Outlook on BIWS 400 Qs
What's the current consensus on using the BIWS guide for preparing for interviews? Is it sufficient in today's market?
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More or less - probably supplement it with some further prep specific to the role you’re interviewing with eg Consumer/Retail primer etc
In my opinion still the best mainstream guide out there - however does not mean that if you know all 400 questions you’re set for the more technical EBs (CVP, MOE, LAZ, EVR, PWP, Q and a couple others). With that said it is more than sufficient for most BBs. Most important thing is understanding concepts (ie. 3 statements, merger models, LBOs, etc) rather than simply memorizing answers from the guide.
Source- just went through 2024 SA recruiting cycle
Thanks for the detailed response. What additional resources should I be looking at for the EBs?
Good question, it's a bit of a tricky one to answer to be honest because the basic + advanced M&I guides go over pretty much all the content that EBs will require. With that said, I think the required level of technical comprehension is quite a lot higher for EBs which is why their questions may go beyond "walk me through the 3 statements" and evolve into something more complex such as: "walk me through how the 3 statements may differ between a SaaS business, industrials business, and internet company" (I was asked this by an EB). This tests your business acumen more so than your "technical understanding"…I was lucky to interview for top BBs like GS and MS as well as top EBs like Evercore, Lazard, and Moelis - I can definitely say that my EB interviews was far more business acumen heavy. Some things that helped me land offers was a) preparing industry trends (mostly applicable for coverage groups like tech and healthcare), b) reading the news (ik it sucks but it does help), and c) going above and beyond in terms of extracurricular (stock pitches, investment clubs, case competitions, etc.)Feel free to PM me if you have questions btw - always happy to help :)
Are you using 2nd BIWS 400Qs with 162pages or their new edition?
The one I found online is 94 pages, is there an updated version?
How did you approach learning the 400Qs? Is it just a case of reading through multiple times and filling knowledge gaps as you go or is there a more appropriate method to ingrain the info?
Yes, it's sufficient. All the technicals I got in my BB interviews were covered. Solely studied the guide from cover to cover, and I came out successful.
It's sufficient in most cases if you don't just memorize the questions but actually make sure to know the concepts. It can get a dicey once you start interviewing with EBs or industry boutiques. Also supplement with industry/sector knowledge.
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