Interview Preparation

Hi I am a rising junior at target school and I am interested in pursuing an investment banking internship next summer. However, I am currently in an consulting internship and I am hoping that this does not preclude me from future opportunities in investment banking. With this in mind, what would you recommend that I do this summer in order to remain competitive with my peers who are working in finance this summer. Besides following the markets and reading the vault guide, what other measures should I take? Do you think it would be worth my time to try and learn modeling?

7 Comments
 
Best Response

If you are rising junior, then simply having an internship in a related field (even consulting counts) puts you in good shape. Definitely get an internship in finance next summer, but I would look at financial modeling (assuming you are interested in IDB) courses to boost your resume's appeal. I would recommend doing BIWS - it's a great program - and supplementing that with Pearl and Rosenbaum's Investment Banking book. Finally, read a book like Monkey Business or a blog like M&I to really get a feel for the day-do-day at the analyst/associate levels. Believe it or not, understanding what the work really entails is key to interviewing confidently.

Good luck.

Capitalist
 
esbankerIf you are rising junior, then simply having an internship in a related field (even consulting counts) puts you in good shape. Definitely get an internship in finance next summer, but I would look at financial modeling (assuming you are interested in IDB) courses to boost your resume's appeal. I would recommend doing BIWS - it's a great program - and supplementing that with Pearl and Rosenbaum's Investment Banking book. Finally, read a book like Monkey Business or a blog like M&I to really get a feel for the day-do-day at the analyst/associate levels. Believe it or not, understanding what the work really entails is key to interviewing confidently.

Good luck.

This is not really true sometimes. Having an internship in consulting will not help you get ibd interviews as much as you think; the perception is that based on your work experience, you're only applying to IBD positions as a backup or to test the waters, so many would pick a kid with a past PWM internship over a consulting one (assuming all else equal, and the consulting internship wasn't with a significantly better name than the PWM internship). Of course, if you have something else that shows a big interest in finance, then this may not be true for you.

As always, the solution is to network.

 

1) Come up with a convincing story to answer the "why are you switching to IB from consulting" -- believe it or not this kills people all the time. 2) Go through BiWS, and read the interview guides from both that and WSO. Vault is shitty, don't rely just on that. 3) Go through Rosenbaum and Pearl, along with a good corpfin textbook like Brealey Myers Allen. 4) Follow the markets, read some financial/business publications. There was a good thread a week or so ago with a good list. 5) NETWORK. Seriously, this will get you much further ahead than anything else on this list. Talk with alums, especially those who have made the consulting->IB switch themselves. Oftentimes you can get them to sympathize on that alone and give you some good tips for next year's recruiting. Good luck.

Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 
chicandtoughness1) Come up with a convincing story to answer the "why are you switching to IB from consulting" -- believe it or not this kills people all the time. 2) Go through BiWS, and read the interview guides from both that and WSO. Vault is shitty, don't rely just on that. 3) Go through Rosenbaum and Pearl, along with a good corpfin textbook like Brealey Myers Allen. 4) Follow the markets, read some financial/business publications. There was a good thread a week or so ago with a good list. 5) NETWORK. Seriously, this will get you much further ahead than anything else on this list. Talk with alums, especially those who have made the consulting->IB switch themselves. Oftentimes you can get them to sympathize on that alone and give you some good tips for next year's recruiting. Good luck.

What thread are you referring to in #4? The industry primer one? Interested to know. Thanks.

 

Saepe velit similique fuga est. Praesentium sequi quod repudiandae aperiam voluptas in et sint. Voluptas dolores aperiam voluptatem illo id ut aut. Voluptas quaerat ipsa asperiores amet totam laborum. Vel in eum explicabo est est.

Provident non tempora architecto voluptas. Ipsam deserunt aut aut voluptate. Quod voluptatem dolor consequatur eaque.

Enim nostrum aut numquam aspernatur sint. Velit commodi qui iste et illo aut. Ut voluptatem eum fuga tempore. Et voluptate voluptatem soluta.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”