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During my superday (doing private credit/direct lending) for Ares I got feedback and they basically told me that what differentiated me was having multiple credit pitches ready to go, and I went straight to talking about them - like they even changed the interview questions for me and basically they were super impressed, as I spoke quickly and rapid-fire on the many ideas that I had.

I also made clear that I had an extreme passion for finance, that I thought about potential investments every day, and that was what clearly differentiated me from the other candidates. Basically, stressing the fact that finance and credit were my main passions by far.

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notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

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