Summer Associate IB Recruiting Process with IB background
Questions on the Summer Associate recruitment process. My Pre-MBA background is IB in Europe (mid-tier BB Internship + FT MM) + 2 years of a decent MM PE ($3-10bn AUM).
I got quite significant experience under my belt, so was wondering the following:
1. Will they like my profile or try to grill me on rationale and generally say I'm unpredictable/unstable due to my PE experience?
2. Should I expect the traditional MBA interview process or I should prepare more for a lateral-like interview (mainly deals + even modelling?)
3. Will I be able to interview at the top EB/BBs (GS/JPM/MS/EVR/MOE) from mid-tier school (like Johnson/Tuck/Fuqua) or I should definitely press for M7? (for example, full-ride mid-tier vs no-scholarship M7)
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
Profile Reception:
Interview Preparation:
Interview Opportunities at Top EB/BBs:
In summary: - Your profile is strong but be ready to justify your career moves. - Prepare for both traditional MBA and technical interview questions. - You can still target top EB/BBs from mid-tier schools, but M7 schools do offer advantages in terms of network and opportunities.
Sources: mid tier bb's and eb comparison, The Case for Elite Boutiques over any Bulge Brackets in 2022, Q&A - Left First Undergrad with Sub 2.0 GPA====>Booth MBA/"Tier 2" Consulting, Honest question - Would you rather MBB if you don't land at a top bank?, Linkedin research on Tier 2 US mbas
Just finished turning comments on a Friday night, 6th week into my summer asso gig, I can shed some light:
Yes to an extent. Everyone will be grilled on why banking, and the banks are looking for every reason to cut you in the process. But I feel having an IB and PE background is less of a bane but a bless. You will gain a lot of legitimacy compared to people who worked in, say, nonprofit. You need to come up with a good answer for why banking tho. Location, market, sector are good reasons.
They assume you know the technicals, so they will likely ask slightly more difficult questions technical questions. Yes, really prepare your deals. But, do not slack on the simple questions, such as what are the common ways to value a company and walk from equity value to EV. I’ve seen people fail at explaining why we need to subtract NWC when calculating FCF.
Top 15 should get you to NYC BB. Top 25 for regional offices no problem. It’s more about how you interview. You can fail at recruiting even if you went to Booth. That being said, being at M7 definitely gives you an edge, but the processes at schools are so different. For example, Wharton had a matching process and everyone who seriously recruited may only get 1 offer, whereas say Stern or SOM if you are good you are able to get more than 1 offers due to the structure of the recruiting process.
Thanks & Bump...
Top 15 schools such as Tuck, NYU Stern, Cornell, Darden, etc. can certainly get you to where you want to end up
Most kids from M7 schools already have banking experience coming into the MBA so its a less popular career path for these folks. Though, some schools do send a large cohort to IB such as Booth, CBS and Wharton.
Be surprised but it will be harder for you to break in with prior IB experience: 1) As you alluded to, most firms will be skeptical of your intention to stay vs going to PE, 2) Junior bankers (MBA associates) will have a bias against you considering that most pivoted from a different field, 3) Firms prefer "fresher" blood so they would rather go with someone who is more malleable, if that makes sense
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