My first SA offer! WSO ROCKS

pivot1990:

Which 2 did you screw up? and why? Please tell us so we can learn from your mistakes?

Sure, I screwed up a large MM/boutique firm and Morgan Stanley. Here's why:

1) I didn't have my story down - definitely important for me since I was planning on going to med school until 3 months ago. My interviewers didn't really understand what made me change my mind, so I had to make it crystal clear why I think I'm a good fit for i-banking.

2) I thought walking someone through my resume meant just going from top to bottom explaining each thing. Wrong. You have to go in chronological order, explain the item briefly, and then explain why it'll made you want to do i-banking more (ie: it was a finance experience other than banking and you didn't like it because ___) OR why this experience will make your a better investment banker (whether it be quantitative skills, communication skills, teamwork skills, tolerance to long work hours, etc)

3) Some of the questions my first two interviews had asked, I screwed up and had a chance to think about it before my next interview. Some of these questions involve thinking about interesting recent deals, knowing about the economy, knowing about valuation methods, etc. These are definitely not that important though - I really think the interviewer has pretty much made up his or her mind after you finish your story and resume walk-through.