How to present your story about why you want to be in ibanking?

I think the basic concept is you would rather focus on transactions than advisory work. If you are getting this question, maybe you should spend a few minutes figuring out what management consultants do.

If you have no previous consulting experience/internship, this is very random question to be asked during interviews.

PussInBoots:

If you have no previous consulting experience/internship, this is very random question to be asked during interviews.

I actually got this Q in one of my interviews, and I mention the transactions and quantitative work is more appealing to me etc. They seemed saticfied with that.

It depends on your interests.

You can say something like you like the transaction experiences etc.

Research - you are just doing research

S&T - a lot markets, a lot pressure all the time

Capital Markets - sometimes it's groups in the IB division. But they do DCM and ECM from my understanding along with IPOs sometimes.

Just say that you believe you will get the most experience in different M&A deal and you should be fine.

How do you answer that question to yourself?

I'm not asking a rhetorical question. Why DO you want to do IB? Then just take that passion and pitch it in the interview.

can't wait to see these comments.

Just say for the broads, booze, money, flying first class, and of course learning how to pick stocks.

What does an interviewer expect? It doesn't matter what he or she expects. It only matters what you do. Your interviewer is expecting a reasoned answer about how you want to learn hard finance and get some exposure to client relationships. Shake things up. Don't say anything; just mean mug the fuck out of him for about thirty seconds, Ben Affleck style. Then demand a retainer and walk out.

Tell him you heard i-bankers do tons of cocaine and that's why you're interested. You'll probably get an offer on the spot so be prepared to negotiate.

Just tell him your chill-to-pull ratio is 50/50 and he'll immediately give you fist bumps and hire you.

i would answer it pretty much the same away, emphasis more on team work, analytical, interests/passion for the markets

emphasis on the skills that they look for, and how medicine doesn't have that and how IBD or S&T or ER has it which is why you are in this chair interviewing for the position

medicine is analytical and involves teamwork...

Get queasy when I see blood, don't like research, scared of germs, death makes me sad.

Hospitals gross me out

Both paths require long hours, intense commitment, and personal sacrifice at the outset.

One pays you $250K for your efforts, while the other requires you to pay $250K.

/ end analysis.

I would say that I prefer banking as I am interested in business and strategy, how businesses finance themselves and compete in their respective industries, and the economy as a whole. I have nothing more than a passing interest in human health.

I really don't understand how people can view banking and medicine as even remotely similar career paths (to the point where people would have an issue deciding between the two). Other than requiring "analytical" skills and offering good money (again, how that is distributed is totally different between the two fields) I really see no similarities at all.

This is probably one of the dumbest questions you can get asked. I would walk out of the room and sign with other banks to avoid working with complete morans

Money

I find this to be a bizarre question. There are thousands of professions out there, why do they single those ones out? They're not even remotely related.

Why did you choose to work in finance over being - an astronaut? - a race car driver? - an industrial engineer? - a school teacher? - an architect? - a webcam producer?

No matter what the alternate career is, the answer should contain 'it's what I like' and 'it's what I'm good at' somewhere in the answer.

Harder to break in as an associate or career switcher, especially given a bad economy. Associates also are way worse than analysts in terms of "hell".

It is harder to break into the industry without previous experience...not to say it cannot be done, but you really have to demonstrate why they should hire you over someone with previous experience. Additionally, I think you need to realize that banking as a long-term career is just a highly paid sales job. So if you want to focus on being an associate, the firm is hiring you because they could potentially see you as an MD one day, not moving over to a pe fund.

People go for banking for the exit opps, the money, to say they're in banking, and, honestly, because they're told that banking is what you should be going for out of undergrad to open the most doors, make the money, etc (outside of those few that get into P/E or a HF straight out of U Grad).

Regarding your plan, it's not a bad idea, depending on the market, but a few things you have to consider. 1) it is harder to break in without previous IB experience, 2) being an associate is not that much better than being an analyst by any means - essentially you have more responsibility (once you get your feet wet), have to deal with analysts, and still work killer hours, 3) if you are interested in growing in IB, starting as an analyst allows you get to experience and make an informed decision on whether you want to stay in IB or not - until you've worked in it, it's tough to know for sure if it is for you, and 4) you are forgetting that going to B school and then going into IB as an associate involves an investment of about $150k into B school, while starting as an analyst, if you are directly promoted or make a move to a boutique, etc as an associate, does not have that same investment.

All good posts, but doesn't OP have a point? After all, very few analysts (usually only top bucket superstars) are given associate offers. Most associate hiring comes from b-school recruiting, no?

no u idiot, many ppl can stay as associate, many don't want to

Are you sure about that? I've heard that 3rd year analyst offers are common, but a direct promotion to associate is rare.

depends on the bank, not "rare" anymore, more ppl wanna stay since they can't find PE exits.

I think that if it is your ultimate goal, then why not give it a shot out of u-grad? I know that it will be two years of hell, but a) it is still your best chance at being in banking for the long-term and b) you can find out first hand if it really is what you want to do. *dark horse c) you can make more money than any other equivalent industry job at that point in your career

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I haven't broken in yet, but I prefer IB because: 1) I find it more interesting to work on transactions ("deals") as opposed to following the markets every second and trading the same securities over and over (yes, I'm aware that IB work becomes repetitive too). 2) I prefer the work involved - modeling and pitch books as opposed to following screens and making phone calls. 3) I think you learn more about finance overall and have more exit opps later.

If you're interested only in money, then I think IB is a better route. But if you're also looking for a job you will enjoy more, then it's a matter of personality and individual preference.

Both roles are VERY different. Some people are more suited to the Sales & Trading side, while others are suited to the IB side.

Different cultures, different lifestyles, different tasks. A good trader will not be a good banker. Ask yourself if you're more comfortable modeling out an LBO model or modeling a cross-currency swap?

bump