The Investment Banking Interview Selection Process
“Life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them.”
-Bud Fox, Wall Street
Heading into an investment banking interview? Make sure you read this carefully, since your life will depend on it.
One of my most frequently asked questions is how exactly investment bankers decide who gets an offer following a round of Superday interviews. Sure, maybe you did everything right to close your interview offer, but ultimately it’s up to those who interviewed you.
Although it may be tempting, you don’t want to be like Bud Fox and use inside information to get an investment banking job.
Who Calls The Shots
Unlike the investment banking resume review process, Managing Directors are actually involved in handing out offers. HR, by contrast, does essentially nothing aside from the logistics. They don’t review resumes or make any calls themselves, aside from possibly how many Analysts to give offers to. But usually the MDs tell them how many they need.
Typically everyone from Analyst level to the Managing Director will interview candidates. It’s ultimately the MD’s decision who gets hired and who does not, but everyone does have a say in the process.
The Selection Process
After the first round of interviews, the interviewers decide among themselves who they want to invite back for final round interviews. We don’t “rank” people but generally have in mind the best few people we saw that day.
Sometimes there are too many people and not enough slots, in which case we will give slots to the best few and then decide who among the rest should get an interview. This part of the process can be unfair because not everyone has interviewed all the candidates and different people have different standards.
During Superday, each interviewer will evaluate different qualities (leadership, drive, technical skills, etc.) for each candidate. There is no “ranking” most of the time unless there are a ton of great people and not enough slots. I’ve never seen that happen as there are generally very few outstanding people.
Afterward, HR will gather everyone up for a debrief and see what people thought. Usually consensus emerges pretty quickly on who we give offers to, who we say no to and who we put “on hold.” The MDs have final say, but very rarely do people disagree. And needless to say, if an Analyst is pushing for someone but no one else liked him/her, the investment banking analyst is overruled.
How Many Get Selected
The absolute number depends on the office, group, and specific bank so it’s meaningless to list that here. In general, we will receive 500-1000 investment banking resumes for 30-50 spots, then give Superday interviews to 10 of those 30-50. Then we will pick 2-3 of those to actually receive offers, or maybe even fewer depending on how interviews go.
On a strict percentage basis, your odds aren’t great here. However, most people we interview do not stand out much and you can greatly improve your chances just by following a few simple interview tips.
Investment banks repeat this process at different schools until enough Analysts are hired. If there’s attrition mid-year or people back out of offers, we might look for lateral hires.
What We Look For In Candidates
School/GPA is almost irrelevant after the interview. It’s only relevant for getting your foot in the door.
Generally I look for people who really, really want an investment banking job and will do anything to get it.
Some interviewees are doing it just to test the waters and don’t really know what they’re getting into. Bankers can spot people like this from a mile away.
You don’t want to be one of them. Prove that you can work hard on very little sleep, learn quickly, play well in teams and are hungry to get experience and you will get offers.
Does The Interview Selection Process Change From Year To Year?
Not really, no. This is one area where banks could improve their interview processes – see who does well in the job vs. how they came across in interviews, and look for more of the qualities that result in good Analysts.
It’s very easy to discern a good interviewee from a bad one, but it’s much harder to tell good bankers from bad bankers before they actually do the job. I know of people who interview very well but are actually bad employees and I know of great investment banking analysts who are terrible at interviewing.
It’s never a perfect process but reviewing past interviews and hires may definitely be a good way to re-calibrate things.
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Great post about the intricacies of recruiting.
Thanks Justin, glad you found it useful.
Just went through this process and received an offer. Wow totally didn’t realize that this was going on in the background. Sounds very much like what our fraternity does during rush and giving bids to the new pledges. I DEFINITELY don’t want to hear what the MDs had to say about me then haha
Bobby: it’s definitely like a frat rush and nearly as random as well. Lots of talking crap about people, people trying to push for those they like, etc. Congrats on getting an offer!
Hello – UK reader – 2 questions..
1..is a superday interview, the same as an assessment day (otherwise known as an assessment centre, or USA version assessment center!)?
2..is every graduate hire position referer to as an analyst position or does this vary from department to department (e.g. sales, trading, investment research, etc, etc.. see this article on investment banking to see what I mean.
Cheers!
1) Yes.
