Interviews

While the odds are this post is relegated to the WSO trash heap-to grace the eyes neither of monkey nor MD-on the off chance my story could be helpful to someone in a similar position as I was a year ago, I wanted to share. The moral of the story: if you're better at math than schmoozing or stuck at a non-target school due to finances save yourself years of pain and self-loathing and GO INTO TECH! After discovering WSO during my junior year at my T30 semi-target UG, I spent most of my waking moments of the following year in pursuit of an analyst slot at an MBB/T2 firm. I became obsessed. My

18 Apr 2021

Hi all, Earlier this May, I posted a discussion called "Leaving IB Soon, Final Rants". While my original intention was to vent out properly one (last) time, this post ended up getting way more attention than what I expected and I was very surprised to see the discourse it had created on this website. For those who are interested, click on my profile to see my previous posts - you should be able to find it there. One of the recurring themes in the comments, apart from wishing me good luck for my future endeavors (thank you), was a request to post a follow-up after my move to the buyside. While

11 Aug 2021

About a year and a half ago, I posted about getting 20+ interviews and no FT offer (20 Company Interviews Later...No FT Offer looking for Advice). I wish I could say that I quickly got a job after that, but that wasn't the case. I'm going to be very vague about certain details, because I'd like to remain anonymous. Working in finance has been my dream since I was about 12. Around 14, I decided that I wanted to do IB. I started seeking out any and all finance mentors I could find, in addition to reading the news, getting magazine subscriptions, watching CNBC/Bloomberg, etc. My passion was self

29 Jun 2016

I'll have had my 31st interview next week. Admittedly, 6 were pre-degree and relatively unskilled. If I add each round of interviews to that number, it would probably be around 45 actual interviews. That's well over 100 people that have scrutinised me professionally. Is that a lot? You'd think I'd be able to hold my nerve by this point right

07 May 2021

Hey guys, I go to a Canadian target (Queens/Ivey) and have been recruiting for summer 2022. The year is now half way and I have gotten zero interviews from the Canadian Globals and Banks in the USA. I did BMOS my first two years, not sure if that is relevant. I have: - 3.9 GPA - Worked at boutique private equity first summer - Currently working in Corporate Development at a very well known company I have also networked with multiple firms before applying and had great calls with analysts. I have no idea at all why I am not getting any first round interviews at all. The feedback I keep getting

24 Jun 2021

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. I'm 1/4 Irish and 3/4 German. I come from a wealthy family, but they wouldn't even pay for braces. My teeth are a bit crooked (almost done invisalign in two months), two small chips due to playing spots, and kind of small due to my genes (parents also skimped in whole milk, quality fish, etc...). I really don't want to be held down due to this minor (perceived) flaw. I've always been the brightest and would rather do technology sales than be held down for life in a place like NYC. I can either spend 25-30k on my teeth or put it towards a

25 Mar 2020

A few weeks ago, my father set up a meeting for me with his bosses boss. This guy basically runs wealth. This guy was brought out of retirement, in his mid-50's, to help a friend of his rebuild the WM division at the BB where my old man works. After a few minutes with him, he basically flat out said that I suck tremendously at interviews. This isn't really news to me. I've managed to get past a few phone screeners at BB's and Tech giants, but botched all my final round interviews when I finally got to HW.

28 Oct 2011

One thing that a lot of students falter with during interviews is the trading idea. Im writing this post to help some of the monkeys currently preparing for interviews realize that what they are spewing out as trading ideas are instead sales pitches, and they should be presenting a trading plan to the interviewer instead. This will put you miles ahead of other candidates interviewing and show a bit of understanding of what it means to be a successful trader.

28 Dec 2010

I'll bet you have a cute little folder with your school's name embossed on it, filled with copies of your resume and some business cards you collected from a few information sessions that never yielded any fruit. I'll also bet you've got a nice Men's Warehouse suit picked out with some conservative black dress shoes that are just pointy enough for bankers to not make fun of you for wearing for those "corporate networking and information events" that you continue to go to, despite the fact they clutter your inbox since you're on every finance-related listserv in the entire school. And lastly, I

