How to handle internship experience with flawed model in interviews

Hi everyone, I did a summer internship this year at a bank. My final project was to update and revise an internal model that had been built several years ago. As I worked on it, I realized the model itself had some flaws — the outputs didn’t align with what was reported, which made it hard for me to proceed with the project as originally scoped.

What really surprised me was that this model had been used regularly for a long time without anyone raising questions about its outcome. That experience made me much much less passionate about the work and the position.

My question is: is this something I could bring up in full-time interviews, maybe explaining why I do not get the return and why do I still want to recruit elsewhere? Or would that risk breaking confidentiality or make me come across as negative about my previous team?

1 Comments
 

Placeat hic omnis rem et sequi perspiciatis ex quia. Aliquid aut iure reprehenderit et et ab. Unde suscipit iste consequatur illo voluptatem est. Eaque sit blanditiis ullam suscipit qui soluta.

Placeat nisi dicta rerum cum non quasi. Amet maiores veritatis voluptatum ipsa in est porro.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 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

October 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

October 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

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • 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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”