Welcome back everyone!

As readers know, I’ve spent the bulk of this year adding career resources for younger credit and investing professionals. In order to further bolster my offerings, I’m also going to start including early career resources for other verticals within Finance. This is is a great way for college students, younger investment professionals, credit professionals, people looking to make a change, or people looking to learn about different topics to get up to speed at an affordable price point relative to other offerings.

I want to build this offering from the ground up, with resources written by myself, but also from professionals from varying career points (Analyst → Associate → VP), with the goal of continuing to add more and more senior resources over time. So to be clear, content will be increasingly more senior over time. We will be working our way up. If you have an interest in contributing, please DM me.

We’re lucky to be joined by FlexUpFirstYear, who recently completed the standard Investment Banking stint and can give a rundown of what banking looks like now a day for you old timers who are past the IB days, as well as for prospective future Bankers.

You can follow him on Twitter here and he will be back at a later date to discuss on the on the job Investment Banking tips and post-IB recruitment advice.

His piece on landing an Investment Banking Analyst role is below:

Introduction

When I got into college, I had a very minimal understanding of the world of finance, and specifically, investment banking, yet I always knew one day I wanted to do “business.” And so, the first step I took towards that goal of mine was applying to my university’s undergraduate business school, hoping to get one step closer. During my summers in college, I interned both in investment banking and consulting and then ultimately re-recruited full-time for a different investment bank. Through these experiences, I learned a lot about the dos and don’ts of recruiting, and the path to earning offers from multiple firms.

Where Do I Begin?

When I got into my university’s business school program, I saw this as the first step towards ultimately ending up in investment banking. Coming from a family of mostly doctors, I had always been interested in banking as two family members of mine had gone into the field. However, I had absolutely zero f*cking clue what an investment banker did, or what EBITDA was (and yes, I seriously asked someone what EBITDA was in a class and they looked at me like I had two heads). So, during my sophomore year, I got very interested in learning what exactly a banker did. I took any class I possibly could that had a relation to banking because I wanted to understand what it was that I wanted to be doing with my summers and the beginning of my career. This is probably the most important piece of advice I can offer for students looking to make a career in investment banking: Actually understand what it is that you want before undertaking the hard work it takes towards getting the internship or job itself.

Network, Network, and Network Some More

In any industry, who you know and how you build and maintain those relationships matters, but its importance is amplified in investment banking. You’ve seen people talk about doing “100 coffee chats a week,” or “sending thousands of networking emails” to bankers, but in all honesty, being overbearing like that will sometimes deter you from getting what you want. In my own experience, the best phone calls, and interactions I had during my recruiting process were often the ones where I genuinely spent the time to talk with the person about their job, but also other things they enjoyed about the city they were in, sports they liked, or just general life advice. Having now been on the flip side of networking emails and calls, I cannot stress enough how short, meaningful, yet to-the-point emails or LinkedIn messages have worked best on getting me to reply to a college student. For reference, the typical message template I used when reaching out to bankers was as follows:

“Hi NAME,

I wanted to reach out to introduce myself. My name is FIRST LAST, I'm a YEAR in the BUSINESS SCHOOL at COLLEGE with areas of emphasis in XYZ and ABC. I'm currently recruiting for investment banking roles and am specifically interested in COMPANY. I'd love to hop on a call sometime next week to hear more about your experience at COMPANY thus far. I’ve read a lot about the firm, and it seems like a great place to be. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. Thank you!

Best,

Your Name”

The best people to reach out to were often analysts and associates, and LinkedIn and email were oftentimes the two best methods of getting someone to reply. Having now been on the receiving end of networking messages and emails, I can tell you what absolutely works in getting a reply. First, please do not send emails later on at night or early in the morning, when an analyst is getting in after getting blown up by his MD’s comments all night or is still grinding away at the office, that is likely to never yield a reply to your networking emails. Second, make some sort of connection with the person in your subject line – maybe you went to the same school, maybe you know their cousin, or maybe you just so happen to have gone to the same summer camp growing up, making a connection is very important. I always noticed myself replying to students who were at my university or those who made an effort to mention we were also from the same state or part of the state, for example. As a third point, make sure when that person does reply, you are quick in response to scheduling a call or coffee chat with them, as they are typically busy and may have that time slot blown up by their VP for a random one-off task anyway. When on the call, try to talk to them about the exact questions I’m answering in this post, but do not talk about just that. Point out something interesting about your background when asked, or something you noticed they mentioned, as my favorite conversations I had with potential candidates were those that did not center solely on banking – one was about sneakers and streetwear, another was about our favorite sports team, the list goes on. The main point is – just be a normal person who you can show the analyst or associate you are someone they would want to work with – this will go 10x farther than asking them about banking for 30 minutes straight.

