How to Tell Your “Story” in Investment Banking Interviews in 5 Simple Steps
So we’ve talked a lot about your “story” in interviews, how important it is, and the mistakes you could make that will cost you an offer.
But now I’m going to go beyond that and actually give you a blueprint that will let you tell your “story” effectively and win offers no matter what level you’re at.
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And if you want to read rather than watch, here’s the text version:
Why Does This Matter So Much?
Three reasons:
- Your story sets the tone for the entire interview, and a poor first impression is impossible to overcome.
- Interviewers often make offer / no offer decisions subconsciously within the first 2-3 minutes, based 100% on your story.
- It’s easier to fix your “story” than to “fix” your lack of finance/accounting knowledge. We’re talking hours vs. weeks.
What Is This “Story” Business?
It’s your answer to the “Walk me through your resume / CV” or the “Tell me about yourself” question that you get at the beginning of every interview.
Sometimes it’s phrased differently and sometimes it’s not always the first thing they ask, but the idea is always the same:
Who are you and why are you here?
So How Do You Tell Your “Story”?
You structure it around these 5 points:
- The “Beginning”
- Your Finance “Spark”
- Your Growing Interest
- Why You’re Here Today
- Your Future
The “Beginning”
You want to start your story… at the beginning! Sorry, this is not a Quentin Tarantino film and even if Pulp Fiction is your favorite movie you still can’t jump around chronologically.
There are 3 good places to start your story:
- Where You’re From / Where You Grew Up
- Where You Went to University
- Where You Went to Business School
#1 is good if you’re still an undergraduate, #2 is better for the MBA level or beyond, and #3 is better if you’re way beyond that (which should be almost no one reading this, but hey, just to be complete…).
Don’t dwell on this part if it’s not particularly interesting or relevant – but you do need to mention it because every story needs a beginning.
Your Finance “Spark”
Depending on when you got interested in finance, this one might be combined with your “Beginning” – e.g. if you started day trading when you were 12, then you would combine them.
Otherwise, make this a separate point and be as specific as possible.
Ideas for finance “sparks”:
- Information Sessions / Case Competitions / Activities / Clubs
- Specific People You Met Through Networking / Classes / Activities
- Any Investing / Trading of Your Own You’ve Done
- Family Businesses / Learning About It From Other Family Members
- Summer / Other Special Programs
Specificity is key.
“I was in an investing competition and had fun.”
Eh.
“I was in this investing competition, did some in-depth research on the pharmaceutical industry and recommended investing in Pfizer – their stock later rose by 50% and our team won 1st place.”
Ok, I like the sound of this.
If you don’t have a specific event, person, or activity it’s not the end of the world – but look through your resume and figure out what you can spin into sounding like the real reason you got interested.
Your Growing Interest
Here’s where you explain how each of your internships, full-time jobs, or activities led you in the direction of investment banking.
You need to logically connect each one and go in chronological order to avoid “story fail.”
Two important points here:
- With each experience, you want to mention something that you liked and something that could use improvement.
- If you have a complicated history of career changes, resist the urge to go into detail on everything – keep it to 2-3 “hops” at the most.
So let’s say you’re a university student who’s looking for an investment banking summer internship right now.
You started out working on-campus, then you worked in marketing at a local company, and this past summer you did private wealth management at a bulge bracket bank.
You might say something like this:
- “I started out with just the usual on-campus work, which I did well at, but I wanted to do something more relevant to my major and get some experience in the real world…”
- “So I went to [Name of Local Company] and did marketing there for the summer. I did well, liked the business aspect, and helped improve their online marketing campaigns by 20% over 2 months but I also wanted to do something that was more quantitative and closer to finance…”
- “So the next summer I did private wealth management at [Bank Name] and analyzed clients’ portfolios and made investment recommendations. I enjoyed the investing aspect and the analysis a lot more – but I wanted to work with clients on a larger scale…”
And then you would lead directly into why you’re here today (see the next point).
This is just a sketch of what you might say – since your story should be 2-3 minutes long, you will have to go into more detail on each point or you’ll run out of stuff to say.
Why You’re Here Today
Luckily you don’t have to be a philosopher to tell this part of your story – you just need to be very explicit with what you say.
Yes – you should actually say, “I’m here interviewing today because…” and spell it out in clear terms.
An interview is not the time for subtlety or subterfuge. It’s time to sell yourself with everything you’ve got.
