Do you always CRUSH your interview?
Given any field, S&T, IB, etc. there is a shitload to know. When you interview do you always know everything there is to know and always get things right? I know a lot of guys give advice to lower monkeys but they are also in the industry and have more knowledge to give. To all the successful people, target/non-target, did you know everything there was to know cold?
I ask this b/c I see people on here and they seem to know and suggest an ungodly amount of information (not afraid of this) while I just spoke to someone at a BB who said they just hired a fixed income analyst "that doesnt know what a bond is and is learning excel" (a joke but also serious). I want to drop a nuclear fucking bomb on my interviews and literally knock peoples socks off but I dont want to go mental trying to memorize ever market indicator and its history if its un-necessary. In the end I will try to learn everything, no matter what, don't get me wrong. I am just a curious chimp.
maybe they have a non finance background, and that must be an exaggeration. Otherwise, that's the power of networking.
Usually knowing the basic in depth and being good with behavioral should give you a solid base. Think mile deep, inch wide.
Do you think behavioral is equal to, less than, or more important than tech?
I interviewed with an EB for an off cycle internship last year. They grilled me on everything, from valuations to bonds to general culture. I tought i did poorly because i stumbled a couple of times and didn't know many questions, or got corrected in my answer. Overall it was a tough interview. I tought i did poorly, however the contact i had inside said that i was in their 4 top choices out of 34 being interviewed. In the end i didn't get the position because their first pick had more experience and was also at the final round with GS. However i'm in a shortlist and will probably get called next time a position open.
So yeah, you don't need to crush it on an absolute basis.
What did you do to prepare for the interviews? Did you feel that you knew everything there was to know? Were the questions in the interview, new or more difficult or you just couldn't think on the spot (stumbling)?
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For me, I care about someone's process, not their existing stock of knowledge. I want to know that if I hire an analyst, they (a) know the basics really well (and while I call them 'basics' this is a range of topics that takes years to learn) OR (b) are resourceful enough to autonomously acquire what knowledge/skills they don't know*. The stuff an entry-level hire is capable of knowing is just a standardized set of knowledge. Knowing how to run a DCF, or being able to describe what interest rate futs are... those skills, while important, have never created a George Soros or a Bruce Kovner. What separates the boys from the men, so to speak, is the ability to iteratively improve. To learn more, even when you're an old decrepit man. ya know, the whole teach a man to fish thing.
I don't really care how many fish you walk into the interview with, if you can convince (show) me that you are great at fishing. Conversely, if you walk in with a fuck ton of fish (great tech) but it's obvious you don't understand how you got those fish, I will be skeptical of your ability to fish (acquire new understanding) in the future.
Back when I was doing entry-level interviews, with nothing to show and everything to prove, I was in a special situation because I had figured out what I wanted to do really early on and spent ~4 yrs reading up before ever interviewing at a HF. I had fish, and could describe in great depth how I go fishing. I still fish the same way today, years later.
Obviously, my opinions only apply to my realm of expertise. I have never worked anywhere but HF's so can't speak to IBD, PE, S&T, etc.
*With that said, I'm not going to hire someone who LITERALLY doesn't know what a bond or [insert 3rd grade level topic here] is. That, frankly, just demonstrates an absolute lack of interest in the industry
Let's just say I don't ever not crush my interviews.
Dude finance is a finite body of knowledge. There is literally no excuse not to crush interviews. If you take the time to learn everything - which it seems like you're willing to do - you'll be fine. It's surprising how many people don't actually do this and wonder why they got burned.
@ThatBankerOverThere", respectfully, if you think finance is a finite body of knowledge, I guarantee you will never amount to more than a cog in a machine
haha you got me. I meant what they expect you to know in ib summer intern interviews - should've clarified
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