You Got the Interview, What Next? (For Interns and Full-Time Candidates)

         I went through both internship and full-time recruiting for investment banking, as the firm where I began as a first-year analyst at was not where I interned. Here, I’ll offer advice on both processes, as well as noting the differences I noticed between the two.

Internship Season

As an intern, the process of recruiting for investment banking may seem extremely daunting. Sure, you’ve put in your hours networking and spending time getting to know the industry and job itself, but what exactly does it take to get an offer at a prestigious firm, and what are the key things that are looked for in candidates when filling the ever-so selective summer analyst spots?

In most first rounds, you’ll be met with basic technical questions, as well as behavioral questions which make for simple conversation. Typically, you’ll be interviewed by a junior team member for your first round, so they will be closer to you in age than say an MD would be. The most important thing I learned going through my various processes was that you must know your technicals very well, not perfectly and robotically scripted, but very well. I highly recommend getting your hands on the classic Breaking Into Wall Street (BIWS) “The 400 Investment Banking Interview Questions & Answers You Need to Know” guide. This guide will be a basis for knowing all of the basic technicals you will be asked throughout your interview processes like I was. The way I like to always put it is that your understanding of technicals is no different than taking the SAT or ACT. It displays your ability to study and perform well-crafted and correct responses to standardized questions, with the exception of random technicals that will get thrown in. When you can check the box and say “Hey, I know my stuff” and score that “36” like you did on the ACT to get into a top 20 school, firms will have no problem hiring you. However, you also need to be a great fit for the firm and the team.

         When it comes to summer analyst recruiting, the biggest thing I realized was how important fit was. And now, having been on the other side of it all, I cannot stress how important it is to just be yourself, and know that if you’ve studied all your technicals, done enough research into the firm itself, and prepped as much as you can, you’ve done all you could have done. When looking for what makes sense for our summer analysts, we looked to see if they were technically proficient first, as this was somewhat of a prerequisite before deciding who would be the best fit. In terms of fit, the specific group, or team, matters a ton as they want to hire people who will fit their specific culture well. Additionally, teams usually want to hire people they know they can spend 12+ hours a day with and not entirely hate their life. In my analyst class, my firm made a specific point to hire people that fit the firm and team’s culture well, as the analysts in my class ultimately became some of my closest friends, something I give a lot of credit to my firm for in making the right choices on fit. The interns we selected this past and prior summer all shared similar characteristics we were looking for and ultimately got along very well. In doing so, it creates a camaraderie that a lot of banks seek to have among analysts, as they do not want to just take the best and the brightest students at times if they are like talking to a brick wall.

         For full-time recruiting, fit matters a ton, but technical ability is much more important here. When I went through full-time recruiting, I had to keep in mind that these firms were not taking a chance on me for one summer to get to know me, they were taking the risk of hiring someone who could be a lifelong employee, a 2-year analyst, or someone that leaves after 5 months on the job and decides banking is not for them. When hiring for full-time, there is so much variability firms must think about given they have never gotten to spend time with each candidate. This is where things differ. Fit is extremely important for full-time recruiting as well, but expect to be asked harder technicals and have a stronger understanding of what the role and job looks like itself, as they are assuming you have had prior finance or investment banking experience. More importantly, know your story well. If you are leaving a different bank, explain why this switch makes sense for you and why the new firm is a better fit for your career goals. If you are leaving a different type of role within finance, explain why investment banking is a better fit for you and the type of work you seek to engage in post-grad. All in all, what matters more for full-time recruiting is that you must make your case for why you want to be at the specific firm you are interviewing for, and you must be convincing about it.

Interview Specifics

         In terms of doing well in your interviews, there are typical questions and things interviewers look for, and things I made sure to touch on when going through the process. I’ll break this down into a couple of smaller sections for ease and help with focusing on each.

