Why do you think you got the offer?

Interviewer is an alum of my fraternity.

had some good stories for their questions and decently personable during interviews/dinners.

Luck

was willing to take one for the team, ok multiple ones... on the face... and the back

Diversity here + networked with more than half the office beforehand... when I got to the superday, my interviewers knew me already and knew I talked to so many people prior

Not a target, average GPA, and no banking experience. I think it’s always some luck & some networking. For me, I had an interviewer who cared more what kind of person you were and what interested you. Seems like one trait senior people want across industries and firms are junior people who speak up and don’t wait for things to be handed to them. I also think it’s fit. I’m guessing interviewers just have an idea of if they like the interviewee just as a person and that determines a lot of their ranking? Hope it works out for you!

Also happy to PM you and be of any help that I can. Obviously not the most qualified in terms of technicals though.

Had a very clear reason why I was there and not some where else. I’m lucky to be in an investing role and was able to communicate my past history and passion for it.

my dad is an md

humor 

Not coming off as a hardo during the interview and not having illusions at to what IB actually is. You have to assume that everyone who made it to the superday is going to nail the technical questions, so you have to shine through the behavioral questions (and obviously nail the technicals). The bank I'm at values cultural fit highly (every banks says this, not every banks means it though), so it was important that I don't hide my personality and act as if IB is life. You're not always going to share similarities with your interviewers, but as long as you come off as a chill person who would be enjoyable to work with, your chances of getting an offer improve significantly. At the end of the day, almost all other candidates will have good resumes and high GPA's, so the soft skills are really what set you apart in my opinion.

Not being weird as fuck. Seriously, so many weirdos out there 

I go to a target but not like HYPW or anything. I got an EB offer without networking probably with 80% luck and 20% actual work ethic. I didn't network that hard there because I honestly thought I wouldn't get it- I was surprised when I got the interview but approached it as more so a practice opportunity for the other firms I was taking more seriously. I was definitely more relaxed than I would have been, and I also had experience working in regular companies in a certain industry that I could speak about very well (and knew more than I would have just reading about it in the wsj). First and second-round interviews were fine- was relaxed and conversational and knew my technicals. In my superday, I ended up interviewing with an MD who covered that industry, and we ended up hitting it off and discussing that industry a lot, so I think that was something that helped me stand out in that stage. But the fact that I had that particular MD was completely by chance. So overall, being professional but human, understanding an industry really well and talking about it well, and having a lucky interviewer were the three things that got me the offer. 

Ironically, I was interviewing at like 4 other firms while I was interviewing there- I networked super hard at those other places but the only offer I got was that EB. 

I’m non-target, but have some decent connections at a few firms so I applied and got a pair of superdays. In the networking calls, I felt that it was pretty good practice for superdays as far as just displaying a few qualities you’d want to show. Based on the conversations I had, interviewers are looking for people who are eager to work hard, learn quickly, and are generally fun/normal. A lot of it just comes down to maintaining a good conversation, and although obviously professional, still being personable.

During a superday you sit down with people across the hierarchy, which presents the opportunity to have a different goal when speaking to different levels of employees. Analysts tend to want to know that you’re not going to be a weak link, so a good mix of technical knowledge and personality fit are important. For me, the associate interviewers were the most focused on technical knowledge and didn’t seem that interested in personality questions. VPs and higher didn’t ask about technicals and instead asked a lot of personality/background questions.

Anyways, it was valuable to remember who would be peers and who would be supervisors, and showing the peers that I’d be a good person to work alongside was important, while separately showing supervisors I’d be a good employee. Obviously there is some crossover in those two roles, but at the same time it was helpful to come in with that perspective (peer vs employee) depending on who was interviewing. Best of luck.

I'd say it was a combination of preparation and luck. 

I went to a target and was a good student there, which helped at least a little in terms of traction with alumni. Maybe more importantly, I had a really unique and extensive background in something totally unrelated to finance. While I initially thought this would be a detriment, it actually ended up being a huge boost for two reasons; 1) people I spoke to remembered me, and 2) interviewers immediately had lower expectations for me technically- which I had no problems exceeding- relative to kids who had a finance-heavy resumes. 