2) Varies from department to department. Sometimes it’s called Associate (Equity Research for example), sometimes Analyst.
Hello – UK reader – question..
1..is a superday interview, the same as an assessment day (otherwise known as an assessment centre, or USA version assessment center!)?
2..is every graduate hire position referer to as an analyst position or does this vary from department to department (e.g. sales, trading, investment research, etc, etc.. see this article on investment banking to see what I mean.
Cheers!
Hi im from UK too nd i wonder that if the selection process in the USA is different from in UK.
i am a first year biochemistry student in Uni and i want to do summer interns in my second year in Uni. before i kept biotech jobs as my future career path in mind, however recently im quite passionate about banking. biochemistry isnt a very math based course although it does require analytical and some numeracy skills like all sciences do. so im currently self learning some further maths such as engineering maths. my question is that if im applying for positions outside of quant how much maths should i know??
my second question is that since i dont have finance background, how much knowledge on finance should i know especially when dealing with interviews? i look up what investment banks do on wiki and tried to learn some concepts and technical terms in finance but found out that this isnt a very specific way to learn. could u advise me on what to read to prepare for interviews etc ??
im sorry to bother you for these long questions but im lookin forward to ur replies. thanks….
You don’t need to know much math… the math used in finance is very simple.
The interview guide on this site is good preparation for interviews, also read the Financial Times or WSJ each week to start picking up the lingo and learning more about the industry. You don’t need to know everything but the basics are essential for interviews.
oh rite…thank you very much. i before thought when it comes to investment banking all people do are like building complex models using Matlab and solving complex calculus that must be solved by using computers. so now i get it those things are only for quant am i correct ?? thx again
Uh you never do anything “complex” it’s just addition/subtraction and sometimes multiplication if you get really fancy.
hi.. i read that guide again. however for those technical questions like valuation and modelling or accounting, considering im from somewhere totally outside of finance nd never took finance lessons will i also be asked on them as well ? or is it just asking me my thoughts on some financial news and movement?
You will still get those questions, because if you don’t know that stuff they take it as a sign that you’re not that interested in the field… so you need to know your stuff regardless of your background.
hi … im now thinking to have a try for IBD in my internship. so i will just have to make sure that the stuff i must know are the following: some knowlegde on modeling in M&A, business valuation, some knowledge on balance sheet, some knowledge on derivatives (but not knowing the detail like option pricing using black schole equations) . Am i correct with the stuff i said above ?? what else shud i know ??? thank you
You don’t need to know anything about derivatives other than options and TSM maybe. See all the articles here on interviews and the interview guide… already wrote about this topic many times.
I have just gone through the superday interview of Barclays Capital, Hong Kong. It was specially designed for all the Global Markets candidates(20 in total). Two days have passed and I still didn’t hear from Barcap, neither offer nor declining letter. I heard some of the candidates who apply for sales have received phone calls from Barcap sales department right after the interview, saying that they have got the offer. I am worried about my situation and I guess maybe it is because I apply for trading and different departments have different approaches. Is it possible? Or does it mean that I have been put on the declining list…
It could be anything – I would just call them and check ASAP.
Thanks for your suggestion. Now I have got the offer from Barcap, trading department, summer intern (this coming summer), Hong Kong. What do you think the trading of Barcap in Asia? And do you know whether the retention rate of intern in Barcap is high or low? Thanks!
I don’t know much about Barcap in Asia but I would definitely take it unless you have an offer at GS/MS lined up.
Hi.
I was wondering as to who the person is who skims the resumes and selects the people for the 1st round interview. Is it the analyst or associate? I ask this because we need to know who to network with i.e there is not too much point networking with an analyst if its the associate who picks the interviewees for the 1st round.
Usually the analyst for analyst-level resumes
Just a quick question? How do I make sure I get on the short list of people being interviewed at our school. I started networking a while ago, and was able to set up a few informational interviews and get my name out there. However, my efforts have not been as successful as I had hoped. I am at a target where there are tons of kids who have great GPAs and fancy-sounding, albeit laughable, “extra-curricular” activities on their respective resumes. History shows that I can do well during an interview, I just need the interview. Any suggestions?
Also, I purchased the interview guide and the networking guide. Good stuff for anyone interested.
