Made a terrible mistake lateraling to an investment banking group with a horrible culture. I was so excited about the pay and prestige that I lost site of the red flags in the interview process. I.e., mention of turnover, hiding Junior team from interactions in the interview process, etc.
How do you properly diligence for culture fit? What traits have the best cultures had?
What questions should be asked?
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Main thing I can think of is to find people who used to work on the team (and no longer do), and ask them about the culture.
Thank you
WSO is a pretty good source I think..
A friend recently got a call from Barc and was thinking it wud be a good step up for him (he is in MM and doing well) in terms of brand… but I pointed to some of the discussions here and he decided not to pursue it.
Recent news reports (do a google news search) are a good source of leadership changes, comments and strategy announcements.
Check LinkedIn for all the people who have recently left, sometimes they talk, sometimes they don’t but can ping and see (BofA west coast got a notorious rep from alums)
Some others are well know throughout for bad culture eg. Jefferies, GS TMT
One last point I can add is - does the senior leadership come from within or outside, for eg. HW has a reputation of good culture and all the seniors are firm veterans (this is partly why MBB consulting has relatively strong culture)

Thanks!!
GS TMT has great culture. Jefferies has several groups with great culture.
Barclays is still better than 95% of MMs.
- Get coffee or hop on a quick call with people who have recently left the group. don't be too pushy but say you're looking for any tips about how the group really is
- Talk to juniors even if not provided in the interview process. If you get coffee with 5 of them and they reschedule 3 times, look exhausted, have no weekend plans etc.. that is a pretty clear sign. ask them what their staffing load looks like and how they interact with staffers.
- Ask people what they do for fun / on weekends. if everyone golfs, hikes, etc generally things you need time for, that is a good sign. if everyone sighs and says "well it's pretty busy around here but I like to do [activity that takes little time] when I can" that is a red flag
- Ask about mentorship; ask seniors what traits a successful junior in the group would have
- if you have friends in the same industry but at a different bank, ask them. People work with each other frequently, people come from other banks and talk about their experience.. anyone in that same industry and will likely have intel on most banks in their vertical
Realistically if culture is your #1 it is never going to be prioritized in IB, so have realistic expectations. Most people looking for better culture end up outside of IB
Thanks so much.
Ask what they like to do in their free time and on weekends. The answer to that question is incredibly telling.
Less the group is mentioned on here likelier it has better culture
Just curious, what bank/group did you lateral? Just so ppl here are warned
Bump
I'll add to the comment above -- but I think most analysts/associates will say things are "fine" when asked, either because they're toeing the company line or because recency bias weighs in. I've found it helpful to ask much more specific questions (while caveating before beforehand that I'm really hoping to be a great fit and pull my weight, and want to come in eyes wide open).
- How many hours did you work last weekend? Is that typical?
- What time do you go home if you have nothing to do? 5 pm? 8 pm? 10 pm? When was the last time that happened?
- Did you get the chance to take a vacation this summer? Did the team cover for you pretty well?
- How many times in the last month have you had to work past 2 am? All-nighters? How did the team respond?
- Does your bank monitor the "green dot" on teams / zoom / etc?
I know this might sound a little extreme, but I think it's helpful to peel back the onion a little bit..
With all due respect, I would be careful asking questions like this. You REALLY need to trust the person you’re talking to and I definitely wouldn’t do this in a formal coffee chat.
Junior bankers talk and if I or anyone in my group came across someone asking these questions in a banker coffee chat, they’d be dinged. Generally not a good idea to ask about the hours, especially the first time you meet a banker. Many view it as a red flag that you can’t hack the hours and are apprehensive
Thanks so much heavily noted. My VP would literally monitor how long I’ve been away from my desk even during downtime. Secretly take team in office attendance and report to MD if people came in after 9.
“According to teams youve been away for 20mins, what were you doing… who were you taking with.. what were you talking about…”
WTF
If they say they have a "work hard play hard" culture during the interview process you already know it's going to be a sweatshop
One of the best ways to do it is to ask people who left the firm recently and were around your level. They are far more likely to be honest about their experience than people who work there and are far more likely to talk with you
Ultimate sign: Whether key personnel (staffer and other VPs) connects you to multiple team members vs 1-2 people.
If the culture is bad, they will select a small number of individuals.
If the culture is good, they will want as many people as possible to review you and thus, will introduce you to most of the team.
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