The Elevator Pitch

         Without a doubt, in any interview you will ever do, you will be asked to walk through your resume or tell the interviewer about yourself. Having been on both sides, there are key factors here that make an elevator pitch about yourself memorable. First, keep it short and genuine. One of the worst things I’ve come across when interviewing interns is that they drone on about their resume and background, without keeping it short and simple. The way I thought to always talk about my background was by discussing where I was from originally, how I ended up at the college I was attending, and then got into how I found an interest in business and specifically investment banking. From there, I’d try to keep it around 1 to 2 minutes, hitting on as many vital points about myself as I could. In doing so, this would usually leave room for questions about myself from the interviewer – maybe we grew up in the same area, maybe we went to the same college, or his or her best friend did, or maybe they liked the hobby on my resume, anything could work. Being able to convey my most meaningful parts about myself in a 1-to-2-minute dialogue was key to getting conversation flowing with many of my interviewers.

Technical Questions

Technical Questions are the easiest things to get right if you know them, yet it is not always about just getting the answer right. As I had mentioned earlier, the BIWS 400 IB Q&A Guide was my best friend throughout internship recruiting, and it should be yours as well. A couple of main questions I felt were always asked in both internship and full-time recruiting were as follows: 1) walk me through the three financial statements, 2) what are the three (or four) main valuation methodologies, 3) how does depreciation going up $10 affect the three financial statements, 4) which of the valuation methodologies typically yields the highest valuation (Comparable Companies, Precedent Transactions, DF analysis are examples), and 5) walk me through a DCF or LBO. In knowing these questions, it is important to not only know the right answers but understand why the right answers are what they are. When interviewing summer analysts, the most important thing we looked for was seeing if the candidate could think their way through a technical, and fully explain it, as opposed to just reciting answers off a memorized sheet of paper. In my full-time recruiting processes, I felt this was even more important, as my interviewers wanted to make sure that I had a true understanding of what I was explaining to them, as the ability to critically think on the fly is one of the most important skills you can display when going through an interview process. For example, understanding why an increase in $10 of depreciation flows through the statements as it does is key, not just the increases and decreases of dollar amounts that you get right on each statement.

Another concept with technical questions that I feel is often misconstrued is that you do not need to get every single technical question correct. I know for a fact at the investment bank I ended up at full-time, there were technical questions I answered incorrectly, yet answered gracefully. When going through these questions with your interviewer, it is extremely important to display critical thinking and your understanding of the questions, however, if you do not know the answer, it is better to try to walk through it with your interviewer, as opposed to admitting you do not know, or boldly answering the question incorrectly. It is also fine to admit you do not know the answer, as well, yet I would not simply just say that as your answer or say that off the bat.

Behavioral & Firm Questions

         These are often overlooked, yet they can be some of the most important questions throughout the summer analyst recruiting process. I definitely did not dedicate as much time as I could have to behavioral and firm-specific questions throughout my processes, and at times I felt this hurt me. In my experience, some of the most common behavioral questions include: 1) talk about a time when you overcame adversity, 2) what are your greatest strengths and/or weaknesses, and 3) what is your leadership style like. For firm-specific questions, they often look like “why FIRM XYZ?” or “what makes you a good fit for our firm / investment banking?” For the behavioral questions, it is important to have short stories to back up your answers that pertain to school, another internship, or some business-related experience. Whenever a candidate had a story that did not fully answer the question, I could tell there was a lack of preparation, which I totally get, yet those who made it to the next round always had solid answers for these questions. For firm-specific fit questions, it is a must to know why you want to work at this specific firm. Are they based in Omaha, Nebraska? Read up on why the bank was started there and the prominence of that. Is the bank a bulge bracket and named Goldman Sachs? Talk about deal size and experience as a motivating factor as opposed to “wanting to work at the best bank on the street.” Another key question I was once asked and completely whiffed on was “tell me about a deal our firm or team has recently worked on.” I got a question like this during a full-time process at a middle market bank, and I can tell you they did not like that I had no clue about any of their team’s deals! (I also, quite frankly, was hungover and probably looked like an idiot lol). So, if there is any advice I can offer for firm-specific questions, know each and every firm you are interviewing at well, and know a deal or two they have recently worked on and some key terms or metrics from the deal. Knowing the CEO of the firm, or perhaps an EBITDA multiple on the deal their TMT team recently closed can help a ton as it shows you have spent the time, or done your ”due diligence” looking into the firm and its culture.