It’s a matter of asking bankers directly as possible for an interview at their firm… if you look at some of the case studies on the site (example: http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-engineer-no-finance-background/) you’ll get a sense of the numbers and what you have to do to get noticed. The bottom-line is that you need to follow up and ask people repeatedly – otherwise they will forget, “not have time” and so on.
I am a French business student and trying to apply for the Summer intern IBD in London. Majority of the banks’ online application deadline are end of January. SO do you think when will be best time for submitting the online application and when will the first round interview kick off?
They review everything at the same time, so the time when you submit your application doesn’t matter much. First round interviews usually start 1-2 weeks after the submission deadline.
Hi Brian,
I have a question about references. Do bankers actually call up references after interviewing? (HR in the earlier interview rounds and bankers in later rounds)
Usually they only check during the background check process after you have an offer
Thanks?also, do you think it’s helpful to have informational interview with HR person? what would I ask during an info interview with them…
Thanks!
It helps but overall HR is not quite as helpful as bankers themselves.
Hello,
On average, how many people will make it to first round interviews from target schools?
For example, if 100 people people applied to JPM for IBD from Columbia University, how many will make it to at least first rounds? I’m assuming the number is higher than on average since the banks actively recruit there.
Also, is it slightly “easier” for girls to make it to first rounds relative to guys (since fewer girls are applying relative to guys)?
” In general, we will receive 500-1000 investment banking resumes for 30-50 spots, then give Superday interviews to 10 of those 30-50.” More than 100 people from Columbia will apply, but usually they interview 20-30 for the first round… so maybe 10-20% will get first round interviews. Girls have more of an advantage in interviews themselves, on a resume everyone looks the same.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the article. I have a question concerning one of the main questions banks will ask you during their interviews.
What would be a good way to approach the question “Why do you want to work at *insert bank name here*?
Would it be wise to use some statistics about the firm, use some personal experiences (i.e. visited the firm, met great people), or a combo of both?
Would really appreciate your insight. Thanks!
Talk about the people you met… statistics are silly to use for that type of question.
Hey Brian,
Purchased your guide. It’s been very helpful and I really appreciate it.
I was hoping I could ask for your opinion on something that wasn’t exactly covered in the guide. What if you were faced with a question such as “If you received a grant of $50,000, how would you spend it?”
Would it be wise to answer this question as an investment question? Or do you think it’s more behavioral? What would you say is a good way to go about this question?
Thanks,
Bob
This is actually similar to question #6 on pg. 54 about what to do with $1 million if you can’t use it for business or investing. Tie it back to your interests or hobbies – volunteer or nonprofit work is perfect if you’ve done it, but otherwise say that you would use it to explore something related to one of your interests and conduct a study or set up a new program or organization or something like that.
Also for future reference if you’ve signed up for the programs here you’ll get a faster response if you email us via the BIWS contact form or leave a comment on that site – I try to answer what I can here, but customers always have top priority and that makes it easier to tell that you’ve signed up for a course we offer.
Hello,
Recently, I had interview with Morgan Stanley PWM Hong Kong. I did all three rounds of phone interviews in a week or two. But now three weeks have passed and I still haven’t heard from them yet. Is it a general hiring practice for them that no reply more than 2 weeks means a no? Or their hiring process takes more than three weeks? Or do you think I should contact the HR office to ask? Thank you so much for your help.
Scarlett
Usually that means it’s a “no” or that you’re on the wait-list. Contact HR to ask.
Hi Scarlett
Could yo share your interview experience? I am gonna interview with them soon. Thanks.
Hello,
I have recently passed my superday interview (with Associate and VPs) and now I am going to do an interview with 2 Directors. The day after, I am also going to meet the head of HR. Does this mean that I passed or not yet?
Thank you!!
You advanced to the next stage but you don’t have an offer until they give you one officially
Hi Brian,
I am having a phone screen interview next week. I get the contact information of the person I will be interviewing with. Should I contact him in advance? or what should I do to utilize this resource to add credit to my interview?
Thanks.
No do not contact him in advance, maybe see if you know anyone else at the firm and speak to them in advance then bring their names up in the real interview
Hi Brian,
I had my interview this week. It was scheduled to be 30mins. After the 30mins, the interviewer asked if I would like to schedule another 15mins to talk with him so he could make the recommendation and of course I did. Is that a good sign?
