Interview Questions

Hello fellow monkeys. Recently, I decided to give up on buyside recruiting and stay on as an Associate in IB. I realized I simply didn't want it enough and just ran out of energy to dedicate to the search. I've also frankly enjoyed my time in IB a lot and look forward to continuing my path here. A big shoutout and thank you to everyone on WSO that gave me advice and helped me throughout the process. Feel free to AMA. A few months ago, I said I would drop the technicals I got throughout my process, so I am keeping this promise. I've gathered a bunch from myself and fellow friendly analysts

11 Feb 2021

Can you miss one or two technical situational questions before realistically moving onto the next round? If I sounded like I knew my stuff and the concepts but chose the wrong answer ultimately is that a ding despite getting the fundamental technicals (prior to that) right that I need to know (i.e. DCF, valuation, accounting)? It seems like I hit it off with the guy and we had a lot in common. I just thought I had them in the bag, but he had a different way of looking at it. The bank swings more into fit based on what I've seen. Any thoughts? Just want to know my chances, lol. Thanks, everyone

29 Dec 2020

Hi WSO - I've worked in big tech (think FAMGA) since graduation ('17). Went to a top 10 US UG, currently working in product, was previously in corporate strategy (got to work on an acquisition in 2019). I would like to transition to the investment side for my next role; ideally in early stage VC, open to Growth Equity. Not super interested in Seed (not a good fit), or in Buyout (not a good fit; not a banker). If anyone has experience making this transition, or has peers who have, I'd love to hear any and all advice. I am just now starting the process. Some avenues I'm considering searching

05 Mar 2021

How bad did you manage to mess up on your first few interviews? Anything silly you uttered without intending, or did you choke completely? Share your experience fellow bankers and aspiring bankers.

11 Oct 2020

Hi everyone, I got invited to the GS Global Markets (loan management) Superday. I have been trying to find more info on the division and how interviews usually look like but couldn't find much here or on the internet in general. Does anyone have any experience or any insights into the division/interviews. The job is specifically Goldman Sachs Global Markets (loan management) in their Dallas office. Let me know if you have any other question. Thank you!

25 Sep 2020

Would it be a good idea to say I used to be unattractive and unintelligent as a kid but worked hard every day to improve them? I.e. I went from having bad grades to great grades (Now in a target School) and now model part-time.

01 Oct 2020

Hi all - Been trying to fully understand the sources & uses of CF/DF LBOs vs. Non-CF/DF LBOs. The picture is an example. Am I approaching this the right way? Thanks.

12 Oct 2020

I am looking for Healthcare specific accounting questions or interview questions to consider for a healthcare IB role. Basically, other than the general valuation methodologies and other general IB questions. What should I be prepared for a technical interview? For example, for software companies is important to adjust EBITDA for coding expenses that are capitalized rather than expensed. Something similar for Healthcare? Most popular multiples that are used? Unusual valuation details that I should be aware of? Accounting details that I need to be aware of? Thanks

28 Aug 2020

Hi everybody, I have an interview coming up with with an institutional commercial real estate firm primarily engaging in large office acquisitions as well as development across the nation. This role I'll be interviewing for will be for an entry level analyst. I currently work in Wealth Management performing mostly administrative work and have never professionally underwrote anything, although I do practice on my own. I have been trying to break into real estate for some time now and have primarily focused on multi-family. However this opportunity arose and this could be a big ticket into

07 Apr 2021

I have an interview with Fells Fargo - Fund Analyst within FIG in the Investment Banking Division. 1) What is the role about? 2) How should I prepare for it? What questions should I expect? 3) What exit opportunities does it have? Thanks!

02 Apr 2021

Hi, I am currently in my 5th semester at university and passed the first two recruiting rounds at a PE fund focusing on distressed situations. While the first rounds were relatively easy (motivational, group-specific and technical (basic accounting questions and a bit of lbo and dcf modelling)), I was wondering how the final round would look like. Because my last interviewer told me that the next interview would be much more industry and group-specific. For example, since they invest mostly in distressed situations, they barely use LBO, DCF and Multiples but other valuation techniques. So

17 Oct 2020

Hi guys, I have a first round with the financial institutions group coming up. I think they will do a deep dive into technicals and deal experience. Any way I can spin general m&a experience into FIG related? I know the modeling in quite different. Also any insight into the types of questions FIG/MS typically asks? Any material you recommend brushing up on? Would appreciate any other advice or insights as well. Thanks in advance!

