TL; DR version - 0/3 on FT 2018 analyst superdays despite doing well in interviews + solid credentials
I've had 10+ first rounds and 3 superdays for 2018 FT analyst roles across a breadth of banks (BB, MM, well-known boutiques), but have walked away from each superday with 0 offers in hand despite interviewing very well.
Background on myself: engineering/economics major at a non-target (decent alumni in IB), high GPA (3.7+), 2 boutique IB internships, $15B PE internship, president of multiple on-campus organizations
I write this thread not to ask for pity, but rather to see how I can improve should I be fortunate enough to make it to other superdays. I've interviewed very well, my technicals are perfect, my credentials are strong, I'm a likeable guy, I've networked a lot - is it possible that this is just very, very bad luck / a product of the intensely competitive FT recruiting environment, or is there something I might just not be realizing?
If you made it to superday its not your technicals/resume at that point.
You just didn't leave a "wow"/likeable factor. Maybe you were good but didn't stand out in their minds.
Recruiting can be somewhat of a crapshoot. Unless you are a star candidate (HYPWS, GS/MS SA, etc.), you will most likely not end up with multiple offers. That being said, if you keep whiffing at superdays, you most definitely are not interviewing very well as you claim.
I would HIGHLY recommend doing some mock interviews the Wall St. Mentors program. I hate sounding like a sale person because I'm a mentor in that program and am compensated for it, but it really is a great way to get brutally honest feedback on how you interview. I also used it twice in undergrad and was happy with my experience.
If I were to take a guess, I would say your problem is two-fold based on the mentees I've had in the Wall St. Mentors program:
You cannot tell a coherent story and cannot coherently explain your IB experience. If you're getting interviews like you are, you have the experience necessary, but frequently candidates cannot talk about their experience at all. Take a look at whatever behavioral interview guide you have and learn how to properly walk someone through your experience and transactions. This WSO thread and this WSO thread all give some excellent insight as well. I would be willing to bet that this is your issue.
You're answering fit questions without understanding what is being asked. This is the biggest issue I see with candidates. Every fit question is an opportunity for you to show off your skills and/or the research you've done into a bank/industry. If I ask you why you want to work at my bank, and you rattle off some generic reason, you will always lose to the kid who took the time to look up our recent transactions and can give me some more in-depth reason, such as how we have better debt-raising capabilities than our competitors, can negotiate better earn-out structures for our clients, etc. I don't actually care why you want to work at my bank, but I do care whether or not you can 1). understand what I am really asking and 2). can be bothered to do some homework before interviewing.
I hope that makes sense. I'm happy to go into more detail if necessary.
Sil I appreciate the response. I know you're one of the more respected guys on here, so I'm certainly happy to hear your advice.
I think providing a little more context on my end may be helpful. The reason I say I interview well is because I've had direct feedback from interviewers that I did very well. In fact, I had one VP I interviewed with tell me he really liked me/thought I gave great answers, and he'd book me in for a superday, only to never hear anything after that.
My typical response to a "Give me your story" type question: talk about how I didn't know too much about IB at the start of my junior year because I was doing engineering, then got a chance to do an IB internship in-year, enjoyed the work I did/had a lot of significant responsibilities on live deals, which lead me to my next in-year IB internship where I again had significant responsibilities such as building entire CIMs on live sell-side deals, which lead me to my internship at upper MM PE because I wanted to move up in deal size and get better exposure in the NY area, etc. Obviously my story is fleshed out and worded appropriately, but that is the gist of it. I've thought this to be coherent and flowing, but certainly open to revisions/advice. You don't need to go into the minutiae, I can leverage resources around me to fine tune the minor things - just curious to hear on a more macro level.
I guess one thing that would come to my mind is that when they ask about my other recruiting processes, in an effort to demonstrate I am in-demand and validate their own process, I mention I've interviewed with 10+ firms (obviously selectively exclude names based on the size of the firm I'm interviewing at). Is this something that could be perceived as a lack of interest in their specific firm?
I've found that the only time to mention another firm, if you don't have an offer from it, is if it's a higher or equal firm. Also might be worth saying that you're waitlisting by the other firm (and if they ask you would take this firm over the one that waitlisted you).
The other thing is being engineering and your very IB-heavy story means you'll have to demonstrate your social side more and maybe people are not seeing that part (or rather your fit with the firm). I'm not engineering but my background is pretty technical too and I've always found that I leave the interview feeling best when I actually start to have a conversation with the interviewer. It lets me brag and allows them to see that I have a sociable persona
DalaiLama, I would not place much stock into anything that you are told post interview. This "we will get back to you in a few days" or "great interview, we will book you for a superday" don't mean anything until they happen. It sucks, but that's just how it is.
I would change your story a bit to include some line about how you enjoy analytical work, but also have a passion for finance as a way to explain your desire to work in finance despite not majoring in it. You should also include a reason why you want to do IB after interning in PE. You could mention something like a more fast-paced environment or access to a larger amount of deals or a robust analyst training program. Reach out to anyone you know who broke into IB as an engineering major to see what their story was.
IBs are very risk averse. This is why they love HYPWS kids because those schools have already vetted those kids. This is why IBs love kids who have interned at other IBs before because those other IBs have already vetted those kids. If you mention that you are involved in several other processes, it will be seen as a strength because you are clearly good enough to be taken seriously by multiple banks. I would not, however, mention "10+" as that may lead some to believe that multiple banks have already passed on you (no one gets 10+ offers....even the rockstar HYPWS kids are only going to get a handful if they get lucky).
Sil Certainly agree on your first point. Nothing is good until it's set in stone.
My response to "Why IB after doing PE?" is generally along the lines of what you mentioned, so I would assume that's not the reason I keep getting dinged unless they just don't believe me.
You are right on the fact about IBs being risk-averse: I think in addition to what you've said, this is also demonstrated by the fact they would rather hire a mediocre analyst from their SAs over chancing an unknown variable from FT recruiting. I guess my question would be - now that I've gone 0/3 on superdays, how should I angle that to show I am a legitimate candidate without looking like damaged product? I assume the best way is to just say I've had 3 superdays without going further into it.
I interviewed a lot of candidates at both the associate and analyst levels during the time I was at a BB. The issue is that the banks that you are interviewing at don't believe that you will accept their offer if given one. Based on what you have written, the impression that you are giving off is that you have a lot of options (which you explicitly tell them) -- and because you are actually super qualified, the risk of you getting a bunch of offers and accepting another one is very real. So you become what we used to call a "unicorn" candidate, which is....we would love to hire you, but we risk a precious spot in our recruiting process to try to get you. If you take your merry time to make a decision and then ultimately turn us down (because we were not your first choice to begin with), we not only lost you but our next best candidate to another firm as well. So in most instances, we'll go with another candidate who might not be as stellar but we are perfectly happy hiring and know will accept our offer.
hominem provided an excellent answer to your last question. I would follow his/her advice.
Oh man, did my fortunes turn around!!
Bulge bracket offer, who woulda thought! Much appreciation for all of those who contributed to this thread.
Congrats dude!
Thanks!! I truly appreciate it.
How many days after ur final interview did you get the offer ? **
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