Why Investment Banking?
Why do you want to do investment banking?
Expect this question in every single interview – so be prepared and have a good answer ready.
But you probably have a poor idea of how to answer this one, at least if you’ve read other guides.
-You want to learn a lot.
-You’ve done well in finance classes.
-You like a fast-paced environment.
And if you want to sound exactly the same as everyone else, feel free to use these types of responses.
But if you want to succeed in interviews, you’ll have to be more memorable and give answers that make the other person actually like you.
You should use either the “Big Picture” or “Slice of Life” method to accomplish this.
If you’re a career changer, you don’t have a finance background, or you can’t think of anything specific that made you interested in finance, use the “Big Picture” method.
The outline is: Background in One Industry + Experience in Finance = Success in Achieving Long-Term Goals.
So maybe you worked in healthcare, and now you want to combine finance with your industry knowledge to advise companies on transactions; or maybe you want to go into venture capital, using your engineering background and new-found finance knowledge.
Don’t know what you want to do in the long-term? Not a problem – just make up goals and be consistent with what you say.
If you’ve had solid finance experience, the “Slice of Life” method is your better bet.
With this one, you start off with the event that made you interested and then explain how that interest developed over time.
-You started day trading when you were younger since your dad was a huge fan, so you became more interested in the markets and also did several internships.
-You had the opportunity to meet female executives at banks during a leadership retreat and that sparked your interest.
You can combine these methods as well – but keep your story short if you want the interviewer to listen.
Aim for 20-30 seconds at most, keep it brief and on point, and you’ll be well-ahead of 90% of interviewees.
Riyan Richter writes about the job search system, how to successfully network, and how to get into the finance industry at Mergers & Inquisitions, the internet’s leading resource for investment banking and answering the why investment banking question in interviews.
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