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?
2-3 minutes initial story run down for tell me about yourself... it's tailored to give the interviewer enough relevant info to expand..
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.
This is for a summer internship. Looks like I'll need to shorten mine a little bit then.
Do tell
Would not be interesting
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
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.
VS
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
This is fantastic advice, put the ball in their court.
Never really timed it, but I think it's 1-2 minutes for me.
I've worked at 3 banks and 1 VC shop, my story has always been 2.5 minutes.
Mine is at parity with my duration in bed. 30 seconds.
With a desultory closing, followed by shame and recriminations?
And occasionally crying.
No more than 2 min
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.
How not to forget about my pitch / "story" in interview (Originally Posted: 10/06/2017)
Coming back from an EB analyst class interview.
The HR started by asking me to walk 3 flies of stairs in heels. Right after I sat down, the interviewers went straight into it. I could not seriously catch a breath.
The interviewers started with very short intro "my name is .. I work in.. " then ask me to do intro. I thought "oh, are they looking for short and sweet?" So I shortened my answer by 20% of what it should be ..
In the "tell me about this deal you worked on", I forgot to touch on the financials (it's an ongoing deal so it was confidential anyway but I maybe should've said that? It was also a FDD work so I was not involved in deal process) and I feel that I was not detailed enough in what I was involved in (one interviewer asked me prior to this question, about a model I worked on and she stopped me and said "this is actually very comprehensive thank you" So i thought I rambled too much early on).
When they asked me what strengths I have that will be great for the role, I said 3 instead of 5 that I prepared which I think are all important.
Why do I keep forgetting key information that I should be delivering?? And also I feel that I can't strike the balance between long-winded and very brief answers. When I practice for interview, I time my answer to less than 3 mins but a real interview I get stopped? The interview was structured to be 30 mins btw.
I haven't heard back from the interview yet but love to hear your experience WSO!
I break mine into 3 sections and memorize how each section begins. That way my mind thinks I'm memorizing 3 short pieces rather than 1 long piece.
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.
Importance of "having/telling a story" (Originally Posted: 07/13/2017)
Hey team,
Interested to hear what recruiting veterans have to say about the importance of having a "story" when interviewing for PE firms (interested in upper MM, maybe some MFs).
I read in a guide that it should be compelling/coherent/not let the interviewer lose interest/whatever. Still, I have to imagine at this rate everybody's stories are pretty standard? We're all from essentially the same schools and firms. Is it too dull to play it straight up? (FYI I'm MBB in background).
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."
Crafting your story for an interview at a very niche bank/group (Originally Posted: 03/17/2016)
I'm currently looking into boutique IB for full-time recruitment, and in the cold email process, I have come across a number of very niche investment banks. I know why I want to do investment banking, and I'm able to tell a story for most industry groups, but there are some banks that are so niche that I don't know how I could explain my rationale for applying/contacting them.
e.g. a bank that raises debt for municipal entities, another one whose sector focus is limited to architecture, construction, and engineering companies that mainly does valuation
How do I tell my story for very specific groups where there's virtually no other similar firms?
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
If you can't muster up any reason for wanting to work in that sector then maybe you shouldn't work in that sector?
Imagine yourself getting this job and explaining what this company does and how it contributes to the greater good and all that. Translate that ideological bullshit into your story and then you'll be good to go.
Show Consistent Interest in Banking or Hide Interest When Telling My Story? (Originally Posted: 09/11/2010)
Obviously, it would be ideal to have a strong interest in banking through most of your college career and and show that interest when telling your story in an interview by talking about your experiences, culminating in a SA position.
Now, I have had a decent interest in banking since freshman year, and I did a private equity internship after my freshman year. However, for whatever reason, I didn't fully understand the long-term recruiting process for landing a full-time position. I didn't know that most hires come from junior year SA internships. Therefore, I studied abroad during the spring of my junior year and missed the boat for that. I ended up taking a public finance internship, mainly because they were one of the few places that would interview me while I was abroad.
I can do a good job selling my story including an interest in banking up until that public finance internship. Then it looks weird that I took that and now want to do banking again.
Would it be better for me to talk about my courses and PE internship outside the context of banking-- something along the lines of me exploring these different areas of finance, including public, and how decided they weren't for me, and then introducing my interest in banking at that point, or would it be better to somehow relate the public finance position to banking (there were a few parallels) and maintain a constant interest throughout my story?
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.
In interest in finance, rather than banking, is okay... you're still in college!
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