Dos and Don’ts in an Interview

Don’t Ramble
If you do, you’re considerably more likely to lose your way—and more likely to
exhaust your interviewer in the process! One insider recalled his very first Super
Saturday interview with two senior vice presidents of Goldman Sachs’ M&A
group. After the 30-minute interview was over, one of the bankers followed the
candidate out of the interview room, closed the door behind her, and said,
“Listen, you’re going to do great here. But in your next few interviews, you have
got to be more concise!” This candidate only needed to hear this well-intentioned
advice once: He took a less-is-more approach in subsequent interviews, secured
an offer, and spent his next 3 years as a Goldman analyst. Remember, it’s easier
for a recruiter to ask follow-up questions than it is for her to rein you back in
after you’ve gone off on a tangent.
Learn How to Read Your Interviewer
Along similar lines, some interviews find long-winded answers particularly
repugnant, while others may as well have a therapist’s couch in their office for
you to lie on during the interview (the former group is far more prevalent than
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Interview Roadmap
the latter, however). Some are more intense, while others treat the interview as
a relaxed, get-to-know-you session. The more promptly you can pick up on
your interviewer’s particular style, the better off you’ll be.
Don’t Ever Bad-Mouth a Previous Employer or Colleague
In fact, you should be wary of sounding even the slightest bit sour on your
previous work experiences. Not only would doing so suggest that you’re generally
negative and cynical, but it would not go over well at all with notoriously imageconscious
investment bankers. If you use the interview as an opportunity to vent
about a previous employer, your interviewer will wonder how you’ll talk about
this company when you’re given the opportunity at an interview, a cocktail party,
or in the dentist’s office for that matter.
Recruiters know that it’s a small world, and the last thing they need is a former
employee griping about their beloved firm.
Keep an Interview Journal
It doesn’t have to be a glossy leather cover embossed with your initials, and you
don’t even have to keep it on your bedside table. Our point is this: If a question
comes up once, it’s quite likely it will come up again. Particularly if you feel you
haven’t answered a question effectively, take a minute or two after the interview
to jot down the question and outline what you would say if given a second
chance. You’ll be glad you did when you hear the same question again in subsequent
rounds.
Answer the Question Asked
We know it sounds obvious, but it’s easier said than done (particularly if you’re
a rambler). If you’re really set on a banking career, chances are you’ll have more
interviews than you’d care to remember. Some candidates get so accustomed to
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Interview Roadmap
fielding questions, they become robotic: They hear a few key words, and they’re
off on their unintentionally well-rehearsed spiel. Interviews will indeed begin to
sound the same, but don’t forget to listen to the question!
Think in Bullet Points and Key Takeaways
Not only will this type of thinking in your interview preparation stages keep
you focused and concise, but framing your responses this way in the actual
interview will endear you to your investment banker-turned-recruiter. Bankers
love bullet points and key takeaways: If you can speak their language, they’ll see
you as one of their own!
Don’t Lie, Embellish, or Exaggerate
Remember what your mama said: When you tell one lie, you have to tell five
more lies to cover up the first one. For each of those lies, you have to tell five
more, and so on. Mom was right about this one; it’s hard enough to keep your
stories straight through countless rounds of two-on-one interviews when you’re
actually telling the truth, so don’t make it harder on yourself. Plus, Wall Street is
a small town. Analysts at one bank are often roommates with analysts at
another. Word gets around, and the truth almost always prevails in the end.
Don’t tempt fate.
Act Happy and Excited to Be There
We know that interviews are inherently stressful, but interviewers simply won’t
rally behind a candidate who seems uncontrollably nervous or just plain
miserable. Keep reminding yourself that interviews are fun—when else do you
have the opportunity do talk about yourself for 30 minutes straight?