20 Sep 2012

Is it ever okay to talk about personal issues in interviews if they are relevant to the question and a big part of who you are? One of my greatest strengths is resilience. This is because I've gone through a lot in the last ten years and the last few in particular. When I was 9 I was sexually abused. I told nobody for ten years and I let it eat away at me. I went through the PTSD, nightmares, depression, self harm and attempted suicide all alone. After graduating high school I finally came forward and started therapy and taking medication. I have since realized that this experience is a big

18 Jan 2019

Hi all, I'm currently interviewing for roles and I'm having trouble coming across as genuine when I give my cookie cutter answers. I think its a combination of nerves along with the fact that I'm inexperienced with interviews. Based on your experience, what's the best way to showcase personality yet remain humble and show that you have a good understanding of how important it is to fit in. Need some pointers on how I can seem more genuine moving forward and I'm open to anything you guys have to say! Thanks

12 Jun 2019

So I had a rly good final round with case study with the partners. Reception was very positive: they asked abt when I expected comp, when I would be able to start, and if I was talking to other shops. They said they were hiring for 2-3 jr positions, and that they expect start date to be within a month or so and so they'll be in their new offices by then. They told me they'd get back to me within a week, which they did (less than a wk later). Got an email from the partner saying they enjoyed meeting with me and if I had time to chat the next week. Tossed out a few dates which unfortunately didn

01 Feb 2018

Afternoon, monkeys. I've got the first of a two part interview for you today with Certified User Nefarious. Nefarious works in Strategy at a major Fortune 500 Aerospace & Defense company. While I know many of your are focused on banking and private equity, I think everyone can benefit from hearing his story. Strategy jobs are some of the most intellectually satisfying roles out there, and they've got a great work-life balance. Plus, if you're in an interesting industry, like A&D, you'll put yourself in a position to have a tremendous, well-paying career in a space you really care about. From

30 Nov 2012

The following is an interview I conducted with Tyrone Greene, with whom I started chatting when I visited his food truck, The Dark Side of the Moo. He's a former trader of precious metals who has made the leap to leave Wall Street and work for himself, and I think his story will be of tremendous value to WSO. Enjoy! 1. How did you break into trading? Was it your first job after university?

13 Apr 2014

Was reading that for RX interviews I should know waterfalls. Wanted to see what that is. Does that just mean that I should have a solid grasp on capital structure? If so, any sources available? Thanks

06 Aug 2019

Hi all, Wanted to gauge the community on what are some of the hardest brain teasers they've been asked in interviews. If anyone has gotten any tough ones from banks on the east coast, would love to grab those here too. Cheers

10 Jun 2019

So I have a small buyside M&A deal on my resume that I plan to walk through for PE interviews. I completely understand the thesis, rationale, etc. as well as the operating model, which I truly did build. However.....this was a pretty small deal for the size of our client, so the modelling process was absolutely not as detailed. Still can justify everything we did in the model, but it doesn't seem nearly as granular. We also didn't bother building a 3-statement, just decently detailed income statement, capex, and NWC. Income statement projections were a decent level of detail but by no means a

02 Oct 2020

I know almost everyone would advise not to quit your current job unless you have a firm offer lined up, but I am in a situation where it is very difficult to ask for time off if I want to go for interviews, especially with MBB as one round can take hours. I work for a small company where everyone is closely supervised. I almost never took time off before unless I need to see a doctor then I would leave 30 minutes earlier than usual, so if I ask for some time off now in the middle of the day, it would likely raise some eye browns. I know I only have 10 days vacation for this whole year, but I

02 Jan 2019

Every year around this time, some young monkeys hop on the forums and start moaning about how bad this year is for recruiting. You guys think it's bad? You ain't seen bad unless you've seen 2001, 2008, or 2009. But nevertheless, your auntie has good news. I recruited all last week, and let me tell you: the competition out there right now doesn't look as tough as you guys think it is. Here are the real gems from my week recruiting at our top targets: Candidates who stare at or lengthily check their phones while talking to recruiters. If you aren't going to make eye contact with me, at least

19 Sep 2012

I was recently interviewing for an entry level analyst position through on-campus recruiting and felt like couple firms were profiling due to my race. As i digged a little deeper, i realized that some of the boutiques (Greenhill, GCA Savvian, Evercore, and Moelis) hardly had any blacks, indians and asians. Is this a common theme for the firms mentioned above?

