How does a BB-Interview differ from a MM-Boutique Interview?
A question to the guys who had the chance to attend both kind of interviews. Were they nearly equally difficult or is a BB Interview a noticeable step up to a MM one?
Wtf is a "MM-Boutique"
A boutique that services middle market clients in 500m-1b range and has under 10 people
That’s just a boutique.
In my personal experience, the few BB superday interviews I've had were much more tough -- harder technicals, more case studies, more outside-the-box brainteasers. The MM/Boutique superdays I've had were easier and more fit based, and rarely had case studies. People from MM banks were a lot friendlier during the interview, too.
1st rounds were easy for both, except for Houston banks, which were tough at the BB and MM levels.
Honestly nothing different. It really depends on the banks. Imo EBs have the hardest (CVP/PWP were extremely challening in particular). top BB (JPM/ms) surprisingly really fit based.
I always had MM and EB interviews that were a lot more technical heavy than BB interviews. there was never a time where I wasn't familiar with any of the technicals thrown at me in BB interviews (I wasn't so great with the behaviorals though haha)
+1 And technicals tend to be more outside-the-box at MMs/EBs (compared to the typical "$10 D&A effect" type of question at BBs).
BB superdays tend to be a lot more structured and not as conversational
In my personal experience, the thing matters the most is the country where are you interviewing. For instance, in Europe, regional offices are focused on technicals (sometimes is very specific questions), London is more fit-based. Your background is important as well.
Boutique Interviews compared to BB (Originally Posted: 03/13/2012)
Hi guys,
So I'm a senior and i know its really late to be looking for FT IB jobs but i have networked and managed to get a few boutiques to bring me in for interviews. I have the WSO tech and behavioral interview guides but was looking for some additional advice for preparing for boutique interviews in particular. would be great if anybody who has experience with boutique interviews could throw some advice my way.
Do boutiques typically focus more on technical or behavioral?
will the WSO guides suffice?
and possibly any good suggestions for questions i could ask a boutique over the standard questions you would ask an IB.
Thanks
On one hand, boutiques seem to grill harder on technicals (in my experience) since they don't have the same resources and time to train everyone up to the basic level of knowledge required. That said, since they are also smaller, ability to fit in with their culture is also a huge deal. I'd prep your technicals extra hard, and prepare some good "why ______" answers, since they'll ask why you want to work at their firm specifically.
My boutique was very light on the technicals, to each their own I guess
Agree with above, why banking, why this boutique, why not a BB, ready for the hours
Congrats on the interviews, and good luck!
This is going to sound like I'm going cheap on my answer but really it just depends on the firm and the person you're interviewing with.I can think of three types: the interviewer who could care less as long as you have a good conversation and seem smart, another that cares about the technical part of the job (wants someone who's ready), or one that only wants you for your pedigree (HYP, etc.). It just depends.
True, it really does vary. For what it's worth though, every boutique IBD interview I had this year on campus was super technical-heavy, and this was the same experience for others. Maybe that just happened by chance, but still, might as well prep technicals intensely just in case.
would you guys say the WSO technical guide would suffice for how tech heavy the interveiws you had were or do you suggest some extra guides?
Boutiques never asked me a single technical question. All fit.
Can you give some examples of fit questions they'd ask?
I think people already touched base on it, but...
Why this boutique, why investment banking, why middle market, what's your interest in xx industry.
Ah, okay thanks. I just find it odd/cool they'd hire someone based on that info alone where other boutiques seem to have more rigorous hiring processes.
Depends on the boutique. A lot of no-name boutiques will only do sell-side M&A, thus, very, very limited to no modeling required (buyer does the valuation work).
Boutique Interview V MM and BB (Originally Posted: 02/08/2012)
Just scheduled an interview for next week with a Midwest Boutique firm specializing in healthcare and tech. Aside from the usual behavioral interview questions/format. I was wondering if anyone had experience with boutique interviews and how they compare to Middle Market or BB. Thanks and feel free to PM with any further questions.
Should be VERY based on fit questions. Small shops want to make sure you fit in. Check www.ibankingfaq.com and become familiar with those questions. You also want to stress you are a quick learner because they might not have a formal training program.
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