You need to answer 2 questions with this one:
- Why this bank / group specifically?
- Why now?
If you’re a student, #2 is easy: you need an internship / full-time job. If you’re already working full-time, talk about how you’ve achieved a lot but feel you’ve reached your limits and that your talents would be better put to use in banking.
#1 is easy to answer if you have a background that matches the group you’re interviewing with (e.g. tech/healthcare background going to those respective groups): you want to combine your expertise with finance.
If you’re coming in with more of a finance background, talk about the advantages that this bank / group presents over other places you’ve worked at – whether that’s the type of companies you work with, the culture, the people, the added responsibility, or anything else.
Your Future
This one is closely linked to the previous point about Why You’re Here Today, but you need to add something at the end that shows:
Your Background + Investment Banking = Future Success
Popular “future plans” include being an investor or advisor to companies in a particular industry or region, or working with a certain team at a bank.
Two points:
- If you’re interviewing for Analyst-level positions, you don’t need to have concrete plans – just some idea of what you want to do.
- At the Associate level you need to show more commitment and say you’re here for the long-term because they don’t want people to jump ship to PE after a year.
So What Do You Do Now That You Know How to Tell Your “Story”?
Go through your resume and all your previous experience and figure out what you’re going to say for each of these 5 points:
- The “Beginning” – Where You’re From? University? Business School?
- Your Finance “Spark” – Person? Event? Club? Program?
- Your Growing Interest – Which 2-3 Jobs/Internships/Activities Will You Mention?
- Why You’re Here Today – Why This Bank, and Why Now?
- Your Future – What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Make a quick 5 bullet point outline, then practice your story with a friend or anyone you know in the industry.
Aim for 2-3 minutes – 2 minutes if you speak quickly (like I do in all my videos) or 3 minutes if you speak more slowly.
Whatever you do, do not memorize it word-for-word or try to script out everything.
And then go forth, conquer your interviews, and land investment banking offers.
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Great post , this will be great help for SA interviews this January. My question is: How, if at all, are S&T interviews different from IB interviews?
The technical questions are more focused on math and probability rather than corporate finance. And they want to see more of an interest in the markets.
I think you mentioned this before, but I just want to double check. It’s generally okay to round a 3.43 to a 3.5 right?
Honestly I don’t know and I’ve stopped giving GPA rounding advice because no one can agree on it. I think you’re fine doing this but other people will tell you that you’ll be murdered…
This is a great post!
Great article!!
OT question: For a IB resume should each bullet point lead off with a past tense verb rather than a present, even if I am currently still pursuing that career and/or activity?
It doesn’t really matter, I always do it like that to be consistent but opinions vary. It won’t impact your interview chances at all.
I know you say you can round your GPA up from 3.79 to 3.8, etc. What about the opposite – I have a 3.89 but don’t want to seem too smart or nerdy, can I write a lower GPA like a 3.7?
Uh there’s no reason to ever do this for investment banking.
@ Consultant’s message. Can I at least round down to 3.8? I know 3.89 rounds up to 3.9 but is it ok to round down if its above the 5 mark?? Just will make me more confident going in the interview
C’mon man. A 3.89 usually isn’t even considered above average for banking (average GPA is 3.93 or so for Bulge brackets with a 3.9 cutoff or so) so round it to 3.9
This is so stupid, I’m HR for investment banking, and NEVRE ROUND DOWN.. All else being equal the 3.9 GPA student gets chosen over the 3.8 GPA
Common man….
There are other things you should focus on rather then on marks ;)
I wouldn’t worry, problem is my experience isn’t great – I had an internship at blackstone m&a freshman summer but after that I did more study abroad stuff and didn’t have a soph internship so I’m looking for a junior internship and worried.
I don’t see your problem. You had an internship and then focused on something else now you’re interested in IB again. If you get that into your CV I don’t see any problem.
That is idiotic. IBs mix with people with than kind of GPA all the time. They will think you are trying some kind of lie and cant even get your details straight. If that’s you legit mark, just list it as is and move on.
Just curious – what would happen if you were working on an undisclosed transaction and you went around emailing the company employees telling them that their company was about to get bought out and giving them the valuation/pitch information to prove it?
You’d be publicly executed
Great article!
Behavior/competency questions have always been popular in interviews. Do you have any advice on how to handle those questions?
Also, I encountered the “tell me a joke” question during an interview. Do I have to give a joke that is related to finance?