Graduating with your undergraduate or MBA program

Does this sound familiar?
You’re heading into the final stretch of your undergraduate or MBA program at a
top school, and you’re excited about the vast stretch of open road that lies ahead.
You’ve heard strange but wonderful stories about the world of investment
banking, and you’re intrigued by the prospect of checking out this extraordinary
universe for yourself. You’ve never been one to look before you leap, so you do a
little bit of research before you set off. You’ve read WetFeet’s Insider Guide to
Careers in Investment Banking, followed by Beat the Street: Investment Banking Interviews.
Armed with the sage advice in each of these guides, you’ve attended company
information sessions, trawled through banks’ websites, and spoken to friends who
currently hold the highly coveted banking roles that you’ve heard so much about.
You feel as though you genuinely understand what you’ll be doing on a daily basis,
the sacrifices the job demands, and the opportunities it affords.
You feel certain that you’re well on way to securing your spot. All of the recruiting
media that you’ve seen so far suggest that every investment bank is literally steps
away from world domination (e.g., “We are a global, multi-trillion dollar corporation
whose rapid growth and international presence are unmatched by any of our
competitors.”) and suggests that you, the candidate, are crucial to its very survival
(e.g., “We depend on people for our success—people like you—smart people with
ideas—ideas that can change the world.”). On-campus information sessions that
you’ve attended seem to confirm this belief; the recruiters representing each
company insist that they are simply looking for bright, motivated people. Buoyed
by recruiters’ encouraging words, you’re ecstatic when you’re invited to interview.
You arrive at the career center—well prepared to discuss how your experience in
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Interview Roadmap
pizza delivery relates to investment banking—and bang: You’re deluged with
questions about how you’d value a Manhattan skyscraper and what exactly you
think you’d be doing as an investment banker anyway. As you leave the meeting
with the image of the interviewer’s derisive sneer etched in your memory, you can
only wonder what happened to their insistence that they were only looking for
“bright, motivated people”?
Now, take a deep breath and relax! Chances are, none of this has even happened
to you yet, and even if you’re terrified that it might, WetFeet is here to help! The
good news is that although investment banking interviews have been known to
catch the unprepared candidate off guard, they’re perfectly manageable for people
like you (smart people—people who do their homework, people who want to do
fascinating work). For all the tall tales they’ve engendered, investment banking
interviews tend to be fairly predictable and relatively consistent from one interview
to the next. As one insider put it, “Two hundred thousand people have had this
job over the past 10 years. There’s no secret to what it takes to be successful or the
issues that interviews are likely to focus on.”
Beat the Street II is a companion volume to Beat the Street. It provides more detailed
explanations of the types of questions you’re likely to encounter, along with a list
of recruiters’ all-time favorite questions in each category. At WetFeet, we believe
that you’ll respond to tough questions more effectively if you know what your
interviewer is really getting at with each one. For each category of question, we’ve
compiled a list of specific skills and attributes that the interviewer will be seeking
in your response, as well as a brief review of why those characteristics are so
important for a successful investment banking career. Finally, we’ve prepared some
sample questions that will almost certainly arise in your interviews, along with
guidance on how you can answer them as effectively as our hypothetical
candidates.
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Interview Roadmap
For those of you who haven’t seen this volume’s predecessor guide, Beat the Street
provides an overview of the different areas within a securities firm that typically
hire external candidates each year: investment banking (corporate finance and
M&A), sales and trading, and equity research. It outlines the most effective ways to
conduct company-specific research, prepare your answers for the questions most
likely to arise, and anticipate differences among the first-round, second-round, and
final interviews. The guide includes a broad overview of the basic accounting and
finance principles most likely to creep up in your interviews. Finally, Beat the Street
offers examples of the most frequently posed interview questions, along with
worksheets designed to help you design effective, personalized responses.
A word about how to use this guide: As we discuss later, investment banking
interviews vary significantly depending on the background of the candidate and the
often capricious whims of the particular interviewer. Although we’ll give you the
tools you’ll need to anticipate the questions most likely to arise and we’ll advise you
on how best to formulate an effective answer, only you can craft a response that
truly highlights the particular strengths and experiences that you bring to the table.
As such, don’t get too distracted by the specific work or extracurricular experience
described by the candidates we’ve profiled (and under no circumstances should you
panic if you don’t offer the same range of experiences that they do). More important
than these candidates’ qualifications is their ability to navigate potentially tricky
questions by framing their experiences effectively. And finally, keep in mind that no
written guide can capture the intangibles like enthusiasm, conviction, confidence,
poise, and presence—all of the factors that often distinguish an extraordinary
response from a mediocre one.
With that in mind, get behind the wheel, fasten your seatbelt, and start your engine:
You’re ready to hit the road.

Rules of the Road at a Glance

Self-Awareness Questions
Do you know where you’re going and where you’ve been?
Remember:
• Predict, prepare, and practice.
• Be honest, but emphasize the positive.
• Keep your audience in mind.
Capacity Questions
Do you have the necessary horsepower?
Remember:
• Be prepared for confrontation.
• Imply—but don’t state directly—that your previous achievements prove that
you’re highly capable of doing the work.
• Remember that capacity refers to more than just intellectual horsepower.
Interpersonal Aptitude Questions
Are you prone to road rage?
Remember:
• Where possible, highlight the team-based components of the pursuits listed
on your resume.
• No bragging, blabbering, or bluffing.
• Get comfortable, but not too comfortable.
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At a Glance
Commitment Questions
Are you in it for the long haul?
Remember:
• Know exactly why you want to be an investment banker.
• Examine your resume and transcript for anything your interviewer might
perceive as a gap or inconsistency.
• Remember that investment banks love to be loved, just like the rest of us.
Technical Questions
Do you know what’s under the hood?
Remember:
• Keep your answers short, sweet, and simple.
• Think concepts, not formulas.
• If you don’t know, then just say that you don’t know.
Unasked Questions
. . . and throughout, your interviewers will be asking themselves:
• Can we put you in front of a CEO?
• Will you be fun to work with at 3 in the morning?