01 Apr 2021

I'm a current Junior with a summer internship at a well-respected FIG group and am looking to interview for full-time RSSG positions. What resources would you guys recommend to start reading up on to prepare for interviews? I've heard about the Moyer book, which I'm currently reading, but I am looking for more interview-based resources that are RSSG specific. I would also enjoy hearing from people who successfully interviewed at top RSSG shops (PJT, Lazard, HL, etc.) and how they approached technical preparation.

31 Mar 2021

I am a law student (UK) hoping to break into investment management or trading. My second year results were terrible because I had depression caused by undiagnosed ADHD. I am now doing well in my final year (Got a 2:1 for my first semester) but I'm afraid my 2nd year results might drag me down to a 2:2. If I am asked to explain my grades, should I mention it but spin it in a "obstacle I had to overcome" context? I don't intend to use it as an excuse, I would like to highlight how I had to rebuild my routine and most of my life from scratch etc. If this is a bad idea, are there other ways to

26 Mar 2021

Hi guys. I've been invited to interview for an entry level position in the asset management/wealth management arm of a MM Investment Bank. I've been told that I should have 1-2 stocks prepared that I would pitch to my interviewer, and that the companies should be mid-cap/niche stocks (pitching AAPL or MSFT isn't interesting). What I'm wondering is whether there is any preference as to whether the company I'm going to pitch is already being followed by an equity analyst at the bank? Specifically, I'm looking at a $4-5B company with about 12 analysts following it, one of which works at the bank

23 Mar 2021

Hi guys, Has anyone done the hirevue interview for Point72 Summer Academy yet? How'd you go about the first question: Company A sells paper coffee cups to all Costa Coffee locations in the UK. Company B sells dinner plates to Nando's in the UK. Company A charges 1 pound for a pack of 100 cups and Company B charges 3 pounds for 1 dinner plate. Tell us exactly what information you would need to determine whether Company A or Company B has higher annual revenue and explain how you would calculate these two figures. Is there a more creative way to answer than just saying Units x Price? Thanks in

01 Oct 2020

I'm recruiting for Finance & Strategy roles (~4 yrs experience) at tech companies (Square, Glassdoor, etc). Does anybody have insight into the "case studies" from the interviews? I put that in quotes because I can't figure out if I'm supposed to answer with real case study format/expectations (e.g. MBB) or approach them more casually as one-off questions (e.g. critical thinking and business acumen, more conversational). I've done a few conversations with hiring managers and have gotten the following questions: -If we launched xyz new product, how should we price it? -Our profitability in the

19 Mar 2021

Hi everyone, I wanted to create a post about my process on GS for Junior Analyst in IBD. Sadly I did not get it but anyways. Context: Applied in Mexico City, 2 years of experience in AM and from a mexican target school. 1.- Apply through the page 2.- Webinar of general information (No filter yet) 3.- Steps 1 and 2 were in January 2021, and in mid february I got an email saying I have passed to the next round (HireVue interview) 3.1.- HireVue Interview was really easy, general questions like walk me through your Resume, and situational ones like "What would you do if a client is asking you to

17 Mar 2021

As per the title says, I will have an interview for a ER internship (mid-small cap): before the real interview I will have 20 minutes to complete a short business case and then send it to the interviewers, who will discuss it with me during the interview. I really don't know what to expect, the only clue is that the job posting stated "ability to build an economic/ financial model in Excel is essential". I though of some DCF/multiples model but it's a very short time range, counting also the time to read the exercise text. What should I focus, in order to succeed? ​

15 Mar 2021

I've never lateralled and unsure what to expect during a VP interview process. I'm in the same role at a competitor fund and have had 3 discussions so far for the new role. The next round is to discuss my 'deal history'. Do you anticipate this will be similar to the Associate interviews to where I'll need to have every number of a deal memorized or will it be higher level? tbh, I'm not overly excited about going back through all the deals I've worked on and memorizing every number and nuances of the transaction.

13 Mar 2021

Hello all, I have my first interview in 3 days with some managers at a well-known investment firm in NYC and I don't know what to expect on my first interview. I did some research on the firm and found out that the case study is hard. Any suggestion on how to prepare for the case study? Thank you!