Sure
I just had a first round interview with a BB. I am transitioning from a year out of school spent in strategic marketing consulting in China (in a very small company but with extremely high profile work), with some internships (at two different prestigious BBs, but not in IBanking: Marketing and PWM) in college, definitely a 2nd-tier school (a top public engineering university, but I was a non-engineering major). I was told the second round of interviews will be in another week.
What’s the best way for me to spend this week? My Excel skills are terrible (Consultant! Hello?), so should I learn more Excel? Should I crash-course financial models like crazy over the next week?
I want to crush the second interview as I did the first (all of the questions were about fit, and both MDs were verbally impressed by my work experience and outright stated, “I have no worries at all that you’ll be able to fit in with us.”) If it makes any difference, this position is in Client Strategy.
Replied to your email earlier but focus on the Fundamentals part of the modeling course and make sure you review all the interview questions there, ignore Excel until you’re about to start working
Hi,
I am currently enrolled in an undergraduate commerce program at a fairly prestigious university (definitely a target school). Unfortunately however I did not apply myself quite as much as I should have in my first several years and my GPA shows the effects of it (it’s approximately 3.0/4.0).
My question is two parts: first, is it better to have average/unremarkable grades from a top tier school or outstanding grades from an unheard of school? And second, is having strong grades in the final two years of a four year program enough to overcome an average overall GPA?
Thanks for your time, M&I is an amazing site. So informative.
Better to have average grades from top school, easily. Strong grades later helps a little but won’t save you if overall average is low.
Hey Brian,
I am currently going to a community college however I expect that I will transfer to UC Berkeley next year, by the time I graduate UCB I believe my GPA will be around a 3.9. Will banks care that I went to a community college for a year, and how negative will they view that?
It’s not that bad as long as you get the UC Berkeley name on your resume
What about UCLA? And their business economics program?
Also a good choice
Brian,
If I’m unable to get into UC Berkeley or UCLA, for econ or business economics respectively, would it be better to go to UCSD for Management Science or go for like a history major at UCLA? And let’s say I go to UCSB?
I don’t think UCSD is a target school. Not sure about UCLA but I’d imagine so banks recruit there. History major – not sure if that’s relevant to banking but you can always spin a story. Your call.
Hey Thanks Nicole,
Since UCLA isn’t a target school, would it matter if I went to let’s say UCSB instead. I hear they have a good business economics program. I probably will also make into USC, but it’s not really my top choice. However, would it be a good school?
Honestly, I don’t know. I’d have thought UCLA (I thought I implied that in my previous comment?) is a better choice vs UCSB? I think some banks recruit at UCLA. but I am not sure. USC is a decent school and I think some boutiques/financial firms on the West Coast recruit there. I’d suggest you to contact the career centers of those schools and ask them. They can point you to the right direction!
hi, i am currently having IT degree and CIMA part qualification. i was called for the final interview in an insurance company with managing directors. my preferred position was ‘Management trainee – Finance’ how can i differentiate myself from other candidates, so that increasing the chances of being hired? and what MDs might expect at the final interview?
please assist me in these issues.
I really don’t know much about insurance there so can’t help you, but make sure you emphasize how you can save them money or time or help them earn more money – most people fail to do any of those.
Hi,
I was selected as a sole recipient of a prestigious scholarship given to one person each year at my school, and the person who graduated a year ago with the same scholarship is now in Lev Fin at a top BB. I’ve talked to him about the scholarship and my interest in investment banking, and I have some questions:
1. At what point should I approach him about my interest in working with his specific firm and how should I go about it?
2. Would he be able to help me get an interview in a different group specializing in M&A?
3. Is Lev Fin more competitive to break into than M&A and what do they look for differently? If it depends on the bank, should I just apply generally or do I need to state which sector I’d like to go into during the interview process?
Sorry for all the questions, but you’re answers seem helpful to everyone else above so I thought I’d ask. Thanks!
1. Talk to him now but only make the direct request right before recruiting begins.
2. Probably couldn’t help much unless he knows people there.
3. http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/leveraged-finance/
Hi,
You mentioned what not to say but what if an interviewer asks about what I dont like about banking.
Thank you
Ha! I have never had this question raised to me before. I’d probably say something along the lines of – I am the kind of person that gets things done and I am not usually too keen on/involved in politics. I understand there’s politics everywhere, and probably quite a bit in banking given bureaucratic environment. My focus is to work well w people and get things done
Hi Brian,
Thanks for all of your great work with this site. Many of these recruiting and networking tips have worked very well for me in landing interviews during this recruiting season.
