Hi, I was wondering if anybody out there has interviewed with RBC. I have an interview lined up and would appreciate any pointers/advice/inside info on what to expect. Thanks!
What group? What level?
IB, analyst
You will probably get 2 rounds (maybe in 1 day, maybe 2 days). The first round is with a few VPs/MDs/Ds. They will ask you general questions to see if you fit. The second round is about your technical skills and will be conducted by analysts/associates. If you know your CFA Level II stuff you should do ok (ie: cash flow, FCFE, FCFF, BS, IS, depreciation…etc.).
Thanks billwest - appreciate your feedback.
With technicals, make sure you know the different valuation methodologies (DCF, Comps, Transactions). Also, be able to talk about old school companies (i.e. manufacturing) versus newer ones (i.e tech-centric) and what sort of metrics you would look at for valuation purposes.
You might get a case study . I know I did when I interviewed there (third out of 4 rounds). They give you three hours to come up with a valuation.
I interviewed there…first one was 2 on 1…an associate and a MD. Then on the “super” round it was about 6 interviews…varying between 1 on 1 and 2 on 1. They asked about valuations, free cash flow, name a stock you like, dont like, asked about what you think the role entails, one MD who did a 1 on 1 just asked everyone if they had questions and to walk through a normal day of your life, then the more technical 1 on 1 was go through a dcf with all the steps, ratios, industry norms of ratios for any companies you mention, current market conditions…then there was a dinner/drinks with associates and VPs who didnt interview you and I think they were testing for fit. Good luck with it, I did this back in October and although I thought it went well didn’t get the job after I waited for like 2.5-3 weeks to hear back. Make sure you ask a lot of questions, I think thats the most important part…the interviews are not tough and the technical stuff was something you would learn in a basic finance class. Although that culd just be because RBC was the last bank interview I had after a string of going 0/5… they may throw in a couple finane questions on annuities but word it as though its a problem and you need to ask them for the info to calculate the PV (just need to aks them for the info, no calc actually required)…seemed like a cool place to work…ah well back to Audit for 2.5 years. and i am too hung over to give a crap about spelling and puncuation so ya.
Wow, thanks for the input ca-cbv-cfa. Were you interviewing for the analyst training program or for the associate training program? I’m currently applying for the analyst training program at RBC. Since I’m from an engineering background, I’m the only one at my school who’s applying. I sure hope to get an interview. If I do hear from them, I’ll make sure I review everything you mentioned. For the DCF applications, I remember a post from a few weeks back where someone gave an excel spreadsheet that helped to prepare for interviews. I’ll try to find it, but if this poster reads this, would you be so kind as to repost the link? On another note, have you tried other investment banks? I’m in montreal, so I’ll try for the other big banks as well. On a side note, I’m currently in the process of interviewing for a consultant (R&D credits) position in one of the big 4. Do you guys think that the skills learned in these positions would translate well once into the IB game? Thanks. J.
go for McKinsey J. They love engineers in montreal hehehe
Hi Alayle, I know, I’ve had quite a few people from my university (Polytechnique de Montreal) go work for them. I must admit that the “we will pay your mba after x year with us” is quite enticing. However, most of the people I’ve met weren’t really able to specify what they were doing. They would always give vague answers. There business consultants really seem to be generalists, which depending on your career objective may be a + or a -. I’ve been invited to there recruiting gig, but declined due to the fact that I was more interested by the pure finance stuff than consulting. Right now, I’ve been in contact with Deloitte. Hopefully I’ll get the job which at my age (23) would give me the required experience to justify IB to hire me. Do you happen to work for Mckinsey? If so, could you provide more insight on the type of work they do? Thanks again! J.
Hey J, I interviewed for the analyst program, got interviews at all the Canadian banks…got to final round at top 2, one of which was obviously RBC. As you are from Engineering, buy the Vault guide to Investment banking/ Finance interviews. It didn’t get much different than what was in it except at one bank which asked a lot more comparables and ratio questions and brain teasers. good luck.
Salut J. Non je ne travaille pas pour McKinsey mais j’ai fais quelques démarches auparavant pour leur programme aussi quand j’étais à hec. Je travaille maintenant en equity research. Peut-être que je vais faire le saut en banking… j’ai l’opportunité, mais ça ne me tente pas trop en ce moment. Bonne chance pour ton interview
hey please let me know how it goes lol. btw are you a college student or a professional.
thanks everyone for your feedback…very useful.