Why Do You Want to Work for Us Question - How to Answer This Tough Banking Interview Question

Although you're more likely to get asked the why investment banking interview question, it's still worth considering this question, because if you don't use the answer during any interviews you'll at least use it in your cover letters.
When all the banks seem to be carbon copies of each other, how are we meant to answer this question?

Well, you could take the easy road and just trot out the same things every student does for every bank in every interview. Almost verbatim from some crazy Vault Survey or D grade investment banking interview guide, students will say;


"Work with the smartest people, access to world class training, program rotation, steep learning curve, real responsibility, meritocracy, entrepreneurial culture and top transaction experience" or some variation of that.


But if you want to stand out and make it look like you've actually given this question some thought, first mention three bank-specific things you love. E.g. a particular training program only they have or a group's focus on certain types of deals.


The smartest way to find this information is by asking the banks own analysts why they joined the analyst program and why they like working there.


Not only is this method painless since you only have to attend a networking event or email an alumnus, but it can also yield real 'insider' reasons that you can't pull off a recruitment website, e.g. a recently implemented initiative at the bank.


Bonus marks up for grabs with this interview question.


You'll turn in a 10/10 answer if you relate your reasons "why work for Goldman Sachs" back to an experience you mentioned in your story and/or to a banker you spoke with.


Combining good research with thoughtful self-analysis like this will convince bankers you genuinely want to work for them. What else do you need to crush the why Goldman Sachs question?


Apart from what a bank's analysts may tell you, it's wise to mention that you are attracted to the bank because of the people you have met there, followed up with their names and the stories of how you know them. This alone can put you in the 'inner circle'.


Feel free to rattle off 3 standard reasons for wanting to join them at the end of your answer. The #1 way to deliver this like a good little sycophant-in-the-making is by saying "and obviously Goldman Sachs works on the leading deals, has the best people in the TMT world and offers first-class training".


As you can see these seemingly tough investment banking interview questions aren't so difficult once you have inside advice on how to answer them. Get more free advice on banking interview questions now, including the hugely popular why investment banking interview question.

Richard is the head writer for Inside Investment Banking - a one-stop shop of advice for students just like you who want to know how to get into investment banking without a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or nepotistic connections on Wall Street.


Created by a team of 5 young bankers, Inside Investment Banking contains all the real insider advice you need to write killer banking resumes, answer tough interview questions, network with bankers and much more.You can read more Free Tutorials on Investment Banking Recruiting just like the one above by visiting Inside Investment Bank now.

Article source: ezinearticles.com

Investment Banking Interviews - First Round Interviews Decoded

First of all, we're talking about the formal "give me a job" type of first round interview here. Not about the investment banking informational interview, which is simply a meet and greet.


First Rounders are where your banking lives really kick off and their importance comes down to the simple fact that if you mess up here your banking life is DOA - dead upon arrival!


For target school kids first round investment banking interviews will frequently take place on campus when the banks roll into town and will often be with an analyst or other junior banker who's an alumnus of your school.


In other countries it might take place at the bank's HQ and be with a representative from the IB's HR department - or a junior banker.


For non-target school kids who manage to get a formal recruiting interview it might take place at a nearby school or at the bank. More likely though you'll start out with informal interviews over coffees - aka investment banking informational interviews - thanks to your networking, which can then lead to formal interviews at the bank's HQ.


But location is the least of our worries, so let's move on.


It's more important for you to recognize that the purpose of the first round interview is to act as a quality control mechanism. Junior bankers simply aim to cull enough students so that final rounds (aka Super Saturday or simply Superday) can take place without a throng of 10,000 students storming the bank's offices.


And so they are only testing you on


1) your track record as listed on your resume,


2) your personality and


3) your basic technical skills.


Thankfully you will only be summarily grilled on these issues, because first round banking interviews don't go for that long. Think 20-30 minutes.


How can you sail through first round interviews?


Well, if you manage to 'get along' with the interviewer then you're probably through.


i.e. if you can talk about your resume for a couple minutes, get the banker smiling and answer some Basic as Ben Stiller questions about financial statements and Finance 101 valuation techniques you'll most likely get green lighted for another interview.


And if you can show you have serious passion for banking by talking about your journey over the years, how it has led you to banking and made you want it more than ever before, you're almost home.