Thanks!
See the interview guide. This article in the comments for joke question:
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-interview-mistakes/
I’m a senior and interviewing with a boutique/MM that solely focuses on cross-border M&A. If I want to move to PE later, do you think this niche is more or less helpful than being at a more normal small firm?
More helpful if you also move to a cross-border investment PE firm, less helpful if you want to move to a different type of PE.
I’m extremely attractive. Do you think that I should put on some weight before interview season (“round up”)? I don’t want interviewers to realize that I’m God’s gift to women and consider me competition.
Thanks, and great post!
Sounds like a plan…
Hey M&I, first I just wanted to thank you sooo much for making this site, you are a genius and I love your sense of humor.
Now, if an interviewer asked me to “walk him/her through my resume” and I followed ur guidelines, could he be annoyed that I started with where I was born and talked about my dreams and aspirations even though he only asked me to “talk about my resume” essentially?
Thanks!
Don’t spend a lot of time on that first part… keep it short because you want to focus on your growing interest.
Hey M&I,
I’m a third year industrial engineering student also minoring in Economics at university of toronto and I know that none of the big Investment Banks do campus recruitment at my university. I will be doing a one year internship between my 3rd and fourth year at a big management consulting firm and would like to join an Investment Bank as a summer intern right after my consulting internship.
-Last summer, summer after second year, I did research on advanced mathematical algorithms that pertain to portfolio creation and management.
-Do you think I would have a chance at getting an interview since they don’t formally do campur recruiting at university of toronto? even though my school was ranked 8th in the world for engineering this year.
-Do you think its to my disadvantage that I am doing a one year Co-op in management consulting and applying for an Ibanking summer internship after?
-I was in a different engineering program first year of my studies and then switched to Industrial Eng, my CGPA is 3.77 but my Industrial engineering is 3.97 do you think I can get away with putting my Industrial Eng GPA on my resume?
- Also, I was thinking of writing my CFA level one exam in june, do you think that matters at all?
I profoundly appreciate your help and thank you again for creating this blog.
Ok, there are basically 2 problems here:
1) You need to network your ass off to have any chance at getting an i-banking internship. So it all depends on that.
2) You can’t do an internship when you’re set to graduate… so you have to re-think that part of the plan.
For your GPA and CFA questions, see the FAQ:
http://mergersandinquisitions.com/faq
Should your “story” be exactly same regardles if they ask you “walk me through your CV” or “tell me about your self”. I ask because in the guide you say that we should talk about why we want to work for the bank and group, but none of this information is on the CV, and I am worried that the interviewer will think I’m getting ahead of myself.
Also, if he asks me to run through my resume and then I chronologically tell him my story, wont he get annoyed/lost if I start by talking about my college which is on the top of the paper, and move on to my finance spark, which is at the bottom of the paper and then continue moving up on the pape.Ofc, assuming he is looking at the CV as I speak. Or am I just worrying too much?
It’s the same question, so yes your story should be the same.
Hardly anyone actually looks at your resume when they ask you that question, otherwise they wouldn’t be asking you to walk them through your resume… they would just read it themselves.
So I did all the five steps and in the end got an offer from BlackRock. Thanks!
Congrats!
I have a lot of trouble answering the “Whats your weakness/shortcoming?” question.
Can you tell me some Safe Weaknesses that will not intimidate or lower my chances of an offer/
This one is covered in the interview guide – just say something like sometimes you get too close to the work and have trouble seeing the trees for the forest.
Thanks for this article. I have been practicing telling my story using those steps. Do you mind looking at my short script via email?
I don’t offer 1-on-1 consulting services at the moment – if you’re a customer of BIWS you can email or post a comment through there and I can take a look at it.
About the beginning, if I’m an undergrad, then according to your article I should start with my background, which in my case would be something like I was born in country A from parents that come from country B and moved to country C (where I’m applying) when I was 4. However, I also have this story (which I think is great) that starts off 5 years ago (the beginning) while I was working at company XYZ that was involved in B2B. I moved up the ranks and that’s when I know I wanted to get into finance (spark). I then go through the growing interest part leading towards an IB internship I’m currently doing.
My question then is do I absolutely have to start with my “where I was born” part and then fast forward 18 years to the relevant part or can I just start at 5 years ago with my experience in B2B? Seems like the “where I was born” part brings nothing to my story and doesn’t fit. My international background is obvious anyway + my internship is in my native country. Thanks.
