Do not say this...It is transparent and sounds rehearsed/stiff. Interviewers expect you to be prepared but also want you to be thoughtful in your responses to technicals. I am much more impressed when a candidate pauses and thinks before giving me a well thought out answer. To be clear, it is also fairly easy to tell when someone is reading an answer and trying to make it seem like they are thinking of it off the top of their head. Put in the time, prepare, and then trust your preparation!

 

My phone screen was basically all technicals. d3athletejumper is right, nothing was asked directly from the guide, but if you have a good understanding of all the concepts in the guide, you should be able to answer almost anything they'll throw at you in a phone interview. Be prepared to be asked "why?" to anything you say. Demonstrating thorough understanding of subjects rather than memorizing/rehearsing could be enough to set you apart from other applicants. Best of luck.

 

The phone screens I've had have been pretty laid back in nature and it seemed like they were just trying to weed out people who hadn't put the time in or didn't show as much interest before the next round. That being said, it is definitely helpful to know the concepts from the technical guides. Most of mine tended to go: Walk Me Through Your Resume, Why IB, Why Firm X, any other specifics regarding location/group if that applies, Simple Technicals (which could progress into slightly harder variations if you show you know what you're talking about). I generally felt a bit overprepared as the phone screens were pretty easy, but that's a good thing and will prepare you well for subsequent rounds. Best of luck.

 
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This is incredibly subjective and depends on the shop and the people doing the interviews. One time before my phone screen they asked me to send in a three statement financial model which i had to complete from scratch based on text provided inside a program that timed my performance remotely from time I opened it to saved it. Then during the phone call the guy kept asking me transnational questions like: what if they issue class a (with these restrictions) vs. class b shares (with those restrictions) or debt, how would that impact the three financial models? What if they had to write down bad debt? What if their tax rate changes? And all this was cumulative on top of every question he asked so when he asked me how much cash they have left if they initiate a buyback, I had to remember the shares they issued, the debt, what they hypothetically spent it on and how much free cash flow they still have left. All on the fly. It was one intense call and I can say without hesitation it was the longest hour of my life. They invited me to go interview in person for the next round but I politely bowed out. That guy would have been my boss and I decided that I would rather flip burgers than work for that dude.

Anyway, just hit your basics, look at the WSO interview guide if you have it for the key questions and just be as relaxed as possible. Might not be in person but your voice will betray you if you are nervous. Good luck.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

Yes it was. I was shocked and even more so by being invited to next round.

"I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. " -GG
 

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