15 Comments
 
Best Response

It depends if this is a phone interview (screening) or a in-person (first round). Things you will definitely be asked about is to talk about yourself or go through your resume. In other words, make sure you have your story down cold. The best way to do this is to do 5 quick bullet points like the following:

-Where you are from (particularly if this is interesting can make you stand out) -What school you are in, what you are majoring in and why -Previous internship/work/related experience -What sparked your interest in the job at hand -Why this job + plus your given background will help you become successful

Again, just write down summary bullet points for yourself. Don't memorize, that way when telling your story comes up in the interview, you sound confident but not like a robot.

In terms of fit, make sure you can provide good examples of whatever they ask you: leadership, teamwork, detail oriented, strengths and weaknesses, analytical, etc. And always related all of your examples to the fact that you can add real value to the team/firm. They always appreciate that.

In terms of technical, it really depends on whether this is a legit first round int, and what kind of investment banking (ie, M&A, restructuring, capital markets, industry specific). Definitely know the basics though: accounting, valuations, etc.

Good luck!

Capitalist
 
esbankerIt depends if this is a phone interview (screening) or a in-person (first round). Things you will definitely be asked about is to talk about yourself or go through your resume. In other words, make sure you have your story down cold. The best way to do this is to do 5 quick bullet points like the following:

-Where you are from (particularly if this is interesting can make you stand out) -What school you are in, what you are majoring in and why -Previous internship/work/related experience -What sparked your interest in the job at hand -Why this job + plus your given background will help you become successful

Again, just write down summary bullet points for yourself. Don't memorize, that way when telling your story comes up in the interview, you sound confident but not like a robot.

In terms of fit, make sure you can provide good examples of whatever they ask you: leadership, teamwork, detail oriented, strengths and weaknesses, analytical, etc. And always related all of your examples to the fact that you can add real value to the team/firm. They always appreciate that.

In terms of technical, it really depends on whether this is a legit first round int, and what kind of investment banking (ie, M&A, restructuring, capital markets, industry specific). Definitely know the basics though: accounting, valuations, etc.

Good luck!

I don't have the time to read all of this but from the first few lines this is solid advice. I'd be prepared to walk through all of the connections between the financial statements as well as know how to do a DCF from top to bottom. Often I was asked as well to explain EV which is of course simple but you still want to know your definitions.

its one way or the other: hate me or admire.
 

no prob. then this will mostly be to gauge whether he/she likes you. doubt it will get very technical - although i've certainly had phone interviews get technical (usually that person was a real douche bag). go over the fundamentals to be safe, but if i were you i'd split my time between 60% fit prep, 30% technical prep, 10% market/wsj/understanding whatever is going on in europe so that you sound relatively smart. again, get your story down and you'll be able to dictate the direction of the interview much more.

suerte.

Capitalist
 

Hey man just to add, i see that you are a toronto prospective monkey. Remember that CDN i banking interviews tend to be very fit intensive. like esbanker said, you have to have your story downbut make sure you know the technicals too just in case. Also helps to have good background of the industry group you'll be in (which i assume will be mining?), like multiples used and recent deals. Good luck!

 

Asperiores nesciunt ut consequatur. Quos dolor labore cum rerum sapiente sunt temporibus.

Ut fuga reprehenderit architecto molestias. Culpa ut nulla nulla veritatis. Tempore quas consequatur nostrum sed architecto. Quaerat suscipit et culpa animi. Iusto facere est ut ex enim.

Suscipit asperiores qui non et saepe consequatur consequuntur. Expedita quia consequatur asperiores veritatis aperiam.

Eos alias repudiandae eaque ad possimus ipsam repudiandae qui. Laboriosam aliquid repudiandae a autem veniam ut. Est qui dolores magnam unde. Ex aut assumenda quas fugiat illum. Placeat quia blanditiis incidunt distinctio quis et dolor.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”