25 Sep 2012

Hello all. I am currently a 3rd year analyst and recruiting for private equity positions. On my resume, I have 2 deals listed. The first is rather small (<$50mm), and I can speak to this one in detail. My issue is with the second one listed ($200mm). This deal process was incredibly easy, and the "model" we built was pretty sparse. Literally revenue projections were just a single growth rate for each case...slight discount to growth in CIM for base case, flat 4.0% for downside case, and CIM growth for upside case. The cost items were kind of modeled out, but largely still % of revenue driven

27 Jan 2021

Another 100+ Questions Added...Now Over 500+: We've sifted through 2 THOUSAND+ more questions submitted to the WSO Company Database this past year to make the IB Prep Pack even more killer. We've picked out another 100 questions based on new trends to bring the grand total to a whopping 500+ questions (nothing beats that). The beauty of how we structure the IB Prep Pack is that both the technical and fit guides walk you through the most common beginner, intermediate and advanced questions while also giving you great sample answers. On top of that, we now also provide you with a MASSIVE

23 May 2015

Interviewed with large public tech Ecommerce company. Made it past the HR screener. A week later she follows up through the jobvite program and asks for times I can interview this week with the team. I got the email 5 hours after she sent it through jobvite bc that software sucks. I emailed her back with times this week and its been two days and haven't heard anything back, only two days left in the week. Should I follow up? I have already followed up with her between the interview with her and her last email to me (the one trying to schedule the interview with the team). I'm wondering if the

16 Sep 2020

I am a management consultant at Accenture in the T&O Human Potential practice. I'm being considered for a Sr. Consultant role in the OT and CM. A manager referred me with the support of an MD. Can someone tell me what the interview process looks like for an experienced hire and what is the salary range for this role? The role could either be in Boston or New York. My initial interview is on Monday. Thanks in advance!

10 Mar 2021

Hey guys, long time lurker first time poster. I wanted to ask you guys your opinion on whether or not I should bring up during my interview that I was kicked out of my fraternity for hazing pledges too much. I mean, in my defense there isn't really a guideline to what TOO MUCH is, but I guess when one dumb pledge gets trampled by an elephant that would be considered too much. Fraternities have changed so much in the past decade, with all these news outlets putting so much pressure on us NOT to haze, which I personally think is absurd. Anyway, I have that I was in my frat on my resume, but I

29 Jul 2016

I want to break into either consulting or I-banking. Trying to decide which school is the best fit to break into consulting or I-Banking. Do most firms see PennLPS like Columbia? A lot of my friends from Columbia have broken into investment banking. Just curious.

14 Nov 2016

I need some advice. I'm a recent graduate from a nontarget looking for FT roles. About me: sub 3.5 overall GPA, Over 3.5 finance GPA. Was in school's honors program for finance majors. Did some IM work. Received school's highest honors for finance majors. FO IB experience at top MM bank in strongest group last summer. Furthermore, my resume has been reviewed by people in industry, so it's 100% crisp. Now that I've introduced my background, I can delve into my current problem.

20 Jun 2014

Hello, I graduated college four years ago with with a 3.3 from a top 40 school. I had MO internships in school, and took a job as an energy market analyst out of college. While in college, I had no problem getting a job once I was selected for an interview. Counting my full-time offer and two internships, I received 3 job offers out of 7 interviews, the ones I didn't get where out of my league to begin with so my track record of interview success I thought was pretty good. However, the last two years have been a nightmare. I wanted upgrade to a commodities analyst at a more prestigious firm or

21 Feb 2018

WSO is happy to announce a new partnership with Jared Dillian, former head ETF trader at Lehman, author of Street Freak and The Daily Dirtnap. WSO readers qualify for a $100 discount from Jared's daily market newsletter...just email [email protected] and mention "WSO Monkey Discount." You can follow Jared on twitter at @dailydirtnap Every month (starting tomorrow), we will get one sneak peak into his popular market newsletter and hear from Jared on another topic of our choosing. We hope you enjoy his writing as much as we do here at WSO. More info on the Daily Dirtnap below, but as an

14 Jan 2013

I'm a rising junior at a non-target, big ten school, majoring in finance. I have the credits to graduate this May. Will graduating a year early be an advantage or disadvantage? I studied abroad this past semester in Australia, which made it impossible for me to get an internship since we ended in late June, so I would have no work experience. I am also considering one year MSF programs at UIUC, Indiana, Purdue, Vanderbilt. Thoughts?