06 Mar 2021

Hi all, I have an interview with MS Power and Utilities and was wondering what material to prepare specifically for the group thanks in advance

06 Mar 2021

Tie or No Tie, That is the Question. Bankers just wear t-shirts during interviews nowadays, I'm thinking no tie should fare just fine. What do you think?

26 Aug 2020

Saw this in one of the guides out there, but didn't fully understand it. Hoping someone here can help with this.

25 Aug 2020

If you are asked on how you come up with an idea for shop that focused on bottoms-up investing, can you start by saying you try and understand recent history and current state of an industry? I'm somewhat confused how a bottoms-up screening process works because it seems understanding the industry is a prerequisite before you can start to actually dig into specific names.

21 Feb 2021

I have an interview for a Equity Research Analyst role tomorrow. Do you have any good advice for the interview? Also, I've heard that you often will have to pitch several stocks. Do you have some interesting stock pitches at the moment and maybe a stock to short? Thanks!

16 Feb 2021

Hello Everyone, So about two weeks ago I interviewed with ing for a summer internship. The first phone call went well now I have an interview with the MDS on Wednesday. The position I am interviewing for is for a role in the energy sector(renewable and utility). Is there anything I should look out for? The first interview was purely behavioral, why ing and tell about yourself.

06 Feb 2021

Chimps, I'm about to interview for one of the biggest derivatives exchanges for a Market Analyst role. Any tips on what type of questions should I expect? Cheers

05 Feb 2021

Hope everyone is safe from the snow or the rain - I was looking for some advice on popular DD/credit interview questions: When you are asked to figure out the unit economics of a certain business, does this mean think about the revenue/costs down to the unit level (per subscriber, per bottle, per ounce of gold) and spread out items like G&A across the total unit base? Any tips or DOs/DON'Ts for this part? Any tips on what to do when you encounter a business you've literally never heard of or thought about? If you look at a cap stack and have to explain where you would invest (if at all), what

02 Feb 2021

I am a 2nd year undergraduate who wants to apply for IB in the summer(doing a 4 year) and I want to practice my interview skills for the months coming up to them. We can like share resources and help each other unlike we're good.

30 Jan 2021

I had an interview last Wednesday and have not heard back. I was shortlisted to the second round of interviews, thought it went well and the internship posting has been removed since i interviewed. It's with a F50 company so they have a very large HR department that has been very responsive. The application on their portal hasn't been updated and in the recruiter's emails it says to email them for updates on my status. When I asked about next steps in the interview the interviewer didn't give me a timeline but did say there would be a next round and that he could give me some advice depending

28 Jan 2021

The question is "If you purchase a 100$ bond. At a 5% discount to par value. The bond's coupon rate is 8% and matures in 5 years. What is the the bond's approximate yield to maturity?" I thought of calculating the profit which in this case would be 40$ (8$ per year*5 years+5$ profit as we bought the bond at 95$) and dividing that by my initial investment. So do 40$/95$ which gives me like 40%. But this seems to be the ROI and not the yield the maturity. I have found a pretty complicated formula for YTM=(Annual interest+(Redemption Value-Bond Price)/#Years to Maturity)/(Redemption Value+Bond

22 Jan 2021

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21 Jan 2021

I was going to send a 'thank you' to my interviewer but do not have his contact information, I reached out to my recruiter and they are suddenly unresponsive to me. IK this probably means I am dinged anyway but should I just move on or is there something else I should be doing?

20 Jan 2021

Yo, I gotta a question, about to get called for my first phone interview for a banking interview. The firm is ING I really don't know what to expect, what should I do? Any tips to progress to the next round? Thank you for your help in advance.

18 Jan 2021

Hello all, I recently moved onto the next round of interviews, after phone screen(s), and the next step is an interview with people on the deal team at a coffee shop. I know I'm probably overthinking it, but why a public location? To see how I act with distractions? I was a little disappointed that it is not at their actual brick and mortar location, but with COVID, I guess firms have to adapt their interview process? Any feedback would be great; thank you for your time.

15 Jan 2021

Did anyone apply to this position yet? It seems new. Is it the same as the other SA programs for Morgan Stanley? Did anyone do the hirevue yet??

