Is there anyone on this forum who can drop some clues as what would be the focus in an interview for IB jobs… I never worked in the financial industry …I am in Cor fin and also get involved in M&A and trying to break into Fin Industry…can anyone help me what should I expect in that interview given my non banking experience
is this a position that requires fluency in English?
valuation why ibanking recent mergers what sector and why
google…goto esnips.com, type in “weetfeet guide to investment banking interviews” lol at numi, gotta love people who want to break into finance, but can’t do an once of due dilli at all
The couple interviews I had in IB were more about personality fit than anything. We talked merger/acquisitions/the market very little. I ultimately got beat out by someone with an MBA. I was going for an associate level job at the time (I don’t have an MBA, yet). Could have landed a junior analyst job, but didn’t want to move laterally into a career that I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to do.
didn’t you know that a lot of “IB” jobs are outsourced to non-English speaking countries now numi?
Numi wrote: is this a position that requires fluency in English? Not sure will find out when meet ’ em in person…but they are looking for exceptional M&A, DCF and LBO modeling skills & a good understanding of operational finance—balance sheets, financial statements…I am involved in three M&A deals and have strong Ops Fin, B/S and FS experience.
This question is extremely tough to answer with any certainty. For example, BB&T Capital Markets (from what I hear) has an extensive 4-step interview process for new entry-level analysts, complete with testing. Other firms might bring you in and test your personality for a few hours and then ask you back to present some technical skills. For some analyst jobs, a monkey with a BA could perform the tasks (e.g. make PowerPoint slides, assist with due diligence, process requests, and talk to people on the phone, as well as some light modeling). For those jobs, personality is key because you’ve got to work 80+ hours per week with the team. For analyst roles where you’re being hired to perform number crunching in the back room, personality is less important. Having been through 7 or 8 IB interview processes, I can say with certainty that there is no one formula. But a recurring theme is that IBs want an affable personality to work with namely because of the hours worked. If your personality happens to fit well with those interviewing you, then you’ve just put yourself on par with smarter people. Technical skills at the analyst level aren’t that important, but pure brain power (natural intelligence) is. No clue how it works at the associate level. My advice to you is to just be well versed on the company, on the industries it serves (or your team serves), on the firm’s specialization (e.g. M&A, pseudo-private equity, debt, public finance, etc.), and to ask a lot of good questions. And, contrary to popular belief, acting like an arrogant d-bag is the best way to not get a call back.
cfapro12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Numi wrote: > is this a position that requires fluency in > English? > > Not sure will find out when meet ’ em in > person…but they are looking for exceptional > M&A, DCF and LBO modeling skills & a good > understanding of operational finance—balance > sheets, financial statements…I am involved in > three M&A deals and have strong Ops Fin, B/S and > FS experience. lol…you can’t possibly be serious. this must be a joke. if you really did all of that stuff (you’re involved in THREE M&A deals? lol), the last question you would ever ask is what to expect in an IB interview. hilarious! anyway, thanks for the entertainment. goodnight
Oh yeah, before going into an investment banking interview, PLEASE ask yourself if it’s REALLY the lifestyle that you want. Really REALLY consider the question: is this REALLY what I want to do? It’s not even the hours, man, it’s–tough to explain unless you’ve done it. Just read up on it (check out a day in the life of an investment banking analyst from Vault) before you really jump into the game. It’s not even remotely as glamorous as its sounds (and hot girls at a bar don’t know the different between bank teller and investment banker anyway). But the money is good and you can learn a lot in the right program. You can also learn very little if you get on in the wrong capacity/with the wrong firm.
Do they still make you run around the block in less than a minute at IB firms, or did they discontinue that?
Numi: you are missing the whole point…I am not looking insight from technical POV …I never worked in Fin Ind or Banking sector …hence I am more interested from their working environment and their expectation so that I can address their concern if they may have any on my lack of fin ind experience…life style is definitely one of them… the point is framing an answer which they may be looking from a person like me who can be successful in this role in IB…
Thanx KKent…thats exactly I wanted to know …when you say you mean its too demanding due to long hours …or just b/c you in the middle of some sharks…
cfapro12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Numi: > > you are missing the whole point…I am not looking > insight from technical POV …I never worked in > Fin Ind or Banking sector …hence I am more > interested from their working environment and > their expectation so that I can address their > concern if they may have any on my lack of fin ind > experience…life style is definitely one of > them… the point is framing an answer which they > may be looking from a person like me who can be > successful in this role in IB… well, i knew someone here was totally missing the point of what banking was but i didn’t know that person was me…hm anyway, i have no idea what you’re talking about. do you?
I have also been involved in a couple M&A deals. Should I put them on my resume? - i had AT&T as my wireless provide when it became the “new cingular” - i had a checking account with FleetBoston when it was bought out by Sovereign Bank. - keyspan (soon to be national grid) provides me natural gas, which i used to cook my dinner last night.
lol!
cfapro12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanx KKent…thats exactly I wanted to know > …when you say you mean its too demanding due > to long hours …or just b/c you in the middle of > some sharks… It’s tough to explain. It’s just the culture–and you could very well fit in well with the culture. If you’re a nice, clean cut guy who rarely curses, shows some level of maturity when talking about sex, doesn’t drink or drinks in moderation, and wants to have a life outside of work, then I doubt you’re the kind of personality/character type that would actually like being an investment banking analyst. If you don’t have a particular affinity for golf, then I doubt you’d like being a banker. But I have an extremely biased opinion–I’m quite jaded; very disillusioned, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Best of luck to you. (By the way, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule; plenty of good characters in the IB world. The above is a rather broad generalization and I don’t mean to throw any current or past analysts under the bus. The above is simply one young man’s disillusioned opinion.)
Yes, I definitely disagree with kkent’s assessment. Perhaps it varies from bank to bank, but I have found the people that he describes to be the exception rather than the rule. Don’t get me wrong - there are plenty of people like this in banking - but I think there are many people like this in “regular” industries, too. I’m actually suprised at how many soft-spoken, “nice guy”-types work at my bank - especially in MD-level positions. What’s tough for me with regards to the “culture” in an ibank is the supremacy that work has over people’s lives. Maybe it’s because I come from the south or from a non-finance background, but it’s really surprising to me how much of their lives people put into their work here. I’m still trying to figure out whether it’s because of the drive for money, the drive to be “successful” (being better than everyone else), or because they legitimately enjoy what they do.