You don’t need to start with where you’re born, especially if it’s obvious / doesn’t add much – I would go with the 2nd option.
Hi, I have an upcoming interview soon with a hedge fund of funds. I’m sure there is a good amount of technical/qualitative analysis that goes into picking funds to invest in, but I’m assuming if I get the job I won’t be doing too much financial statement analysis, cash flow modeling etc. (maybe I’m wrong). Are there a certain set of hard skills that they are looking for me to emphasize at the interview that may be more relevant than those I mentioned?
Not really, you still need to know accounting / valuation and so on at a fund of fund, even if you do less modeling
If I’m a post-MBA coming from an IM background and want to pursue an associate position at a bank, what skills are they going to expect me to demonstrate or discuss given that I have no deal or banking experience? I worked with a lot of IPO deals on the buy-side and learned about what bankers did, so that’s the angle I plan to take when explaining my interesting in switching over to banking. Thanks for the info.
Modeling/valuation knowledge, leading analysts, understanding the deal process even if you haven’t worked on them directly before
You mentioned that it’s always better to name specific people at the bank we’ve talked to during interviews. But should I still mention if I’ve only met/spoken to contacts once or twice? Didn’t have enough time to go through the mating rituals. I heard interviewers might come back to your contacts and ask for their opinions, so I don’t want to hurt my chances if they say they don’t really know me or don’t even remember having spoken to me and stuff like that.
You can say that but I would just follow up with your contacts quickly and say that you are applying to their firm, just to remind them and let them know.
hey, what is your opinion on courses like this
http://www.globaltradingcommunity.com/3months_training_course.html
do you think it is going to increase my chances of getting a sales and trading job or you think it’s useless?
Useless, just get some practice trading on your own.
I’m applying for FT banking position, but I didn’t have banking internship this summer. Instead, I did financial analysis/equity research (I didn’t manage to land IBD internship. BBs were out of my reach then, and lots of boutiques I cold-called didn’t have any work). So if I were asked during interviews why I didn’t do banking internship for the summer, should I be honest and say I didn’t manage to get one or should I cook something up like hiring was difficult? What do you think will put my case in positive light?
Never say you couldn’t get one – just say that you were more interested in analyzing the markets and equity research at that time, but that you became more interested in transaction work over the summer.
M&I,
I have worked on the retail side of the brokerage business and founded and operated a hedge fund. While at the brokerage firm I obtained my M.S. in Finance at GWU. When the markets blew up in late 08 I decided to attend Chicago Booth as part of their EMBA program and will graduate in 5 months. I did not do an internship because we had a study abroad as part of the program. From my understanding 90% of associates are selected from interns and I am having trouble lining up an interview.
I would think that I should at least be able to get an interview given my background. Any suggestions?
I would reach out to other Booth EMBA alum and see how they broke in – if everyone does an internship, there must be a way around that or something that everyone else does to get into banking. Otherwise, continue aggressive networking and try to line up a school-year/part-time internship at a boutique that turns into a full-time position later on.
Hello M&I- Thank you for making yourself available. I have found your insights extremely helpful in navigating many questions about entering ibanking. I graduated in 2008 with a 3.0 gpa from a non Ivy school ranked 17th nationally in USNWR. I played golf in school and professionally subsequent to graduation and am now 26. I have seen the light and have some great connections within the industry, but I also realize it is a difficult time now since I am as one guy says “in no man’s land” and have never interned in finance. I support myself financially waiting tables, but am I just spinning my wheels with informational interviews or is it my only move? Any advice you can provide is greatly appreciated.
At this point you need to go to a top business school (and do a pre-MBA internship before) to have a good chance – otherwise it’s almost impossible with a professional sports background.
Hi -
I have an accounting and entrepreneurial background, and am currently in b-school. What advise do you have on my story? I am finding that people don’t buy into why I want to do banking, because they believe I am in it ST (and, I really am not!)
Thanks.
You need to come up with a solid reason why you don’t want to just leave and start your own business again… more structured environment, opportunity to learn more, no longer interested in your original industry, etc. Say that you achieved all you could and had a good exit, but at this stage your career is still growing and you want to learn all you can.
Hi Brian,
Would you say “Tell your “story”"/walk me through your resume” is the same question as “Why investment banking?”
Thanks!
Mark
They are similar but not exactly the same. Why banking is a shorter question/answer and only includes parts of your story.
