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subject: 7 Day Step-by-step Guide to Any Investment Banking Interview [print this page]

7 Day Step-by-step Guide to Any Investment Banking Interview

If you work efficiently, you will only have to prepare

an hour or two a day...but add this together and that means that

in a week you will have done 10-14 hours of effective

preparation and you will be totally ready for your investment

banking interview!

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DAY 1 -- CONFIRM THE INTERVIEW + RESEARCH THE FIRM

A. CONFIRM THE DATE/TIME/LOCATION

These days most likely you will have been invited for the

interview by phone or by email. The first thing is to make sure

you have all the details and can make the date/time.

Check your diary. If you can't make it, let the firm know

you can't make it as soon as possible and come back with a

set of other days/times you can make it.

TIP: Be EXTREMELY apologetic if you can't make the

suggested date/time. Banks run all-day long interview rounds and

it takes a lot of time and effort on their side to make

sure everyone is available (needless to say bankers tend to

be very busy people!). There may also be a chance that the

organization cannot reschedule and you may have to either wait

for the next round in a few weeks time or be left out of the

recruiting process altogether. So if you say you can't make it

make sure you really can't make it.

B. GET AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

Find out what format the interview is going to take. It it going

to be a 1-1 with someone from HR or a panel interview with

people from the business, etc? Is there going to the be a

quantitative/psychometric test?

All of this information can be found out through the

HR department or, if the interview is being organized by the

business directly, from the interviewers' secretary. It's

absolutely fine to ask these questions, don't be intimidated.

Best case scenario you end up with an extra set of information

to help you prepare which will put you at an advantage in

relation to other candidates (most people don't dare asking!).

Worst case scenario you don't have any additional information

and you can prepare with the data you have.

If you are interviewing through a recruiting

agency ("headhunters") it is their duty to obtain as

much information as possible, and as a minimum should be able

to give you some background on the interviewer, the

organization and the role they are recruiting for. You can also

ask for example if the have put through other candidates before

you why they were not hired, etc. so you don't make the same

mistakes.

If you are attending a formal assessment centre with other

candidates some of the information may be deliberately withheld

to ensure a fair comparison, which is fair enough. But asking

never hurts.

C. RESEARCH THE COMPANY

This step is key not just in finding out whether it's the right

company for you but will also be essential in the following days

when we will go into a bit more detail on how to impress the

interviewer and stand out.

What are the best ways of going about researching a company?

I. The corporate website

The first obvious port of call is the corporate website. This

will give you an overview of what the company does, what the

different areas of business are, which ones are the growth

areas, etc. If the company is listed, the corporate site will

also contain annual reports and other regulatory filings which

will contain a host of data on the company's performance.

II. Google

Do a google search and go past the obvious few hits which will

be from the firm's website. A number of other websites

will come up with articles about the bank's recent deals, press

perceptions, etc. Google also has a function that allows you to

search on forums. These may prove invaluable to gain insider

information about any major issue that the bank may be facing.

III. Jobseekers' websites

Sites such as Vault.com, Wetfeet.com have forums divided by firm

where you can find advice from fellow jobseekers who are also

interested in employment opportunities with that institution.

IV. Talk to people you know who may be working in the same firm

or sector

Goes without saying, they can be a very time-efficient way of

gaining key insights before going for the interview!

Note:

Interviewers are always impressed when a candidate is able

to show some factual knowledge about the company or its plans

(you would be surprised how many people walk into an interview

without even performing this basic research!). They come across

as more "intelligent, capable and driven" than other

candidates, even though all they did was an extra few minutes

search on the web!

So today, get this done:

1) Confirm to the bank that you can make the interview on

the suggested day and time, if you haven't already done so

2) In the same call/email (or in a separate one if you have

already confirmed the meeting) gather as much information as

possible on the interview format, attendees, purpose, etc

3) Research the company's growth plan, financial

performance, industry etc on the web and through contacts. Keep

all pieces of information because you will need them for the

course in the next few days.

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