17 Jul 2012

I received an invitation for an accelerated interview at Goldman Sachs. Does anybody from previous years have any insights into the process? The email says that second round interviews in New York City are going to be held next week. I tried searching and nothing relevant came to the surface beyond how interviewees are selected. Thanks.

09 Aug 2011

I have consulting interviews coming up, and urgently need mental math prep. Can anyone suggest online (free) resources I can use to pick up my terrible mental math skills? What math strategies are helpful to acing the math part of the consulting interviews? Other advice on mental math prep is welcome. Consulting Case Interview Math Prep The best way to work on your mental math skills is practice. You should follow the advice broken down below and practice some mental math problems during your spare time. For complex multiplication problems: one effective way to solve problems is to round one

11 Nov 2011

I realize I am a huge outlier with the current job market and economic climate, so I figured I'd post a topic and let people throw their questions at me regarding what I did to get in the position I'm in right now. I will try to avoid answering questions that could potentially identify me. Some background: I am graduating in May, and am a senior Math major (with CS minor, but I've taken as many CS classes as I have math) from, let's say, one of {Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Yale). I grew up going to a public high school in the southeast.

07 Mar 2011

Hey guys, Is it disheartening to see that a person can get 2 FT interviews, and 2 SA interviews (4 different banks total) and not be able to land a single offer for IB? I am this person, and I am a non-target being able to get these interviews... Though they were all unsuccessful and I never heard back from them. After these 4 interviews, I seem to be hitting at an all-time low… I have no problem getting my internships through my career's school website for non-IB stuff (ie. FPA, corp deveop) positions… but comes time to recruit for IB, seems like I mess it all up.

18 Jan 2011

So I'm prepping for ft ib internships coming in the falls. So far, I've read and I'm planning to skim again the WSO guides, 400Qs guide from M&I, and Vault. I also have Investment Banking Valuation, LBO, M&A by Joshua Rosenbaum et al., which I have not started reading yet. First of all: do I have enough resources to be able to answer 100% of technicals asked? If not, what else should I study? Second, I need a routinized system to keep up with them. I currently have two part time internships to keep me busy throughout the day. I was thinking of putting aside half an hour to an hour every night and study more intensely on weekends. But I'm afraid I might forget them come closer to the interviews, if I start now.

09 Jun 2012

hi, i worked in IBD, equity research and private equity in the last 4 years in london. im looking to go try my luck in hong kong/asia and need some advice regarding answering a question that is likely to come up in interviews over there either with recruiters or headhunters. a question likely to come up is something along the lines of.... "what is your competitive advantage, or what differentiates you or what makes you different compared to other candidates located here?"

14 Jul 2010

Fellow Primates, As interview season kicks into full swing, we want our WSO members to be as prepared as possible. With the help of experienced finance professionals, Wall Street Oasis has built a selection of guides to help you succeed throughout the job application process. With 11 now available, we have sold THOUSANDS of copies and have received incredible feedback from the community. Read some of the testimonials here. In 2010 we added new offerings to the library and updated our most popular technical guide to include a sample financial model as well as a flashcard edition allowing you to easily practice the most common interview questions. Check out the selection of guides, along with testimonials on the guide page.. Good luck in all of your upcoming interviews! -Patrick

12 Feb 2011

I know, I know. But it's time for the sandwich board. Just received a final round rejection from Bloomberg LP last Friday. My mentors told me to put myself in front of as many people as possible. I'm going to take this literally. Questions: 1. Should I name my school on the board? I'm proud of where I went, but I don't want to devalue it for other graduates. 2. What would you suggest to have on the front/back? 3. Should I yell or quietly pass my resume around with a smile? I am a Feb. 2010 (walked May 09, received diploma Feb. 2010 after finishing incomplete courses) graduate who's open to internships and full-time. My idea is to go to South Station, Boston in front of One Financial Center (where I used to intern) and start passing out my resume. I'd do this every morning 7am-9am, then go back to work on cover letters and cold-calling, and my part-time jobs. Thanks guys (This is not a troll).

