Most Common Behavioral Questions for IB Interviews
most common behavioral questions for IB internships
Can we get a list going?
Frequently Asked Behavioral Investment Banking Interview Questions
While investment banking interviews include a variety of technical and behavioral questions to see if you truly fit the demanding environment that is IB, the community of WSO has gathered to help list a few of the commonly asked IB questions!
- Why investment banking?
- Why would you be successful in investment banking?
- Explain a time where you experienced leadership/teamwork?
- Why this company?
- Explain a time where you had difficulty working in a team.
- Explain a time you had to juggle numerous tasks.
- What do you do in your free time?
While this is by no means an exhaustive list, this is a good starting point to getting an edge on the behavioral portion of the investment banking interview!
Check out a good video with a sample "Why Investment Banking" interview question.
You can check out our free finance interview guide with guidance on behavioral and technical interview questions.
Also you should check out our comprehensive and free Investment Banking question guide.
Preparing for Investment Banking Interviews?
The WSO investment banking interview course is designed by countless professionals with real world experience, tailored to people aspiring to break into the industry. This guide will help you learn how to answer these questions and many, many more.
Here are a few I've been asked during my interviews:
Give an example of when you've been required to pay particular attention to detail;
Why investment banking? (this seems like an obvious one...but a lot of people don't answer it properly)
What characteristics do you possess that would make you a successful IB analyst/SA?
Why our company? Why this particular group (if you interview for regional positions you'll be interviewing with a specific group within the IBD)?
What do you do in your free time? Do not be the guy that claims to follow the market every second of every day.
tell me about a time you displayed leadership. tell me about a time when you worked on a team and there was someone who wasn't pulling their weight. how did you deal with the situation?
"tell me about a time you had to persuade a group of people and how you did it."
"can ethical standards be too high in a firm?"
"if you were running the bank, where would you take it right now?"
...Usually the bank's career website will have some resources to help you prepare and it lists characteristics that they are looking for in a candidate... try to find these if you havent yet and match them up with separate team, academic, work experiences you've had... often the characteristics include teamwork, adaptability, initiative, etc...
And always expect some really odd questions too... I got this one: "tell me the full names of the three people who interviewed you before me and how you prepared for this day." I got this one as I was walking into the office, before even sitting down.
How would you answer the "can ethical standards be too high in a firm?"
I answered it as follows:
"No, I do not believe that ethical standards can be too high since first class business should be performed in a first class way and obviously ethics theoretically cant cause harm... HOWEVER, it must also be acknowledged that rules too strict might hinder performance in the creative sense... people might be afraid to be bold and think outside of the box if they fear that they might break some high and strict standards... "
I discussed this specific question with two MD's at my interviews and I got a very good response to my answer. You can twist it any way you want, just be sure to express the need for a healthy balance.
In response to pedigreed monkey's post... WSO just released a guide of their own of just technical questions. Almost 150 questions and only $9. Click the guide link at the top of the site. I think a behavioral one is coming soon.
NEVER lose your BlackBerry www.conveniencesoftware.com
what's the worst mistake you've made in a professional context
that was a tough one for me since i hadn't prepped for it...so i ended up telling the truth, which was a story that didnt make me look particularly good
...
You need to aim higher Cornelius (well, lower, depending on the perspective).
Common ib interview Question: "Tell me about a time when..." (Originally Posted: 02/21/2012)
When interviewing for investment banking positions, you'll almost inevitably encounter questions that ask you to tell an anecdote that shows you as a leader, team player, and generally smart person that people want to be around. To answer these questions properly, you want to have several well thought out anecdotes that you can weave into relevant answers to send this exact message.
I see from your resume that as a member of the Class Council, you managed to raise $12,000 for your class. Tell me about this.
This question is testing your understanding of processes, and an opportunity for you to tell a story that puts you in a positive light . In investment banking, the entire deal is a process from start to finish. You want to make sure that you provide organized steps of the process from a higher level and then what you specifically did to raise the $12,000. Investment banks / financial firms are looking for leaders – people to run with projects with little guidance. This is your chance to shine and show how you take initiative and need little “hand holding.”
Below are examples of poor and great responses. Poor responses Poor responses to this question include ones that focus on “we.” I know that sounds strange because you hear that everything done in the corporate world is done in teams. This is definitely true, but an investment bank/financial firm is not hiring a packaged team, they are hiring you. So, without sounding pompous, you need to illustrate the impact that you personally have on teams. Other bad responses are too general and don’t provide specific actions / statistics. To say “we raised $12,000 for the class as a team” is not good enough. You need to provide specific details.
Great responses Great responses to this question include ones that clearly depict you as a leader without sounding arrogant. You want to give responses like “took initiative to go to each dorm and market the event to dorm reps and bargained with vendors to get prices for food and drink - reducing original prices by 15%. The aggressive marketing coupled with reduction in prices allowed us to raise approximately $12,000 in funds for my class.”
Sample great answer
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