Increasingly important in today's recruiting environment though, is your ability to handle some basic investment banking technical interview questions and brain teasers during first rounds. Banks are loading interviews with more than before, because it's the fastest and most objective way to eliminate a huge chunk of the candidate pool (an important point when supply & demand is as out of whack as it is now).


At the end of the day though these first round interviews are just about eliminating the Ben Stiller type retards - i.e. a 'basic smarts' cut. Or said with more panache, these interviews are simply about eliminating the also-rans, not about picking the stars. So don't stress.

Richard is the head writer for Inside Investment Banking - a one-stop shop of advice for students just like you who want to know how to get into investment banking without a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or nepotistic connections on Wall Street.

Richard is the head writer for Inside Investment Banking - a one-stop shop of advice for students just like you who want to know how to get into investment banking without a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or nepotistic connections on Wall Street.

Created by a team of 5 young bankers, Inside Investment Banking contains all the real insider advice you need to write killer banking resumes, answer tough interview questions, network with bankers and much more.

You can read more Free Tutorials on Investment Banking Recruiting just like the one above by visiting https://insideinvestmentbanking.com now.

Article source: ezinearticles.com

Investment Banking Superday Explained in Plain English

You will likely face a varied range of bankers from analyst level to MD. But given you are within touching distance of a $100,000+ offer, the interviewer-sheet will be stacked towards the senior side, which means less junior bankers than first rounds and definitely no HR reps.

Numbers wise, you could face anywhere from as little as 3 interviews to as many as 7 or more.

As you can imagine a true banking Superday can last anywhere from 3 hours to the good part of an entire day. And sometimes they can even spill into the night.

But fear not. Banks tend to err on the side of less is more, because it's an insane logistical task to organize more than 5 interviews per student and overall it's a surprisingly exhausting use of bank resources.

We are referring to senior bankers' time here of course - not the $20 an hour analysts! Note the sliding scale with respect to range, interviews and length; the bigger the bank and the recruiting drive, the greater the range/ interviews/ length. No wonder BBs (bulge brackets) are the source of infamous Superday war stories then, as opposed to the middle market i-banks and lower end boutique investment banks.

Why does the focus of each superday banking interview differ?

Different interviewers will be staffed with testing you on different things. This is often decided based on their level.

Consequently students can experience 40 minutes of technical questions when interviewing with Analyst Chuck Chuckford and 40 minutes of "Tell me about yourself" mind numbing questions during MD Larry Larryson's hour of power.

Let's break it down very clearly though...

The younger monkeys (analysts & associates) will throw down the technical questions gauntlet as they try to objectively assess you for brains. Think McGee in NCIS. If you've got some finance and accounting study or worse - a banking internship - under your belt expect to be pushed a lot harder than someone with a liberal arts major.

Although the technical finance questions might hurt, the investment banking accounting interview questions won't - they're comparatively easy.

Meantime the graying apes (MD Larryson and the other BSDs) will go 'fit' and 'you' crazy as they try to answer the question "Would Richard make a strong member of the team and do I want to work with him?". For this think Gibbs in NCIS. But don't forget Larry will also enjoy asking you (with a deadpan face) "How many 128-slide pitch books would fit in a chartered Lear Jet to Greenland?"*. In other words, interviews with the graying apes will often involve both technical and fit questions. The Masters of the Universe will give you a taste of everything!

Finally, it's worth noting that multiple interviews at the one bank can also overlap in both theme and the specific questions asked. This is done on purpose. Just like a computer-driven personality test, this process of repetition allows bankers to spot inconsistencies in your answers over time when they share notes at the end of the day.

Were you actually lying about your leadership experience at Chucky Cheese? Either way they'll find out.

Richard is the head writer for Inside Investment Banking - a one-stop shop of advice for students just like you who want to know how to get into investment banking without a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or nepotistic connections on Wall Street.

Created by a team of 5 young bankers, Inside Investment Banking contains all the real insider advice you need to write killer banking resumes, answer tough interview questions, network with bankers and much more.

You can read more Free Tutorials on Investment Banking Recruiting just like the one above by visiting https://insideinvestmentbanking.com now.

Article source: ezinearticles.com