How to get past superday
0/4 on Superdays at Elite boutiques so far and I know that only 10% of people who get the superday end up with the offer. My problem is that I haven;t be able to connect with the interviewer on a personal level whether that's analyst or associate or VP and MD. I was wondering how you guys with offers were able to connect with your interviewer - is it simply just the tone and inflection in your voice?
Also got grilled on my why banking at Guggenheim. After I gave my reasons which were the generic ones like the learning curve, being around top notch talent, and getting able to contribute to meaningful work. Many people in interviews are giving the same answers so what are interviewers looking for with this question.
I keep getting grilled on why specifically investment banking and have tied my answers to how I Q&A computer science major and want to apply my problem solving skills to different business applications.
i'd just remember to relax a little. At the end of the day they're real people and if you check the boxes on being competent but they don't get the impression that they'd want to hang around you for 70+ hours a week, you won't get an offer
As for the why IB question I know there are so many threads on this but they all say the same generic answers work -learning a lot -doing meaningful work -working in a team -etc. Do most people who get offers just end up reciting the same answers for why IB as mentioned on WSO or are interviwers looking for something different?
you have to personalize your answers for why IB. use the generic reasons but give examples of why you to work in such intense environment, why you want a steep learning curve, etc.
My advice here would be to come from an angle that has a bit of a personal touch to it. I think most answers are going to be the traditional reasons you mentioned above, but finding an angle to bring into the answer that relates to your background or something a little more personal is going to make your answer sound less cookie cutter, more believable, and will help you connect with the interviewer a bit more. That’d actually be my advice for all behavioral answers.
This is a tough question... but in my experience, I think it might be fit based. I went 1/5 last year and got an offer at the firm where I felt that my personality fit in the best. This culture fit was pretty apparent in my interview as well. Keep going man - if you got 4 superdays so far, you're clearly doing something right. Try and develop a unique answer to the "Why [bank name]" question.
This is straight-up incorrect, more like 30-50%
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He's not wrong. 30-50% is very high; most of the time it's closer to 10. But it depends mostly on the round. If you go super early for a target (or diversity) there are more spots left and better conversion rates. If you go in a later non-target round or sophomore SA round then conversion is a lot lower as there is a full capacity of superday interviewees fighting for a very small number of spots.
It's hard to say what gets kids through the funnel because by this time you're usually splitting hairs and every candidate is great. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw - getting 4 interviewers and clicking with each one. If there's 1 out of those 4 who you don't completely vibe with, that could be it for you.
You need to make sure you give us ZERO reasons to ding you. Don't miss easy technicals, don't ramble on about nothing in your behaviorals, don't be awkward (or extremely sweaty and fidgety, or overly professional, or overly casual).
A lot of the superday is about fit, and the easiest way to seem like you "fit" is to relax, don't be nervous, just be yourself. It's very obvious when people are trying too hard and it comes off as insincere so just be yourself
Not sure about non-targets but I was talking about target/semi-target recruiting since that's the majority of intern classes and I assumed that's the case for OP since he's been to 4 superdays at EBs already. Maybe your experiences have been different or perhaps you work at a smaller boutique that can be more selective but at my school, we normally thought we had a good chance to get an offer, much higher than 10%, once we got a Superday. Also, most kids placed into IB and only went to a few superdays, so I assumed the odds weren't that bad at superdays.
super days are about being sociable and likeable. Everyone at the super day has the resume/technical knowledge to land the job, and the super day is about finding someone they want to work with for 100 hours a week. I have some very smart friends who know an insane amount of technical stuff but went 0/10 on super days because they are just awkward goobers. I have friends who are dumb as rocks that landed awesome jobs because they are just great people that everyone who meets them loves.
Don’t think about it from the perspective of answering questions incorrectly- for fit questions, there pretty much isn’t a wrong answer. Be genuine and think about if you’re doing something to rub your interviewer the wrong way- are you coming across as to robotic? Do you seem like a finance hardo with no personality? Try to take a step back and think about where you could be going wrong. I did tons of mock interviews with my parents, friends, and anyone that would sit down with me. Connecting with your interviewer is by far the most important part of a super day. When your interviewers are sitting in the room after you leave, you need them to all say “I really liked that one kid, he’s someone I want on the team”.
there is something wrong. write down every question asked and do a mock interview with someone you trust and get honest feedback.
For behavioral questions are they looking for unique answers to strengths/weaknesses and teamwork questions?
Would reiterate a lot of what's already been said. When we're speaking with candidates, our goal is to find someone who's both smart and personable. Being really sharp doesn't count for much if you're not able to communicate / engage with the people around you (at least in this job).
If you're able to make it to the superday but struggle with landing the offer, you need to critically evaluated your behaviorals.
At the superday stage everyone is a good candidate and have had similar experiences (high gpa, good schools, strong work experience) therefore you need to think hard about your responses and constantly ask yourself "Is what I'm saying simply a textbook 'good' response or am I fully taking the opportunity to distinguish myself from the crowd?" A lot of people give fine responses but fail simply because they are not memorable which is unacceptable for all but the most exceptional candidates
If you have gotten 4 superdays, you must be doing something right. Dont worry about it. I was fortunate enough to get offer at Guggenheim and I think the most important thing is to be as conversational as possible., Dont sound like a robot, be relatable.
I think In regards to "why our bank" its important to reference conversations you have had with employees whether or alumni or via other connections. This shows genuine interest. Most important thing is always to emphasize culture.
Feel free to PM Me if I can of help at all going forward. More than happy to share my own experience!
It really seems like the problem is that you’re not coming across as personable enough, so give the following a try:
1) The final part of the interview when you get to ask questions is when you have a chance to shine. People love talking about themselves and about what they enjoy / are good at doing. Formulate your questions accordingly. For instance, ask them to tell you about their ‘favourite’ transaction / the transaction they ‘enjoyed’ the most working on - instead of the ‘most interesting’ transaction. Ask them about the favourite part of their day. This will often lead to them talking about what they truly enjoy doing both inside and outside work. Ask them about what compelled THEM to stay at the firm, rather than questions about the firm / work in general.
2) Use the questions ‘walk me through your resume’ / ‘why IB’ to tell a story. Do not simply recite your CV or the same damn reasons everyone wants to do banking. People remember stories. Go into details, mention a project / experience that consolidated your interest in banking. And be specific.
Just the fact that you say they ‘grilled’ you on the -why banking- question as it if were a technical shows that you are looking at it the wrong way. There is no answer to memorise. What you really have to do is apply some self-reflection and figure out why you are attending these super days in the first place.
Good luck man!
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