The Best Advice on Cracking an Investment Banking Interview
Jobs in Investment Banking have recently gained many takers as they are both upscale and lucrative. Students opt for these careers as they offer an opportunity to play in the proverbial big leagues with mega giants and big bucks. The most important step of venturing into this career is the interview, famous for being extremely grilling and hardcore these interviews can make any aspirant break into a sweat. Now although these interviews might seem to be like something to be reckoned with, with the right foot forward, both figuratively and literally; one can totally ace it. Here we bring to you some very insightful advice on how to crack an Investment Banking interview.
Getting your Basics Straight
At a lot of investment banking interviews, the interviewers play the game of yes or no. In simpler terms, they will gauge whether you are worth her time or not. So you need to make sure that your opening speech has to have a lasting impression on the person sitting right in front of you so that he/she takes notice of your words. The first question usually asked to expand your resume or to elaborate about yourself. The key here is to be as confident as one can be about oneself and for doing so you need to know your resume like the back of your hand. Knowing your resume through and through wins you half the battle, now all you have to make sure is that, you present yourself in a way that; faltering over any of the technical questions will be overlooked.
Droning on Gets You Nowhere. Being concise is the way to success at any interview, and this works best at an investment banking interview. Interviewers usually look for someone who can describe themselves in the best way in the least words possible. Speaking to the point and including all of the relevant bits let you hold onto the attention of your interviewer and ensures an offer letter at the end of it. Now being concise doesn’t mean that you speak in monosyllabic sentences. Be crisp, be clear and speak directly to the point instead of beating around the bush.
Know Your Company. Knowing the company which is interviewing always works for the best. Before you go in make sure that you know everything about the company by getting down to each detail of all that the company does. It is imperative to know that the interviewer is trying to gauge you for the entire duration of the interview, so when he describes what his company does to you, he should not feel like you are hearing this information for the first time. Polish Your Knowledge. Now here, if you are a first timer or applying for the starting position, it is imperative to know that the interviewer won’t ask you a very complex question. Most of the big companies consider that the new joinee would be like clay and can be thus molded into any shape that is required. Thus if it’s a big company there are chances of it providing for proper on job training for all the freshers. That being said, it doesn’t mean that you should adopt a complacent attitude, ensure that your basics and primary concepts are clear. You need to have a basic knowledge of how a DFC analysis is done, WAAC, know all about the terminal values and the working of the 3 financial statements and other financial concepts that you are expected to have know. The above are just a few tips which work as verbal cues to be judged on but it is also important to know that there are certain non-verbal cues that can help you in nailing the job. Few of the important things to know is to dress for the job in the most appropriate manner, behave in a way which is respectful as well as professional. The vital thing here is come across as a confident amiable person who is sophisticated yet is approachable and can fit perfectly in a team. There are a lot of institutes which go offer a host of services wherein they help you with everything related to the interview for investment banking. One such seasoned institute is Imarticus Learning which has various courses to offer in the field of investment banking and they also offer to polish up your resume and give you valuable tips for cracking an interview.