However, the biggest factor was absolutely luck. At two different firms, I happened to randomly cold email non-alumni analysts who were the most helpful people you could have possibly emailed, happened to get paired with interviewers who I really got along with, etc etc. The success of my early recruiting process was essentially me getting opportunities due to mostly sheer luck, and then getting somewhere because I was prepared to make the most of them. I was rejected from some firms before the superday stage, but I got an offer from every single superday I went to, and I would honestly attribute most of that to luck too. I got one offer really early on, then leveraged that to get another, and another...the more offers I got, the easier it became to receive, well, more offers. I ended up somewhere I originally thought I had no chance of ever getting, and while I worked hard, I'm no better than many of my peers who ended up with much less- I'm just luckier. 

Luck and confidence (the fake it till you make it kind)

regional target (big public school), had a 3.6 while recruiting

Two best pieces of advice given to me.

1- Be yourself. Look at the interview as if you’re having a conversation with someone. Be calm and cool. Don’t have a stick up your ass. And be personable, don’t be afraid of talking about things you enjoy doing. Hell one of my interviewers was a soccer player and half the interview we were talking about soccer. If you know your technicals your behaviorals are a way to shine.

2- Enjoy the process. You have a legit shot at something big when you interview with a firm. Be happy, be excited this is your shot. Trust me this will show. If you’re nervous as fuck then more likely than not your interview will be awkward and will lead to mistakes. If you go in there excited, pumped up and just grateful to be there you’ll feel better and as a result you’ll perform better. It’s fine to feel nervous but you gotta realize it’s just a natural reaction to the situation you’re in. In fact if you’re nervous that’s a good thing to an extent. Shows that you care.

Another quick tip. Try to take a shit before. Nothing worse than having a turtle head in the middle of an interview haha

Had an exploding offer at a BB (GS/JPM/MS) in s&t, got an SD in banking and was easy bc of the other offer I had. If I could do it again, I would interview for IB, s&t, research, and PWM bc HR really came through once I had an offer. Never heard how helpful it is even to have an offer from another division.

Non-Target background. FT offer in PE.

1) Polish. Don’t really know how else to describe it but I think this just comes with practice. Being kind, courteous, respectful and keeping a cool head throughout conversations, networking and interview.

2) Authentic (and demonstrated) interest in Finance / Capital markets and investing. I consider myself a more technical candidate and this usually is apparent through conversation, technical questions, stellar reviews from good internship experience in IB/PE.

3) I think another differentiator was my academic background which came up a lot and sparked good conversation. The first 2 way more than the 3rd though.

Nepotism

My internship back in the day for my technical knowledge + coming direcly from a 3rd world country on a scholarship + first in family to go college. 

Was very good at technicals, had good presence (which I do think it helps in ACs to build trust) and was kind of funny 

Non target, high GPA, no summer internship experience. Got rejected in the final round for a group in E&P. Asked for a referral from one of the associates I connected well with during the interview process and was directed to a job in DCM. Made it through the interview process and got an offer. 

A bit of luck. Right place, right time. I was interning at an asset management firm (Doing data analytics for client portfolios) where they had a bit of a shit show during my summer internship. I was basically thrust into the deep end and was able to contribute to response and damage limitation for the firms assets/reputation. Was able to talk about it during my next S&T internship applications and it made me stand out, which the bank told me during my offer call.

Also a funny one, managed to find out this one interviewer and I share the same favourite DJ so my technical interview turned into a chat about the music we both like. At the end he basically guaranteed he was going to vouge for me to get an offer. 