14 Jan 2021

I go to a target school and am hoping to secure a junior year internship as an analyst at a BB. I run my own company which profits about 50K a year. How do I spin this in an IB interview? How specific would you get on the resume with earnings etc, without coming off as braggy. I have been running the company for about 4 years now and we make about 1000 sales a year with a 60% profit margin. Are these things to mention on a resume or interview? Or is it too specific.

03 Jan 2021

Hi - I am broadening my search away from PE to Corp. Dev. and am wondering how the deal experience part differs. With PE interviews, I've found that ~50% of the time is spent discussing deal experience with follow-ups etc. Should I expect the same thing for Corp. Dev.? Or is it more like you talk about the deals and what you did at a high level / give your opinion, then they go into case studies and other questions?

30 Dec 2020

Hi Monkeys, Currently working on the sell side and am recruiting for the buyside. Main reason why I want to leave is that my coworker is trying to make my life hell and overall team culture is just awful. Wouldve stuck around in my job for much longer if that weren't the case, but I am sick and tired of the hazing that continues 8 months into the job. My resumes been getting pretty good traction but of course they always ask why I am ready to leave my current job 8 months into the role. Better to come up with reasons such as career progression, limited growth in my current role, have learned

16 Dec 2020

Hey everyone, I have a second round interview for a Portfolio Analyst position in convertible bonds at LAM. I haven't really had asset management interviews before, and the first round was fairly relaxed - I spoke with the portfolio managers, they asked me kind of general things about my experience and what I know about convertibles, FX hedging, etc. The next round will be with 3 MDs and it will be twice as long (1.5hrs). Given the position is fairly entry-level, what kind of thing should I expect in an interview like this? The main responsibilities for the role are: assisting with control of

15 Dec 2020

Just got an invite to a final round interview at BIG4. Standard first half behavioural then an interviewee-led discussion on a topic of my choice. Any tips on interviewee-led interviews? I have a good idea about what I'll talk about. I'd like to make sure that I am leading the conversation while also allowing for my interviewers to have some input. I have one month to prep but was told it shouldn't take any longer than 2 hours.

14 Dec 2020

Ex (escaped) JPM analysts here. We built an interview simulator to help you all prep for IB analyst/associate interviews. Check it out here: ibprep Dot netlify Dot app This will ask you technical and behavioral questions with a timer - to ensure you're staying succinct with your responses. Let us know your feedback or anything else you'd like to see!

09 Dec 2020

07 Dec 2020

Thought I would create a discussion on my experience interviewing for an IB position at BofA in London for SA 2021. Unfortunately I did not receive an offer to join the team, but I gained a valuable experience and learned a lot about myself as I made it to the Assessment Centre (no Superday due to Covid). Although all SA jobs are more than likely full, feel free to ask any questions regarding the interview process, lead time etc.

02 Dec 2020

A lot of hedge funds love to ask this question in their interviews: "Why do you want to work for a hedge fund and not a mutual fund"? What do you think are the best answers to give to this question? Is there any answer that should be avoided?

12 Nov 2020

I have heard of lateral interviews involving paper merger models and others with very light technical questions. For those in the industry (U.S.), to what extent do you test lateral analyst interviewees on technicals (assuming they came from a similar M&A execution role)?

12 Nov 2020

I'm interviewing with a bulge bracket investment bank later this week, more specifically for a full time analyst role in their tech group. This group is rather small, and focuses mainly on software IB. I was wondering what kinds of questions might be asked in an interview like this, as its tough to find stuff specifically on software within tech groups.

09 Nov 2020

Hi all, I will have my final round interview for an intern position with a b2b early-stage VC tomorrow. Already passed their PPT pitch case, now my final round will consist of a one-hour-long excel case. I do not know anything about the specifics of the case, just that it will incorporate a business model and a subsequent valuation. I have read up on the Harvard Venture Capital Method for valuation, as well as looked at DCF's. What else should I do to prepare myself sufficiently / what can I expect? Thanks!

04 Nov 2020

I just got a call tonight for an interview with a smallish IB on the west coast. The guys apparently are total Chads and just told me the interview is tommorow. Can anyone suggest some last minute materials or have known resources to prepare for technical or other IB type questions in a hurry? I come from fortune 500 corp fi and havent had to do too many lbos or dcfs. Any help is much appreciated.

03 Nov 2020