Article Trunk



Why Do You Want to Do Investment Banking?

10.31.2009 · Posted in Finance Articles

So, why investment banking?nnYou need a good answer for this one – because you’ll get it in every single interview.nnBut other guides do a poor job of guiding you on how to answer this question.nn-You like learning.nn-You like corporate finance.nn-You’re always in search of a fast pace.nnNone of these is “wrong” – the problem is that they’re too generic, and they don’t set you apart from other prospective bankers.nnSo if you want to succeed in interviews, you need to be more personal and give answers that make an interviewer remember you and more likely to “go to bat” for you in the future.nnYou can accomplish this with the “Big Picture” method or the “Slice of Life” method.nnUse the “Big Picture” method if you’re a career changer, you don’t have a finance background, or you don’t have a specific story that made you interested in finance.nnThe basic idea is: Background in One Field + Finance Experience = Long-Term Success.nnMaybe you’re a healthcare policy analyst and you want to combine your industry knowledge with investment banking so you can advise companies one day; or maybe you’re an engineer who wants to go into venture capital, combining technical knowledge with finance.nnDon’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.nnThe “Slice of Life” method is better if you’ve had solid finance experience.nnWith this one, you start off with the event that made you interested and then explain how that interest developed over time.nn-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.nn-You went to a summer leadership camp and met top female executives at investment banks, which sparked your interest in the field.nnYou can combine these methods as well – but keep your story short if you want the interviewer to listen.nnAim for 20-30 seconds at most, keep it brief and on point, and you’ll be well-ahead of 90% of interviewees.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.