Anyway, I just had an on campus interview with a boutique bank literally a few hours ago and now find myself in a sort of precarious position. I thought the interview went well, especially because the more senior interviewer and I shared a few things in common which led to half the interview being carried out rather casually, which can only be a good sign I am thinking. The younger interviewer offered me his business card towards the end of the interview, but the more senior banker did not. When wrapping up the interview, I forgot to ask for his business card. Now I cannot remember his name and am kicking myself because of it. I want to follow up with him and thank him for his time but don’t know what to do. Would it be appropriate to send a thank you email to the other banker and then in it ask for his information? Or will this just come off as weird/unprofessional? The other option is seeing if I can get his name by contacting my career services office who most likely keep on record all the interviewers, but I would have to check.
Anyway, I was hoping to get your opinion on this and insights as to whether or not it’s as big a deal as I’m making it, and how I should best proceed. I know that in another article you said that the thank you note is not overly critical since decisions will likely already have been made, but I still think they’re important especially in a situation like this where it would be useful to continue the rapport we built up in the interview and thank him for his time.
Thanks a lot in advance.
I wouldn’t even bother because thank you notes don’t really matter. Thank the junior one if you want but don’t bother asking for the senior banker’s contact info.
Hi, Is the competition the same for various position in the front office within a bank? For example: IBD, IMD, S & T? Isn’t the investment banking position the most competitive?
Thanks.
Not necessarily. Depends on supply & demand (positions available) and your skills
Is IBD always the most competitive in terms how many people apply and how got selected?
Thank you
You can say so but S&T and ER and other front office roles in top firms can also be very competitive. It depends on your strengths really
Is it easier to break into ECM than IBD? Are brain-teasers commonly used in trading interviews common in ECM? Thanks.
ECM is a bit more qualitative but I wouldn’t say ECM is easier to get into than IBD. No. More so in trading
How many technical questions might I get in my first round interview? I received an email on Tuesday saying I have an interview with a BB firm on Friday. Love the date, I have two tests and a project due then. I feel like I’m moderately prepared for some fit but don’t have much time to prepare but feel like I might need to study up on some technicals. I know its mostly fit but I am freaking out right now. I honestly didn’t even think I was going to get this, apparently networking in September can lead to something in December at the time you don’t want to be interviewing, go figure.
First round shouldn’t be too technical though a few of those questions might pop up
Relax. Worrying doesn’t help. I think knowing how to pitch yourself, craft your story and answer why that division in the BB are the most important!
I had my first round interview a week ago and have just been invited to a second round. After my first round I dropped a thank you note to the analysts who interviewed me. Does it make sense to drop them another note to thank them for making a recommendation to put me into the second round? I don’t want to make them feel as if I’m sucking up to them. Thanks!
Nah one thank you note is fine.
Is there any use in emailing the interviewer references after a first round interview? I have good contacts from my last summer in equity research.
I don’t think so, unless they ask for it
Hi,
Is CUNY Baruch a good college for going to investment bank?
I heard really good things but I was worried because the campus is kind of bad.
Thanks
Some people from there do go into banking but it’s not really a target school; NYU or Columbia are better bets (though obviously far more expensive)
Hi Nicole,
Is it ok to email HR asking about the division of the person you are interviewing with (an MD)? Or is it better to ask him directly?
Best
Ask the MD directly because you always want to speak with the person who has the hiring power, rather than going through a “middle man”, unless the MD refers you to talk to someone else in the organization
Hi Nicole,
So can I email some thing like
“Hi, Mr….
I would love to know what division of …. you are in?”
I feel like that sounds little bit awkward.
No, you should have done your research and know which division that person you are contacting is in. Once you’ve done your research, you should then ask him for a job.
Hi Nicole,
I am sorry for the confusion. I am having an interview next week, and its with a MD of a BB. I searched online and everything but nothing came up as of his division. I emailed him about how I should prepare and what I should expect but he didn’t reply.
Do you think it is okay to get this information from an HR?
Best,
Yes you can try to email HR and see if they have any suggestions for you. I’d also try to speak to others in the industry to see if they have any suggestions