If you are a sophomore interested in investment banking, then chances are that at this moment you find yourself managing midterms as well as the banking recruitment process. It can be a lot, so I recently asked one of Penn Career Services very own Graduate Assistants, Alexandra Donovan ( second year Wharton MBA student), to share some of her insight and knowledge of things to keep in mind as you navigate through it all–from the HireVue to the Superday.
1. It’s ok if you feel like your resume doesn’t already have a lot of explicit finance experience on it—especially if you are a sophomore. What matters is that you’ve taken the time to understand what banking is, what the role of an analyst is, and why you want to do investment banking. The more specific this answer is, the easier it will be to convince a banker that you are ready to make the pivot. Coffee chats are a great way to gather information to craft this answer.
2. When discussing your past internship experience, practice connecting what your day-to-day tasks were with the ‘bigger picture’ of what your team or organization was trying to achieve. Even if it seems like you were just doing busy work or administrative tasks, your answers will be more impactful if you can connect what your tasks were to this bigger picture.
3. For technical questions, specifically answer the question they are asking—do NOT just dump all the technical information you know! Bankers usually have a specific set of technical questions they must ask you—use your time wisely and only spend about a minute answering each question to make sure you can get through all of them.
4. Research and practice talking about 2-3 M&A deals that interest you, particularly if you are trying to join a specific coverage group. Know how much the deal was, what premium was paid, what the EV / EBITDA or EV / Revenue multiple was, and the strategic rationale behind the deal.
5.Your pitch and “why banking” answer will set the tone for the rest of the coffee chat or interview. Spend a lot of time upfront crafting these two answers because they will be the way you start every conversation!
6. Prepare way more questions than you will actually have time to ask, and organize your questions into themes so that you can convey a sense of thoughtfulness and structure it as more of a two-way conversation.
Themes can include: Career path and progression: How did you decide to do banking? Why have you stayed for XX number of years? What have been the biggest changes when getting promoted from Analyst to Associate); Day to day role of an analyst: What kinds of tasks are analysts specifically assigned? What separates a good analyst from a great analyst? Can you tell me about a time when you were assigned something you had no idea how to do, and how did you figure it out? Can you tell me more about any mentors or advisors you’ve leaned on in the early years (whether it be a fellow analyst or someone more senior)? Structure of the specific coverage or M&A group: How did you decide to join your specific group? What are the different verticals that this team covers? If you’re interested in tech, what is the breakdown in coverage between the East Coast and West Coast tech teams (New York is often heavily semiconductors, West Coast is often much more software focused, but it depends on the bank)? Have you been able to focus a bit on the verticals you are most interested in, whether that is through live deals or business development work? How much time do you spend doing business development work, and can you tell me more about how that differs from live deal work? Culture of the bank: Do you feel like you’ve been able to find mentors and advocates to help you navigate the workload and performance reviews?
7. Spend some time understanding how investment banks are organized and where your role in the organization would sit. Figure out which bulge bracket banks have separate M&A teams and which combine it with the coverage groups. Understand what the capital markets teams do and how you would interact with them as part of the investment bank. Read the Vault guide and ask bankers these questions!
8. Practice, practice, practice! The only way to master both behavioral and technical interviews is to practice your answers out loud. Ask a friend or parent to ask you questions from the 400 Questions Guide, and schedule a mock interview with Penn Career Services.
We know it’s tricky out there right now–but keep your head down, block out the noise, and take time to reflect and focus on you, you’ve got this! And as always, Penn Career Services is here to help, make an appointment today!