Hi Brian,
I have read all of your stuff, and it has been beyond helpful in my preparation for applying for internships next summer. Also, I read Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Banker and it is a great book. Do bankers really have that attitude? (Hope they do haha).
Sorry for the tangent, I was putting together my story and it seems like my spark doesn’t fit naturally between my beginning and my growing interest as you have shown. At the same time my growing interest concludes with my spark. Is there a reason you have them listed in the order you do, and would it be detrimental to switch the order around?
Also, I have a friend in iBanking at JPM. I have been keeping in touch with him, and he says he will help me best position myself for the internship, but when should I come out and ask for referrals to the recruiters, and other staff? I am a second year now at a non-target school with a good GPA, and would like to do an internship after my third year. Would you recommend I start this summer and ask for other bankers names?
Thanks,
Lowell
You could switch the order around but it’s more logical like this… just like all movies/TV shows start with the Inciting Incident, you want to start with the “spark” that set off your interest or at least get to it quickly. Ask your friend for help this summer leading up to your 3rd year and start networking over the summer and fall before internship recruiting begins.
Beautiful! Thanks! Would you recommend asking to be put in touch with the recruiting analysts/associates or should I try to get a referral up to an associate and then MD — trying to reach a more senior banker?
Also, if the former, when do analysts/associates get chosen to be on the recruiting team?
Always try to get referrals to the most senior banker. Recruiting team depends on the bank but usually right before and usually they pair up alumni with students from the school
Perfect thanks! I just found out today that GS will be at (I presume also recruiting for internships)our career fair at University of Colorado Boulder. I’m just as surprised as I’m sure you are. Will I need to know how to model by the fair on Jan. 26th? I’m a second year finance student.
Also, a bit of constructive criticism. It would be very helpful to have an email go out when someone replies to our comments, similar to forum subscriptions.
They won’t ask you to build models but they will ask technical questions, so some knowledge helps. As far as email replies: that’s reserved for BIWS customers. I reply to comments here when I get a chance, but since this site is free I don’t want to set the expectation that everything will get a response.
Hi, I’m a sophomore and am having trouble answering the “finance spark” part of this question. The real way I got interested in Finance is below, but it just sounds like something I shouldn’t say as the second sentence of an interview. The problem I’m running into is that, although I’ve been interested in finance and followed the markets a long time and read Liar’s Poker, Barbarians at the Gates, and The Intelligent Investor before I hit puberty, I haven’t done anything quantifiable until college (won a stock pitch competition, invested for the school fund). But, if I mention these things, I go chronologically out of order. I think there are some other things wrong with this too (sounds like I’m in it for the money, nothing about quantitative).
Sample: “I got interested in finance at the age of 13 when I began networking with bankers and finance professionals who I met at exotic car shows. Yes, I went to these rallies to get rides but also to get to know the owners and why they were so successful; and the majority of them came from finance backgrounds. That was the catalyst that initially caused me to start looking into finance.”
Don’t go that far back – just change around your story and say you got interested when you won the stock competition etc. in college
I recently had an interview with a very prestigious boutique investment bank. The interviewer didn’t ask me about my resume (story), why I want to do investment banking, or why I wanted to join the firm. I thought those were the three most important questions. She just asked me about different activities on my resume and some technicals.
That happens… every interview is different, these are just the most common scenarios
You said, when at the associate level it is important that banks don’t think you will jump ship after 2 years.
Is this also true at the analyst level for boutiques? where they are not running analysts through a couple year grind and then sending them off?
Or are most analysts still expected to leave boutiques after a couple years?
It’s true to a lesser-extent, but even most boutiques know that analysts will jump ship after a few years. So you don’t need to show as much commitment / certainty there.
Hey M&I,
Im a telecommunications student, wanting to get into the IT department of a travel industry. How do i justify that at the interview?
Honestly not sure there as this site is really focused on finance; show how you’ve become more and more interested in IT over time and where your initial interest in travel came from.
I am majoring in Industrial Engineering and doing a MBA follow-up. I have a choice to make. Whether to take a scholarship and have to work in Engineering while I do a professional MBA program at the University of Illinois or not take it and do my MBA right after my Bachelors. Would it be better to do the professional MBA program to add to my story to show I can handle a heavy workload or to do a MBA program at a top 10? The scholarship would only cover 1/3rd of my engineering degree and none of my MBA.
You need at least 3-5 years of full-time work experience before doing an MBA or you will not get into IB.
