Lateral hire into IB (ECM)?

Hi all, 

I am currently in an engineering consultancy/advisory firm (few years).

I was recently approached by a firm that works within the ECM space and have asked me to attend a coffee chat.

This is a firm that claims they are more of a VC-Silicon Valley tech funded firm than traditional IB. I am not sure what this means?

Things I wanted to know from you guys are:

What are some questions I should prepare? I am someone who has been out of touch with finance in my undergrad (did a double major), but happy to research.

---- 

Outside of work, I do have an interest in stocks, particularly value investing so I only really care about news that is more relevant to my holdings and my personal interest than just following the markets for the sake of it.

Would appreciate any advice - thank you all.

3 Comments
 

If its entry level, I would expect it will be mostly behavioral stuff and some assessment of your understanding of equity markets and maybe legal knowledge. If they grill you on technicals of accounting or something, that's just on them being out of touch with reality.

Contrary to what WSO would lead you to believe, most interviewers will only grill you on technicals if your background looks like you should know (i.e. Finance major, case comp winner, past IB experience, etc). If your resume doesn't suggest you would know a lot about ECM don't stress about becoming an ECM wizard overnight. Just know the basics like what the 3 financial statements are, general ability of how to read them, and some understanding of relevant ratios.

 
Most Helpful

Redan

If its entry level, I would expect it will be mostly behavioral stuff and some assessment of your understanding of equity markets and maybe legal knowledge. If they grill you on technicals of accounting or something, that's just on them being out of touch with reality.

Contrary to what WSO would lead you to believe, most interviewers will only grill you on technicals if your background looks like you should know (i.e. Finance major, case comp winner, past IB experience, etc). If your resume doesn't suggest you would know a lot about ECM don't stress about becoming an ECM wizard overnight. Just know the basics like what the 3 financial statements are, general ability of how to read them, and some understanding of relevant ratios.

Thank you Redan.

I had thought that much with the technicals, where we'd sit down and then they just blast me with "So how did you perform a LBO in XYZ situation?" and i'd be like uhhh what?

I will try to read into valuation methodologies, how to read the 3-statements in a decent manner, learn about ECM / IB world on a high level basis (how IPO works, etc) and just brush on my "Why finance over engineering?" etc.

Cheers!

 

Tempore et consectetur adipisci quaerat nisi sed vel. Qui cumque quas porro quis. Nam et est et eveniet et itaque. Accusantium maiores debitis ullam. Est exercitationem quisquam libero enim aut expedita animi.

Molestiae quaerat debitis et perspiciatis perspiciatis a voluptatem maxime. Adipisci culpa sit et cupiditate corrupti quos eos. Aut nisi provident molestiae minima. Provident aut est adipisci tenetur quis soluta.

Non officiis qui et molestias qui. Quae non unde ea eum laudantium eius. Ut repudiandae rem at et qui non numquam.

Exercitationem voluptates nisi officiis tenetur suscipit omnis. Dolores ut repudiandae commodi itaque officia officiis ad corporis. Sequi facere voluptas qui eaque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”