How bad did I mess up?

A few days ago, a banker I spoke to and reached out to mentioned that his firm was hiring for the Fall. He suggested a catch up call, which happened yesterday. After me reminding him of who I was (it has been a few months since we spoke and I'm sure he's got a lot of stuff to remember), he started to ask some questions. Fortunately, I had inadvertently prepared for the bulk of these as I had some questions ready for him. He seemed satisfied with my answers for most of them, and generally agreed and added to what I said. However, he asked me 1 (relatively) straightforward question relating to accounting. I panicked, and messed up like half the question. He didn't seem irritated, and after I spewed a lump of shit (for lack of a better word) walked me through it. He then suggested I send him my resume and transcripts.

It's the first time I've been in this position, but how bad did I fuck up? This wasn't even the actual interview, I suspect he just wanted to get a better idea of whether he should refer me or not. I figured he'd talk shop, but since it's the first time this happened I had no idea he might pop that kind of question. I'll make sure to prepare for this sort of scenario in the future. Any input would be appreciated.

11 Comments
 
AverageNonTarget

It’s over, get ready for a career in the back office. (Visual representation of what he did with your resume when you sent it)

Aw shucks, wager he'll tell everybody he knows and I'll be on the blacklist at every bank then?

 

Don’t worry too much. No banker would go out of his way to tell everyone that a prospect couldn’t answer an accounting question. Technical questions are just a way to see how prepared you are currently and is only one of the parameters. I have personally moved forward candidates who missed a few questions but were a perfect fit personality wise and showed willingness to learn and work the brutal banking hours.

 

You're cooked everywhere bro. Just saw other Associates get the email about you missing the question as well, so it's not only IB.

 
doobeedoobeedoo

Agree, nbd, don’t overthink it

To quote pulp fiction: “Bitch, be cool!”

Alright, well you and tiger28 make a good point. He was also telling me that I might consider using resources to prepare for interview season a few times, so I guess maybe he didn't think much of it. I will update the thread if I hear back!

 

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