Passion for the industry the group I was interviewing for covered

Luck

Social skills and a 3.5 GPA

Relatable. Wasn't hell bent on asking finance questions but rather "Who's your team?" (showed a interest in their interests) "Saw the game last night? They fucking suck bro." (friendly bullying) "Drinks tonight?" (it's hard to turn down a good time) "You banged her or what?" (a better follow up than "did you see TSLA's post-market volatility?") I always asked for help (its the best way to kiss a little ass), it was warranted since I didn't know shit anyways. Took pride in my tasks. Even if it was just coffee/food runs, I groomed the art of my memory and satisfied the team, win-win. Stayed late, not because I contributed to the team in any valuable way but because its just culture. My firm's fratty so my approach came natural. Moral of the story, get a sense of your team-firm and adjust accordingly. 

Luck, social skills, quite good GPA (and target)

Importance from left to right....

Because I fit in

Combination of 4 things I think (background: non-target from Canada):

1. Story: I come from a small town where no-one knows what banking was - I think that helped me along the way because I wasn't like every other kid that lived around Toronto (from Canada) and that was kinda memorable/interesting to talk about if someone actually knew the area where I was from

2. Networking: actually just getting on the phone and talking to people - I really undervalued this and really hammered home on it once I knew. Being a genuine person on the call and trying to learn more about them was really fun. This is what got me every interview I had - every firm I interviewed with/had one lined up for is a firm I had spoken to at minimum 3 people from - the firm I got hired at someone had to go to bat for me hard to get me into the process, without that contact who I'd spoken to for ~8 months prior, I wouldn't;t have the job

3. Actual Interview: my interviewer went way off on a tangent about bonds, interest rate movement, and government policy, instead of asking the normal technical questions - I had studied some of this but it's kind glazed over in the interview guides - had taken a financial systems course which saved my ass. Actually told my first interviewer I was nervous (being super genuine) and ended up getting almost every technical - the ones I didn't I walked through and came pretty close. I came top of the interview group for the firm I'm at now... (same on that someone really had to push for me to be in the process for)

4. Grades/GPA, School, Past Experiences: I'm putting these down here because I think everything else above this is much more important - in short: this will not win you the job, only lose it for you. To explain - the way I see it is that these elements may help get you into the interview process but none of them will actually get you the job. If the non-target kid and target kid both get into the interview process, it does not matter whose from what school at that point - as long as they both go to school who cares. If a kid with a 3.7 and a 4.0 can both get into the interview process then who cares about the 0.3 difference - no-one. Again, these above can help with applications and get you on their radar but I think that you can get quickly overlooked if you don't have everything above down tight.

Sorry for the ramble - also didn't review so mb for the grammar/spelling

I didn't apply during COVID-19

Prepared for months for interviews and networked a ton into an interview and converted. My Dad's also a client. 

I have been asking myself this question everyday since I got the offer in september.

Semi-target, average GPA, unrelated corporate internship, varsity athlete.

I connected with my first round interviewers in the following ways:

First interview was technicals, didn’t nail it by any means but really went above and beyond on a bond question and a macro risk question which seemed to impress him/ make him forget that i messed up a gimme.

Second interviewer was behavioural and instantly connected because he was varsity athlete and I brought up his past achievement (all conference team) which he liked a lot (this was a risk, can come off as creepy/hardo). Then I nailed a consulting type case question on valuation/market sizing

They put me through to the SD and immediately made themselves available to me as a resource. I was able to prepare for the SD much better and they even setup coffee chats with seniors for me (not seniors who did my SD obv) I was stunned as they seemed to genuinely want me to secure the offer.

Night before the SD I got the list of interviewers and found one thing from all of their backgrounds including some incredibly lucky mutual connections/knowledge again this was luck meeting preparation. Coming across as prepared but still chill was easily the most important thing I did IMO.

The last side note is I had done so many online interviews that i really had the etiquette down. Look straight into the lens of the webcam, speak like you would in person (no ums between words, this seems to creep in more when you feel like you’re on the phone)

All of these things combined and are the reason I think I got the offer but I’m still really surprised as my app was by no means a standout. Hope this can help someone else

Applied to every bank on the street. Struck out with OCR, even after getting a few supers. During the summer, I was able to land an EB, because I realized I was getting a return offer at my summer internship (consulting), and I leveraged that.