How long is your story?

When you give someone a rundown of your background story, how long do you guys usually speak for? Mine is a couple minutes, but I feel like it might be a little too long. At the same time, the details that I include really contribute to the story though, so I'm having a hard time cutting it down. Thoughts?

 

Is this for summer intern or grad position? Keep it to 30 - 45 seconds. Let the interviewers ask you questions if they want to know more.

I've had kids launch into long stories that aren't that interesting.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 
AndyLouis:
SSits:

I've had kids launch into long stories that aren't that interesting.

Do tell

Would not be interesting

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

Mine is right around 2 and a half minutes on average. Most people I've talked to have been very receptive to my story or noted that they thought it was great, but I did have one analyst on a phone call tell me that he thought the story was great but that I might be better served to shorten it. I'm thinking about leaving it at is when speaking in person and at interviews, but to cut it down for phone calls when the other person has several distractions readily available. That's just my own experience though

 
Best Response

Like most things in life, there is no single answer.

Depends on who it is. My experience is that senior folks (the more senior the better) like to hear long stories, especially if you can tell it/tailor it since that's what makes you as a person, it's what makes you stand out and that's what they really care about, and that's how you get to know people and that's how you get job/personal referrals and them responding to your emails. In other words it makes it a personable conversation in which two people are speaking to each other... Tons of people have worked a ton of hours at GS/MS etc and want a buyside job or whatever, that's kind of blah to senior folks because they've heard the story a million times.

For example, one top guy once asked me "tell me about yourself" and when I balked for a second, he said "I'll start" and then he launched into a long 10-15 minute story about where he grew up, his parents, his motivations for getting his first job, the luck aspect, how he has progressed etc etc etc. Then he turned to me and said "your turn."

I like this approach and definitely use it when interviewing people or speaking to them. I find that the story answers a lot of lame form questions "tell me about a time you've been on a team, or have faced a challenge" or whatever meaningless crap that people often throw at you and only half listen. It also builds a personal interaction and you get to understand the person, who they are and their motivations much better.

For example.

  1. "I grew up in the US, went to a target school, majored in economics, then after graduation moved to Japan, studied Japanese, looked for a job that made use of my language/cultural skills and now I am where I am."

VS

  1. "I grew up in the US, single parent household, played 3 sports in high school, went to a target school, and majored in economics, because I thought it would be useful for business... whatever that means, I was 18, right? But I enjoyed economics a lot. Then I realized that I wanted to be in Asia for my career but also to support my mom financially, so I reached out to 100 alumni from my college who were in finance in Asia. I had an inspirational conversation with one of them who was very high at a bank (he has since retired), who told me to study Japanese. So I went to Japan after graduation, studied Japanese full time in a Japanese university, lived in a local Japanese neighborhood where no one spoke English, and taught English on the side and was an extra in a Hollywood movie to make ends meet. Then I realized after 2 years that I needed a real job and wanted to support my mom since she's worked so hard her whole life with just her and me, so I began to look for work that could leverage my linguistic skills and cultural flexibility and remain in Asia but in finance...."

The first is quick, to the point and shows that the person is smart/hard working, may take some risks and found a job. Not bad. But it's what everyone does. In other words its nothing special.

The second shows everything the person said in the first example, but also their train of thought and action points taken. It shows they are competitive/hard working (sports), why they did econ, why Japanese, reaching out to people and being able to talk to super senior people, taking advice, learning, taking a risk, adapting culturally and socially to different situations, what they did to live in (hustling/working), committed to family, dedicated/driven (ie. support mom)...

In other words number 2 says a lot more about the applicant and how they might be a fit for the job. You may have to tailor it to the job/person (this is an art, and how lots of salespeople have their jobs)...

Of course the interviewer might not care and might only want example one... since they might be rushed/stressed/not have time or just be mean.

So if you're a little daring, you can just ask the interviewer. I have.

Something like "we've all got stories and they are all worth hearing". Would you like the 1 minute or 4 minute version? The latter often answers a lot of questions before they are asked" but I understand you are busy (do it with a smile and be friendly - when the person says 1 minute, smile and say "sure" and start). You can also ask them about THEIR story. People like to hear themselves talk about themselves. It makes them feel good.

In other words have a few versions of the story ready depending on what the person wants, and go with it. Do not be scared to fail. The job is yours to get, not for you to lose (ie. play to win, rather than not to lose).

Good Luck

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 
Jamoldo:

Something like "we've all got stories and they are all worth hearing". Would you like the 1 minute or 4 minute version? The latter often answers a lot of questions before they are asked" but I understand you are busy (do it with a smile and be friendly - when the person says 1 minute, smile and say "sure" and start). You can also ask them about THEIR story. People like to hear themselves talk about themselves. It makes them feel good.

In other words have a few versions of the story ready depending on what the person wants, and go with it. Do not be scared to fail. The job is yours to get, not for you to lose (ie. play to win, rather than not to lose).

Good Luck

This is fantastic advice, put the ball in their court.

"Decide what to be and go be it." - The Avett Brothers
 
Flake:

Mine is at parity with my duration in bed. 30 seconds.

With a desultory closing, followed by shame and recriminations?

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

it it's short, why not yell "Yahoo!", get out of bed and watch tv, or just go to sleep.. Why face the humiliation/shame by facing her? I mean you got yours, right? Bask in the glory with a smile. Good return with minimal time/effort. Seems like an ok trade to me.

I used to do Asia-Pacific PE (kind of like FoF). Now I do something else but happy to try and answer questions on that stuff.
 

Maybe this is a personal preference but writing out my answers a few times in addition to practicing saying them worked well for me.

Maybe try to find a way to practice in a high-pressure situation so you can be stone-cold when the time comes.

I had similar problems last year and reworked my approach entirely this year and it ended up working out so really try to take a step back and practice/prep thoughtfully.

If your answers read like a story and flow well and make a lot of sense they will also be way easier to remember. Maybe even try to make your answers more natural instead of rehearsed or memorized.

 

My $0.02 - Stick with something a) true and b) cookie cutter. Try and find a legitimate reason of why you're interested in PE and then weave into your past experiences and what you hope to gain out of your next role (the cookie cutter side). This part of the interview is just to make sure that you aren't awkward or socially inept - they want to hear you have a genuine interest in investing/finance, but they also don't want you to completely derail the conversation with some off-topic discussion.

Don't feel worried if you think your story is "pretty standard."

 

Public sector, maybe, but I don't know if spewing out some fairy tale about how you've wanted to explore the exciting worlds of sheet metal and bulldozer M&A since you were but a young spud watching Bob the Builder would impress anybody. Most people at those tiny joints aren't there because of their undying passion for whatever they cover, I would think. Fake drooling over their "niche" focuses doesn't make that much sense because you could cover that shit in an industry group at any bank. Tell them something more realistic, like how you want to work in a small team or how you've met people who've worked at similar places and heard good things about their experiences due to greater involvement on deals. Flatter them so that they can feel important for working on a 'tight-knit team that cares more about quality over quantity' (lol) instead of at the big, bad BB. IBD is a giant, desperate flaccid willy-flopping 'OMG I am so cool now what would those kids from high school say' convention--tell that niche group why they are so much cooler and differentiated from the rest, especially because they probably don't have that many people fawning over them, and you're set

 

The truth would be a good place to start. Often times it isn't the message so much as the way the message is delivered. As long as you do have an interest and you've done your research, not wanting to be a banker at age 18 is not a problem.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

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