Interviews: lead with humble upbringing?

I have a pretty humble upbringing (immigrant, parents were blue collar workers, etc.) and that is where I draw a lot of my hunger and resourcefulness from. Should I lead with this in my interviews or is that a little too much?

I can also bring it up for the answer to a lot of qualitative questions so it's a little more natural and the interviewer doesn't think I'm telling this sob story over and over again. Is this different the more senior you get? I am 4-6 years out of school and starting to do some interviews again. Though, I don't know if the answer / advice would be different for someone younger or older.

I guess it also depends on your audience. I generally don't tell the story to younger / less senior folk or people who might be from a similar background. But if it's a partner who grew up with a silver spoon, I try to bring it up more deliberately.

1 Comments
 

Sequi in ullam voluptas nostrum rerum. Odit quidem aut sed dolores aliquam. Dignissimos ut nulla praesentium velit. Non fugiat aut deserunt ea saepe.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Guggenheim Partners No 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $150
  • 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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”