17 Mar 2010

Hi Everyone, Yesterday, I was rejected by a my first superday event after a series of very many first round rejections and am really feeling the need to "revamp" myself in order to get an offer by the end of this recruiting season. I don't have too much problem getting interviews since my resume/gpa are all pretty good. My problem is apparently delivery in the interviews as I was most recently told that I'm too eager. Phone Interviews: 1. UBS IBD: I f-cked up the accounting so that wasn't their fault, it was solely mine 2. JP Morgran ST: I think I was too nervous and didn't sound natural...rejected anyhow 3. Citi: great alums, made it past first round but then didn't do well on superday 4. MS: Got a random interview, great convo, interviewer expressed she liked me but she said she never heard back from HR. In person interviews: 1. BMO: Great conversation, felt good after interview, got rejection 2 weeks later 2. Boutique Bank: Lots of applicants, 3 interviews at office, left on high note, they said they were impressed, rejected ultimately

06 Feb 2010

So, I have a lot of first round interviews next week, almost back to back every single day. For many banks, they notify you if you got the second round/super day the night of and then you have it the next day. The problem is, if you have a crap ton of interviews the next day too for other banks, would it be too difficult for the banks who took you for a second round to reschedule? I'm sure they know that all the banks are doing interviews on campus during that same week and many candidates have multiple interviews, so why even have superdays the next day?

22 Jan 2011

Hi, my dilemma is the following: I joined a commodities trading firm (oil & gas) just three months ago in Switzerland. Had to move from London, which was quite a big move. The salary is really good, the job is challenging and seems to be interesting so far (I'm a trading assistant, fresh graduate), and the growth opportunities are promising. But I was recently contacted by a recruiter from an American BB bank, that is looking for analysts for their commodities team in S&T. It seems to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and just a few months ago I would've killed for a role like this

22 Jun 2021

A couple questions. What parts of the vault guide will come up in a banking interview? Will we have to do a DCF or other valuation example during interviews? Or is it enough to just be able to have an intelligent conversation/answer basic questions about DCF? Will we have to know the 3 financial statements front and back? be able to draw conclusions from it? What exactly will they ask about the financial statements? The vault guide is great but I feel some of the more in-depth stuff is geared towards MBA candidates going for full-time positions. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

19 Dec 2008

When someone interviews you and you don't get an offer, does it actually mean something when they say something along the lines of keep in touch, we'll revisit this idea next year, we're here for you for career or educational consultations, mock interviews, etc? Or is that just something nice they say so people don't kill themselves after getting dinged?

28 Jun 2014

Mod note: Click here to see all of our q&a's and interviews For all the talk of private equity and hedge funds as exit opps here on WSO, one interesting route that often goes overlooked is the non-profit path. Too often non-profit and charitable work gets lumped into one of two camps: Something for liberal arts students Something you've got to do to round out your b-school apps Well, I'm here today to obliterate this false dichotomy. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Myerson, the founder of Haymakers For Hope, a truly awesome charity that combines amateur boxing and the fight

23 Jul 2013

How many first-round interviews per day did you have during your b-school's on-campus interview week? Is it absurd to attempt 4 first round interviews in one day? For reference, these are NYC bulge bracket firms, and I am at a top-20 school in the Northeast.

01 Jan 2011

I'm heading into my third year of post-secondary at a target business-school (undergrad), and wasn't too sure when recruiting starts

14 Jun 2021

At what point do you start turning down first round interviews? Given that almost all the banks seem to have superdays on the same day (Friday 2/4 and 2/11), I'm assuming I won't be able to do second rounds with more than 3-4 places. So is it even worth signing up for all the 20+ first round interviews I've gotten?

25 Jan 2011

Hey Everyone, I saw that the site released new Technical and Behavioral interview guides. I purchased the first versions and really loved them. I'm really considering buying the new versions too. The new tech guide went from 30 to 80 pages??? Has anyone purchased the new ones? Any feedback? Thanks!

27 Jun 2009

These past few months have been terrible. I got laid off. I did tremendously well in two interviews, had the manager tell me I effectively have it during the interview and then I find out, that due to budget issues, they cant hire me. This firm is pretty reputable in New York and now they have budget issues?!?

08 Dec 2012

So I have a second round interview at Mercer for an internship in their Investment Consulting group. I have done my homework on Mercer and MMC and know where I would like to be placed (NY or Chicago). I have been looking around online for questions that they might ask in the second round but have come up with nothing. Are there any questions that Mercer generally asks in 2nd rounds? All previous internships I've had were very informal so the formal recruitment process is foreign to me. Thanks for the help in advance.

05 Dec 2009