29 Comments
 

honestly I disagree with a few points. I only applied to 6 places and interviewed and only got 2 no's before I got an offer. My sophomore year I applied to a 134 places (so focus more on ease of access like if its an ocr app or general app and networkings with individuals rather than applying everywhere online). Also, I found behaviorals easy, I was able to wing them all fine and was told they liked my answers and I was funny. Study the technical a lot. I was told that lots of my competitors at way better schools and with better grades messed up at parts because of the lack of classes with the earlier recruiting. I also liked hearing where others were interviewing at, it lit a fire under my ass and also let me know which schools liked my school (which is not really a target at many firms). My 2 cents

 
Most Helpful

Very much agree with this after also recently receiving a 2019 ER offer from a top 10 ER bank on II and interviewing at another BB. I've said this before, but there are so few spots per bank for research interns (usually fewer than 10) that you have to apply everywhere; like OP said, it's a crapshoot.

It's important to note, though, that this makes it considerably easier to land interviews: fewer people are applying. During finals season I talked to many associates who hadn't had a single networking call yet.

During my two interviews I was hardly ever grilled on technicals, I've heard that's fairly standard among ER. Like OP said, almost all "why this bank", "why ER", "pitch me a stock", etc.

So network your a** off, crush every gimmie question, prep for every single behavioral (just do it. Have an answer to every single hard behavioral you can find), and know the basics of technicals and you'll be good.

 

Thanks for taking the time to make this post. There is a lot of great info in it.

How did you go about networking and what effect do you think it had on your recruiting timeline?

 

I can hopefully provide some insight as I am in the same position as the OP (also non-target, 2019 offer at a top 10 II bank).

From my experience, I was having much more luck getting ER associates to talk with me than my friends were having with IB analysts. It's really a function of how few people are applying to research.

Since I'm at a non-target, I just emailed anybody I could find, alum or not. I networked early for ER (during finals season), so I was the first networking call of the season for most of my contacts. They almost all got back to me, and after our conversation, almost all said they liked me and wanted to help.

Networking early got me into an early superday, so it had a big effect on the timeline.

 

Thanks for the response.

Did you ever talk about a stock pitch competition or anything like that you did in undergrad?

 

Thanks for the reply. I've also been able to meet some professionals face to face on my campus and then meet up with them later on.

 

Do you think having good contacts could get you an interview late? Like if the process has winded down, would they be able to squeeze you in?

 

Debitis ea facere sunt sed magnam. Iure illo aut sapiente voluptas autem error. Nihil id dignissimos optio velit iusto voluptatem. Dicta vitae tempora quia quasi occaecati quo. Similique dolorum sed et enim quia totam dolor.

Laborum rerum id ex et voluptas quasi. Aperiam molestiae cumque ea facilis nemo et. Iste voluptates tenetur officia fugit culpa labore dolores aut. Et impedit velit quidem optio omnis velit quo. Atque et dolores quia illo deserunt et et odio.

 
Funniest

Fuga necessitatibus sequi sed sunt minus. Quae quam est ab eos et. Facere officia animi inventore voluptatibus. Eum cumque facere minus ea.

Deleniti laudantium omnis occaecati. Ea cum sapiente fuga consectetur maiores. Doloribus et ut dolorem quis eius laborum. Ut quasi voluptatum libero est. Voluptatem sit nobis esse ex dolorem illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • 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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”