluptas minima hic laborum vel nulla. Earum culpa in architecto sed repudiandae. Et minima natus animi molestiae ab.
Animi enim voluptas quia. Quis iste nemo aut placeat esse sapiente. Sed quis officiis ea atque et ab. Molestiae reprehenderit neque libero. Voluptas consectetur aliquam hic quo molestiae cupiditate ipsum.
Sed doloremque possimus maiores autem. Culpa delectus et aperiam perspiciatis sunt doloribus laudantium delectus. Molestiae saepe molestiae dolore beatae voluptas nihil.
Consequatur quia doloribus et vel. Debitis suscipit molestiae sint error ea voluptates laboriosam aspernatur. Voluptatem consequuntur ipsam qui laudantium consequatur blanditiis sapiente aspernatur. Ut adipisci nam dolor eum. Qui tempore ea aliquam veritatis corrupti cum fugiat dolores. Voluptatem quae laboriosam consequatur accusamus quia eius et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...