Alright thanks. I picked the working one anyways because I found out that U of I is some what known for the MBA and I think it would be better to work and do school to show how I can handle a heavy work load. Doing so will also get me the 3 years of work experience.
Thanks for your time and I love your articles. I started reading them last summer.
Hello,
im a second year economics student, got an interview with Morgan stanley from 5 months, but was not accepted for the second round of interviews because of some technical definitions i didnt know (i guess). anw, i remember the “tell me about an obstacle you faced in your life” question..and i honestly began talking about other things cz i really didnt know what to talk about..if there wasnt any major obstacle in my life, how should i reply to such a question?
I’m pretty sure you faced major obstacles at some point… or even talk about your weaknesses: http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/weakness-interview-question/ http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-interview-ju-jutsu/
sir,
i am an engineering student in my second year of engineering.i am studying in Indian institute of technology kharagpur.do investment banks take engineering students in their penultimate year of engineering for summer analyst internship program or are they interested in students studying finance only?
I’m not sure – there are some India tips here: http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/
How to answer “highlight your experience related to investment banking” if I do not have experience in investment banks?
Learn to spin your experience into sounding relevant (accounting/finance classes, self-study, even study abroad experiences if you can talk about leadership etc.): http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-spin-investment-banking/
I am wondering whether “why you’re here today” is the same as “why investment banking”–another important question?
Yes very similar http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/why-investment-banking/
I have an interview with a boutique firm that does only M&A and PE. This is off their job description:
“Associates at our firm are in charge of deal sourcing, outbound prospecting efforts, and maintaining relationships with prospective clients. Outbound efforts include cold calling, attending trade shows, and networking with private equity and venture capital firms.”
This to me seems like a very much like a sales oriented role. Is it ok to talk about how money motivated I am (ie aspiring to be a multimillionaire) and maybe even using that as my spark for wanting to get into investing? or is it like a no-brainer already that people get into the field because they want to be rich?
Personally I wouldn’t say that because it sounds cliche and because you probably won’t make millions of dollars there as an entry-level person. Talk about how you’re passionate about sales and persuading people, not money.
Hey, I’m a junior student now. I hope to get a summer intern these days, but I don’t have any finance-related experience. I have a great many society activities (more than one page for the resume, and mainly concentrate on administrative work), should I list them all as a compensation? if not, how to fliter the activities to make it look better?
many many thanks!
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-resume-no-work-experience/
Hey Brian,
I read somewhere that there should be at least something one small thing in your story that is not exactly banking related and is very interesting? How do you think one should weave that into his story?
Also how important do you think it is to be funny in your story? I mean not slapstick humor, but something that makes them smile or something?
Thanks.
Keep it up!
Yes try to include that in “The Beginning” as a random fact about yourself, humor is good but not essential
Just a follow up question (kinda unrelated). You suggest that your story be 3-5 minutes. But a lot of other people/sites suggest no longer than 2 minutes. What is your take on that?
Thanks
Actually I said 2-3 minutes here, 5 is way too long and that wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Shorter is better so aim for 2 minutes if possible
Below is the story of my entire career:
While in undergrad I worked for a Mortgage Brokerage/Bank. I graduated from a no brand school with a low GPA BS Economics. Then after graduation I worked about a year as a temporary contractor for a France Telecommunications Company as Financial Analyst/Assistant Controller/Auditor. After that I started my Masters of Arts in Applied Economics from JHU part-time while working for the US Department of Treasury for half a year.
After graduating I only got one offer which was a back office (portfolio accountant) job at an Asset Management Co for 2 ½ years. Then I worked for a small commodities finance/brokerage as an unpaid intern/volunteer/trainee for 4 months. Now I’m currently working at a Bulge Bracket Investment Bank in the back office (operations).
How can I leverage my past experiences and back ground to tell a compelling story as how it relates to Front Office work?
I’m also afraid that my back ground shows instability (job hopper) and no career progression.
Just leave out certain details and focus on the interest in finance from the Master’s degree as your spark, then go into how you started some back office work but got more interested in IB so went to bank and now you want to move to FO
Do all of the growing interest points have to have occured after the “finance spark?”
For example I have a great “finance spark” – conference where I can give specific names and make it memorable, but it only happened in spring. I did a spring internship (I’m in London) after that, but all of my growing interest (I did actually move from marketing to consulting to finance) happened before the “finance spark” internship.
