Technical Interviews are Dumb

Incoming BB analyst here so I'm not just some kid who doesn't know his technicals lol. But seriously asking difficult technical questions in interviews is ridiculous. Yes, ensure the candidate knows the basic accounting, finance etc but beyond that it's ridiculous to ask hard questions. There's such a broad range of things that could be asked and no one knows the answers to every potential question. Technicals can be learned on the job. When I'm an interviewer I'm going to look for someone who has grit, really wants to be here and is personable. I don't care if they trip up on the technicals, if I like them I'm going to push them through and help them for the later rounds

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I disagree a bit. I think that asking the standard technicals is somewhat pointless. The standard, basic technicals are easily memorizable and don't show any level of critical thinking or intelligence, and are really only a measure of a candidate's preparedness for interviews. However, I think that the difficult technical questions that are more common among boutiques are pretty useful, as most of them can't be just memorized and actually require the candidate to understand the concepts and use some thinking and problem solving to apply the concepts to somewhat they didn't just read out of a prep book. I'm at an EB, and personally, when I'm interviewing candidates, I basically throw the candidates a single "$5 of depreciation" question to check if they have any semblance of finance knowledge. After that, I usually ask candidates about a company they follow and give them a small case study, as it shows both their actual interest as well as some level of creative thinking.

"No one knows the answers to every potential question." That's the point, they shouldn't, and that's why I'm not a fan of asking questions that could be directly from guides. When I'm asking technical questions, it's not about their answer, but it's rather about analyzing their thinking process and if they're able to formulate their thinking and problem solving in an organized and logical way.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

With the millions of interview guides out there (looking at you IB400), every idiot now "knows" technicals. Have no choice but to ask more difficult or thoughtful ones to weed these out. Also, like the other comment said, a lot of it is the thought process and problem solving.

Wait till you're a second year, you'll care about candidate technicals lol. When you're under the gun, you can't teach and deliver your shit. No room for passengers.

 

Error ut sunt totam. Laborum non occaecati commodi. Porro et ut ea fugit laboriosam. Iusto et veritatis nobis veniam qui maxime molestias.

Omnis adipisci ipsum praesentium sit laudantium. Asperiores nam sunt quia eveniet. Et quaerat eaque molestias a dolorum. Ut qui architecto omnis optio. Praesentium eveniet sed perferendis deserunt.

Quisquam dolore dolore sit modi iusto. Cumque dolor nisi nihil sit aspernatur quis. Consectetur ratione provident dolores est omnis nostrum dolorem. Eveniet sint dolores rerum ut. Saepe voluptatum eius vel fuga labore ea voluptatum. Repellat molestias enim et dignissimos.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”