Culture Questions Flashcards
Why would you want to work at a smaller firm?
Smaller environment means that I’ll get more responsibility and have better/closer interactions with the bank’s clients
Why are you interested in us specifically?
- Reference someone you’ve spoken with who works at the bank and mention what that person had told you about the bank
- List bank-specific reasons (found online) as to why that bank piques your interest above others
Why are you interested in our M&A division as opposed to other groups?
I want to gain robust technical skills and modeling capabilities. I also want to work with a wide variety of industries and markets, which I can’t do as well in other groups. I think that learning from people with in-depth knowledge and expertise about technical skills and negotiation would be a great place to kickstart my own development of those same skills.
Why do you want to work in our Capital Markets division?
- If activity is high/doing well, mention how experience in that area will be positive and high volume will give you plenty of chances to do meaningful/impactful work and improve your skills
- If activity is depressed/not doing well, highlight your long term view of the market and how it will recover in time, and how you want to experience the journey of that recovery from a depressed state
- Talk about longtime interest in the markets, and how you’ve found the concept of IPOs and offerings to be interesting (mention specific examples such as Lyft dual class shares, Uber, Levi’s 2nd IPO, etc)
What do you think our bank’s greatest weaknesses are?
Say something not harmful/offensive
- Say how they might not be strong in a region or within a a certain industry as another bank
- But also mention how this isn’t too important to you as you’re more concerned with other aspects of the firm
Which of our competitors do you admire the most?
- Point out a competitor that has a well-known quality
- Explain how the bank you’r interviewing with has that quality or might even exemplify it more
