What am I doing wrong? (Internship Interview)
So far I've interviewed with Citi IBD, Guggenheim IBD, BlackRock PAG, American Express and I have Macquarie IBD on Monday. Citi has already turned me down and I am not feeling too optimistic about these other places neither.
Personally, I am confident with my ability to answer tech questions, but its been days since I heard from anyone. My guess is that people thinks I am going to drop the ball at 4:00AM in the morning (I beg to differ), or it could be that my school (UMich Ross) is filled people who are more qualified than I am. Either way, I need a plan. Feel free to be harsh.
The worst part is losing momentum after an epic disappointment. My interviewer at Guggenheim made comments like "We are really looking for people like you" during the interview, but I somehow managed to lose his interest in the 5 minutes we had remaining.
First off, even though this is an open forum, and not a writing test, the fact that you say things like "shaked his hand goodbye" is not a good thing. You need to present yourself as a professional, speak well and seem like someone who will be presentable to clients and upper level management. If you do not have a fundamental grasp of the English language, that is a tough image to project.
Moving on, if your Citi interviewers told you to "chill out" you seem to be having issues on the fit part of the interview. You can answer every single technical question correctly, but you still have so much to learn on the job that they don't care. They are looking to see that you did your homework, and studied for your interviews, not that you are the next Warren Buffet or George Soros. More important to them (especially the younger people who will be spending 80+ hours per week with) is the fact that you are someone cool that they would want to hang out with. At 2:00am while you are trying to get a pitchbook finished for your MD, nobody cares that you can price an option using the black-scholes model. They care that you will get your work done, be enjoyable, and that they won't want to rip your head off.
Concentrate on being a very relaxed, enjoyable, presentable person and the rest will come if you know your technical answers as well as you claim to. Take a look at the WSO behavioral guide if you need to work on the answers to those types of questions.
Good luck on future interviews.
Thats a lot of brutal but helpful comments, so thank you. But you seem to think I am some kind of friendless nerd whose favorite past time is memorizing academic jargons. I'm not, and my problems are specific to recruiting. I get nervous around people who has the power to make big changes to my life. I feel like a lot is at stake and the pressure clouds my thinking (just like it clouded my writing.... sorry for the unorthodox language structure, its not how I usually speak or write)
There are two ways you deal with stress. The fast one - take some meds (im being serious here, but do your research and see how they affect you before jumping in on the interviews). Second - practice. You can find example fit questions just as easily as technical ones. Write them down and practice answering in front of a mirror/with a friend. If you feel ashamed of doing this/nervous/angry/feel that its a stupid waste of time - thats good, and def shows you need to do it even more.
One problem I noticed when I practiced with mirrors: I don't smile nearly as often as I think I do... and when I'm talking about subjects that interests me, I usually find my myself speaking way too fast. I've mock interviewed with three bankers, but they've known me for a long time, which is a luxury that I won't have on real interviews....
Do I sound like a typical case for an inexperienced job hunter?
Do you remember who you spoke with at Guggenheim NY?
Mr. Massengill from M&A.
In hindsight there is a lot of things I could've done better, it'd be great if I can get some feedback on exactly what I can improve on. It's hard to be my own judge. I know I'm very raw, but I'm determined to adapt and learn.
Also, where can I learn more about which boutiques are hiring?
It's incredibly important to be relaxed and personable during interviews. Granted this is easier said than done, but the only way to get better is to improve in every interview and take incremental steps to get there.
For example, if you anticipate that you will get very nervous, consider taking a second before answering a question. A second of silence is not long at all, and gives you time to collect your thoughts before answering. In fact, a moment of break after you say something substantial has quite a lasting effect.
Smile, have a firm handshake, and don't get too winded up about the interview. It's a tremendous disservice to yourself to blow the interview because you can't control yourself.
Approach the interview as a conversation rather than a "test".
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