Why Do You Want to Work at Citigroup?

in an interview what is a good answer for why Citi?

Interview Question: Why Citi?

In any interview or informational phone call - you will likely be asked an equivalent of this question - so it is critical that you have a thought out and practiced answer. To help your answer stand out, you should do extensive research on the firm's website to determine what they consider to be their core values and competitive advantages. In addition to this background research - you should try and speak with members of the firm in the division you're interested in so that you can get a better understanding of the culture of the firm. All of these things should be considered into your answer.

Details about Citigroup Shared by Users

From a business perspective, the global presence, especially in emerging markets is a unique element for Citigroup. Additionally, Citigroup is one of the biggest balance sheet banks in the world (with JPM and BAML) which allows it to offer every service to their clients from advisory to credit lines.

User @flying_nomad", an investment banking associate, explained their answer:

flying_nomad - Investment Banking Associate:
Citigroup is one of the few banks with a truly global presence across all its business lines (IB, corporate & retail banking), like people i've met, large balance sheet, etc.

Example Why Citibank? Answer

I first became interested in Citi when attending an informational session at XYZ school. There I spoke with several alumni from the Citi Markets Group. After connecting with members of the firm at that event, I was connected to speak to more alumni from the firm who spoke extensively about the global nature of the firm and the benefits of the rotational desk program for undergrads entering the firm after college. Recently, I had the chance to come visit the trading floor and shadow traders throughout the day. After that experience, I knew that I wanted to work at Citigroup due to the very collegial nature of the firm in addition to the unique program structure.

Preparing for investment banking interviews?

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monkeysama:
Because it has good leadership, because it is undervalued but a great place to work, because it is the most heavily invested in emerging markets, because citigroup has one of the largest most diverse ranges of investment banking expertise.

Pick one of those.

Absolutely under no circumstances say "because they are undervalued" ... Ideally you should talk to some people there and refer to them and explain why you actually want to work there... Emerging market presence is a good answer but then they make expect that you want to work in those markets so be prepared for follow ups...

 
rufiolove:
monkeysama:
Because it has good leadership, because it is undervalued but a great place to work, because it is the most heavily invested in emerging markets, because citigroup has one of the largest most diverse ranges of investment banking expertise.

Pick one of those.

Absolutely under no circumstances say "because they are undervalued" ... Ideally you should talk to some people there and refer to them and explain why you actually want to work there... Emerging market presence is a good answer but then they make expect that you want to work in those markets so be prepared for follow ups...

You can't say "undervalued" obviously, but you can say how it's a growing firm with a lot of upside potential.

 
  1. Great reputation in the industry
  2. International presence
  3. People I know there have been there for a long time and really love it
  4. Everyone I spoke to at the firm is very welcoming, very interested in answering questions, and all together just easy to talk to; I think I could really fit in with the culture/people
  5. Vast experience being a generalist, get to work on every type of deal and get some great M&A experience
  6. Get to work on D&E offerings and M&As for large well known companies and the deals I work on will have an affect on the industry

Those are my main thoughts so far.. I do not know a ton of history on the firm but for the location I am applying for, all of the information above is very accurate.

Thanks in advance

 
undefined:

1. Great reputation in the industry
2. International presence
3. People I know there have been there for a long time and really love it
4. Everyone I spoke to at the firm is very welcoming, very interested in answering questions, and all together just easy to talk to; I think I could really fit in with the culture/people
5. Vast experience being a generalist, get to work on every type of deal and get some great M&A experience
6. Get to work on D&E offerings and M&As for large well known companies and the deals I work on will have an affect on the industry

Those are my main thoughts so far.. I do not know a ton of history on the firm but for the location I am applying for, all of the information above is very accurate.

Thanks in advance

Other than #2 (international presence), you could say the exact same things for all BBs rofl

 

If it helps, I personally heard over 100 responses to this exact specific question. And they were all the same - international, great people, brand etc etc. It's all generic. And personally, I think its a bullshit question because people such as yourselves come on line to ask for the right answer.. hence its always the same.

That isn't a dig at yourselves by the way, its more a dig at HR... doesnt give any insight into the individual (perhaps only to check they at the very least checked Citi's website).

 

Reflect on conversation(s) that you've had throughout the interview and bring up how you could LEARN from that person/exp/etc.

"Well Tim mentioned that he had studied applied mathematics at MIT, it would be great to learn under somebody with that skill set as my undergraduate studies focused more on a macro-economic perspective. That being said, I feel that although we would learn from each other, it would benefit the team to have two individuals with two different ideologies approaching the same problem."

Most BBs are the same in size/scope/etc, focus on the people you'll be working with - that's who you'll spend over 50% of your time with.

 

Hopefully you are networking and you can talk about your encounter with people that already work there. I typically stress how people that I know in the business have been so willing to help, interested about their jobs and great people to work alongside. If this isn't true for you, don't lie because there are plenty of other perfectly fine answers that are no better or worse.

"You've got to belong to it."
 

Global reach and presence, considerate corporate culture (people are nice and respectful, rather than vicious backstabbers), top notch M&A practice and intelligent use of resources toward favored relationships in this economic downturn shows prudent leadership.

May not all be true, but that's what I remember the Citi bankers talking about.

"Dude, not trying to be a dick here, but your shop looks like a frontrunner for the cover of Better Boilerrooms & Chophouses or Bucketshop Quarterly." -Uncle Eddie
 

The tide's down and now we finally know who's not wearing any clothes. We'll see how some of these big balance sheet banks fare in an environment where it's harder to put their balance sheet to win advisory deals.

 

"They just declared a 48% drop in revenue and a $5 billion Q1 write down."

Actually it was a $16B writedown and $5.1B net loss. They also announced another 9000 job cuts which includes 2000 of the 6200 already announced.

I would say the only thing they have going for them now is their global exposure. Citi can pretty much be involved with a deal anywhere on the planet, but other than that, they are in bad shape. Their huge balance sheet is great when deals are plentiful, but in this environment they are going to have a hard time adapting to smaller deals. Obviously returns are going to be way down.

In the fall I was offered a job in their structuring division. Needless to say I will not be working there.

 

1) Its a job 2) Experience 3) Contacts - You may look down at them because they are currently a lower tier BB, but you do realize they are what #6 on a list of thousands securities firms. 4) You somewhere else better to be? I mean an offer, not your delusional fantasy.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I got an offer from Citi's S&T last week. Talking with a bunch of their traders, I think I'd really enjoy their culture. I'm not exactly sure what product(s) I want to specialize in, so I guess I'm looking to work in a BB with the overall strongest trading desks. Are there any other places I should be looking at, or should I stop my job search and enjoy senior year?

Thanks!

 
IntoFinance:
I got an offer from Citi's S&T last week. Talking with a bunch of their traders, I think I'd really enjoy their culture. I'm not exactly sure what product(s) I want to specialize in, so I guess I'm looking to work in a BB with the overall strongest trading desks. Are there any other places I should be looking at, or should I stop my job search and enjoy senior year?

Thanks!

Second IntroFinance's question

 

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