Thanks
You can do that as long as the story still makes sense
Thanks for the response,
what about if i re order it so:
beginning, growing interest (going through 1 marketing internship and then role as president of a consulting society), finance spark (attended a finance forum), most recent investment banking internship, why i’m here today, future?
this would be in perfect chronological order then.
i.e. is it better to do that than to stick to the beginning, spark, growing interest etc. format, but jump around chronologically (although only once)?
Yeah I would still keep it chronological
Yes should be fine
Hi,
I have received an interview call from a middle market bank for the positions of an experienced associate (1-2 years) in their M&A group. I was wondering if you could suggest what should be my preparation like. A little about myself, I work in the Corporate finance group of a fortune 500 company but more on the operational finance side rather than on the corporate developmenet side. I have gained quite a bit of modeling skills and knowledge of the industry in general. In addition I have an MBA and CFA level1. I would greatly appreciate a breakdown of how I should prepare. Thank you.
Review accounting and valuation and make sure you have a great story about why you want to transition in. Other than that there is not much to say, see all the interview articles on this site.
Hi I was wondering should I be telling the same story in a phone interview? Is 3 minutes too long to introduce myself in a phone interview and if im talking to a HR person would they be interested in listening to my finance spark?
Aim for 1-2 minutes and maybe 1 minute if it’s casual
Hi Brian,
I was hoping I could get your advice on crafting my “why IBD story.” I am a junior at a semi-target and have interned at an investment fund and most recently, F500 corp finance.
The investment fund fits well into the story, however, the F500 Corp Finance is a tougher sell.
My pitch right now is that I chose to do F500 to examine how corporations use capital internally to grow their businesses and generate a return. But I would like to pursue an IBD role because Corp Fin. tends to be inward looking and repetitive; an IBD position, on the other hand, exposes you to unique learning opportunities because of its deal-oriented nature and simply offers more exposure to high level capital strategy as an entry level hire. I have discovered at my internship that entry level corp. finance roles consist mostly of accounting/auditing and process improvement, with limited exposure to finance.
I understand you are very busy, but any of your comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your website, articles, and time spent on reading this post – I will most certainly purchase a copy of BIWS come the next few weeks.
That is a fair answer. However, IBD work can get repetitive & “inward looking” too. I just don’t want the interviewers to think you can’t take “grunt work”; you will be doing loads of that in IBD.
I’d break the answer into three concise pts of why IB (addressing why not work in corporate here too). I’d also try to relate a personal story and talk a bit about the goals I want to achieve through working for an IB. For example, I’d say – As opposed to working for a corp, I want to be in a pure IB environment because I want to be exposed to various deals across the region, thereby accelerating my learning curve……blah blah blah (generic answer but I can’t go into more details here)
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/why-investment-banking/ helps
Nicole,
Thanks a ton, this is very helpful. Appreciate it!
During my previous internship at investment bank I had opportunities to publish my equities researches in the leading financial journals, oriented to the Baltic. Should I be focused on that during interview, since that has quite relatively large circulation in my home country? Would it bring much value in the yes/no decision or the effect most likely might be neglible ?
If that’s the most relevant experience you have, yes focus on that as it will help a lot (ER highly relevant to IB).
I am interested in S&T, particularly in trading career.
Highlights of achievements:
long-term internship in the leading Icelandic investment bank.
Equity researches publication in the leading domestic financial journals.
Member of the Managing Board of Investment Club.
3 foreign languages
How can I best position myself in applying for S&T i.e. which aspects should I emphasize the most etc?
P.S. I had internship as a Financial Analyst…. Regarding these achievements is it possible to break in as S&T intern? To my knowledge, all these achievements are more IB oriented.
Tips on how to position yourself — Emphasize on your passion/knowledge in the markets. hopefully you bought/sell some stocks yourself or/and at the investment club. Know a stock inside out and pitch to your interviewer why you like to buy/sell that stock
Chances? Depends on how convincing you are in the interview. Your experience is useful. Again network and speak to people in S&T in your area
Thank you! Appreciate it!
During senior year of HS I was undergoing medical treatment which would continue into my freshmen year of college, ultimately limiting my prospective geographic reach resulting my decision to go to a non-target. Is this explanation appropriate during an interview when I begin to tell my story? Thanks for your help.
Yes.
Thank you!