Knocking Your Interviews Out of the Park…What’s Next?

Finally, here are the important things to do after an interview is done. Likely, your interview calendar invite should have your interviewer’s email on it, however if not, feel free to ask at the end of the interview or just infer from the person you have been in contact with for the interviewer’s email. It typically will be standard throughout a firm. A follow-up note is key when going through any interview process. While it will not be make or break, it may be something that certain interviewers may make note of. It will almost always help your case by sending a follow-up note, as I have been told that by prior interviewers and have enjoyed getting them myself. You should aim to keep these notes brief, yet detailed. A follow-up note can thank the interviewer for their time and touch on one or two topics that you may have discussed about the interviewer’s background, or the firm itself. From there, I recommend sending these after every interview you go through, especially after your super day. Once you’ve ultimately gone through many processes at various banks, you will hopefully have landed an offer in hand.

The Internship and Beyond

As daunting a process as it seems, don’t overstress over recruiting. At the end of the day, it is just a job, and whether you get an internship offer, break in for full-time, or take years to get into the industry, it is not the be-all-end-all of life. Having been in the shoes that many of you so very much want to get into, I can tell you that you should take a deep breath, prepare as best you can for recruiting, and put in hard work to get to the shop you want.

Once at your summer internship, there are a couple of key qualities we look for in interns to convert to full-time hires: Being hungry and wanting to help and learn in any way possible is extremely important. The interns we had who were always willing to stay later or help with a slide, help pull, some data together in an Excel, or any small task were the memorable ones who landed offers.

Next, it is also extremely important to just be easy to get along with. Some of my favorite interns we have had were those who were willing to tag along for lunch, chat about a random sports game, or just about life. As an intern, you’re looked at as both a younger college kid and a potential coworker, so being able to mesh well with a team is extremely important.

Finally, displaying a proficient understanding of the technical aspects of the job is not as important, yet if you’re asked to help with something you do not know, please make sure to ask questions. Especially as an intern, the phrase “there are no bad questions” holds very true. The best interns we had were always curious and wanting to learn more, so they learned more by asking questions about specific aspects of a model, financial metrics of a company, or even just how to use certain shortcuts on Excel or PowerPoint. If you can focus on a few of these things during your internship, you will be golden.

While the recruiting process for both summer analyst and full-time positions is never easy and is a funnel that is hard to make it out of, I can assure you all of the advice I have given comes from a perspective of having gone through both summer analyst and full-time recruiting for investment banking, as well as interviewing for two years of summer analyst candidates. Investment banking is a career that is a great learning experience, in which you find camaraderie with your fellow analysts like no other job, however, it is also extremely hard to break into and not for everybody. There are so many paths one can take in life, and investment banking is just one of them. I myself interned in both consulting and investment banking before figuring out which fit me better, and I recommend every one of you to do the same and broaden your horizons while recruiting for banking. Sometimes a bulge bracket may not be the best fit, as a smaller boutique may be the perfect fit instead, and vice versa. If you are fortunate enough to earn an offer and break into the world of investment banking, give your internship your all but also take the experience to learn as much as you can and figure out if investment banking is right for you. I have had a few friends lateral to a different bank of preference, into consulting, or an entirely different industry after a summer or two in banking. Use the recruiting process to strengthen your network and learn as much as you can, while doing the same with your summer internship experience. I hope this has helped inform you more about my experience from both sides of the plate when it comes to recruiting for investment banking. Give it your all and I hope that you too can end up becoming a first-year analyst living in New York City in a sh!tty Murray Hill three-bedroom apartment with flex walls. Over and out, FlexUpFirstYear.

Hey Everyone, it’s High Yield Harry writing again to cap it off. For anyone on the entry-level side preparing for interviews, I recommend reading the following of my vaulted newsletter pieces:

• Resumes and Excel & PowerPoint Shortcuts

• A Guide to Networking

• How to Plan for your Career on Wall Street while still in College

Thanks for tuning in. A Credit specific job hunt and interviewing piece will be coming soon.