Sophomore SA Technicals vs Junior SA Technicals?

Seeing as many sophomores will only now start taking dedicated finance courses (or have taken very introductory coursework), how do technicals for sophomore SA positions differ from their junior-level counterparts? Are they usually much more basic?

 
Most Helpful

Honestly, in my experience, it depends heavily on your interviewer and where you are interviewing at. If its a for a competitive role, the high calibre of competing interviewers will generally mean that the interviewer can ask more challenging questions (regardless of whether you've taken dedicated finance courses). If you would like to have a look at some of the technical questions that may come up, I recommend: https://dailyibdprep.com

At the end of the day, what makes or breaks an interview in my opinion is your story. e.g. you can mess up a technical question, but if you sell your story well you still have a chance of landing the role. Whereas you can kill all your technicals but fail to demonstrate your enthusiasm for the role and get dinged.

 

Most of the SA interviews are pushed up so much that even juniors are interviewing in their sophomore fall/early spring, and have taken 0-1 finance classes. You should know the basics of everything... DCF, comps, accounting, basic valuation, etc. Prepare for heavy technicals if you have time, it will help you in junior recruiting too.

Array
 

Beatae doloremque assumenda corrupti sed odio eius voluptas. Porro incidunt totam enim doloribus praesentium eveniet.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”