How do you explain a gap summer? I have a surprise interview this Friday that I assumed I was not going to get at a BB firm. Last summer one of my parents passed away, so I stayed home instead of going abroad as planned because my other parent and brother became depressed(I know this sounds ridiculous and don’t blame you if you don’t believe me). I tried to remain fructuous thus in the summer, I read a few investment books, a financial modeling book (called investment banking ironically) and did some paper money trading real-time to practice my skills. I actually ended up using real money at the end of the summer (dumb idea). I know I can rehash that latter end of the story but the reason I didn’t do anything else bothers me. I didn’t have an internship b/c I planned on leaving and couldn’t get a job last minute but I feel like I will be asked about that. I don’t want to share the real story.
No, I believe you. I’m sorry to hear about your loss. Actually, I would tell interviewers the real story. I would say one of your parents passed away so you stayed home to take care of the family. You still wanted to improve your knowledge in finance so you have been reading investment books etc. That should explain your gap summer.
Hi thanks for all the great advice…wish I had come across your column years ago! My question is how to move to an analyst position at a p/e firm or hedge fund. I’ve been a financial controller at a hedge fund for 16 years, before that worked on the trading floor of a major IB firm. At this point I could easily move to a larger firm in another controller position or CFO but I’m not really jazzed about the idea. Finished my MBA last year at a school that is well known locally – I rocked all the finance exams and came in 2nd pl with my m&a team in competition . Accounting courses were a breeze but didn’t really interest much. Question is. Would a p/e firm consider me for an analyst position when I have so much experience but not as an analyst? Or should I continue w hedge funds and try to break through to an analyst position – maybe w fof? Unfortunately not an option at my current firm. Would my interviewing strategy and story be different? I.e. Wouldn’t I be asked if I had so much interest why didn’t I do it before? (real answer that my kids were young and I liked the hours of the controller job probably won’t cut it). Any advice for me? I’d be willing to do another courses or Cfa if it would show my interest.
I don’t think the PE firm would consider you as an analyst given your experience. They might also consider you for operations/CFO roles, I think likewise for other HFs. Have you been networking with GPs and PMs at PEs and HFs? Interesting opportunities might pop up. I think its hard to say – oh you should target this fund that fund because it really depends on their needs and whether they fit your skills/background. The most effective way would be to network w GPs and PMs and see what’s out there. Pitching story – just figure out what roles you want to do in a HF (you said analyst – do you mean research analyst roles?) and why if you haven’t done so already. This should be a relatively straight forward story since you’ve already been in a HF. Even though the below article is for people who are trying to break into HFs, perhaps you might find some points in it interesting http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/hedge-fund-recruiting/
Thanks nicole. That’s very helpful -I know I need to get out there and network and as you say there may be interesting opportunities that I might not even have considered.
Hi I did an internship at a boutique banking firm two summer ago, then did a wealth management internship, then right now I am looking for investment banking internships. How could I tie my story together as I cant really say I didnt like banking and wanted wealth management, then wanted banking again? Just afraid the banker might think I either tried to get into banking and couldnt get in or I cant make up my mind. (Real reason was the internship didnt leave me with a good impression of banking at the time)
Say you wanted to experience WM because of XYZ but after doing WM you realize you want IB only
How would a econ and statistics major tie in her expertise to relate it to finance (as in pre-med or engineering major for healthcare/tech groups)? Thank you :)
Obtain work experience in finance and talk about what sparked your interest in IB and why
Hi Nicole,
I had two internships in commercial banking and one internship in economic consulting. How can I tie together and say now I want an internship in, say, trading or equity research?
Moreover, could I say that my finance spark was that there was a stock market boom and my uncle lost a fortune participating in it because he didn’t have the skills and knowledge? So I have always been intrigued and would like to know how the market really works? Would that be a good finance spark?
Thanks alot!
Try to talk about your passion for the markets and investing. If your previous roles allowed you to follow the markets/invest in some way shape of form, talk about that and say you want to pursue you passion
Sure
Hi Nicole,
Thanks alot for the quick reply.
However, my two internships in commercial banking aren’t very market-related. For one I had to gather data and analyze industries’ data, competition landscape. The other one is just some grunt work involving clients and processing documents package. I really don’t know how to spin this.
For the economic consulting one, all I did was to do background researches for cases, and to use bloomberg to do wacc analysis of a company.
Thank you so much.
I had several interviews already and I always felt like my story was weak in some way and they don’t really buy it.
Would 4 hops in the story be alright?
Best,