Failure questions Flashcards
What’s your greatest fear about investment banking?
Doing a lot of work on deals and not always getting to see them through to the conclusion because anything
could cause a large transaction to collapse” or having concerns about the deal flow if the market is poor.
What’s your “Plan B” if you can’t get into investment banking this year?
If I have absolutely no way to get into banking at your firm this year, then I’d go work in the Valuations group at one of the Big 4 firms where I already have an offer – or to the 2 boutiques that keep inviting me in for interviews.
That guy over there has a 4.0 from Wharton/Harvard – why should I hire you over him, given that you’re much less impressive?
At a bank, you want someone who’s smart, can do the work, and is easy to get along with. I’ve done well in school and on the job as a consultant. I have great recommendations from my previous bosses and it all comes down to real-world experience and what kind of camaraderie you have with everyone. I’m confident that I
excel in both of those areas – and since I’m not from a privileged background, I’m even more motivated to succeed than someone who is. Everything I’ve achieved so far has been done through my perseverance and motivation not to give up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I am the last one to give in, which is quality I bring from years of playing basketball.
Your MD is meeting with a client and you have been invited. As he’s presenting, you notice a mistake in the materials – do you point it out?
No – unless it happens to come up in the meeting, in which case you speak only if the MD asks you about it. In that case you should just briefly acknowledge it and then move to a different topic.
It’s bad if you make a mistake like that, but it’s even worse if you embarrass your MD by pointing it out in broad daylight – chances are that no one will notice anyway since they barely read pitch books in meetings.
Why are you so old?
I realize I don’t fit the typical profile of someone applying to banking – but that also comes with some advantages. > I’ve been around longer and explored different industries, so I have a better of what I want, and I’m going to be more committed than someone just out of school.
> I’ve also had a lot more leadership experience and understand how to get things done in a large company – and I’ve climbed up steep learning curves plenty of
times over the years.
