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After setting up 114 informational interviews during recruiting season, you made it through alive and got 3 bulge bracket investment banking offers.
You picked your top choice, and now you’ve spent the last 5 months in Buenos Aires partying.
But then one day you get a letter from your bank: your sell day is coming up next week.
So what do you do now?
Why?
You already have an offer, so why does anything else matter?
Because your performance on sell day determines which group you’ll be placed into.
And that determines which exit opportunities you’ll get, which business school you’ll get into, and your life 30 years into the future.
Screw up your sell day, and you could just fail life.
What?
It’s called a “sell day” because the bank is courting you for once. You already have the offer, and now different groups are lining up to recruit you.
Each group will present and pitch you on why you should join them: they’ll pull out league tables, PE / business school placement stats, and will do everything short of bribing you with cocaine to convince you to join them.
At the end of each presentation, you’ll get a chance to network with the bankers who presented and also “sell” yourself to them.
The ranking mechanics are simple: you rank your group preferences, and then each group ranks the incoming analysts or associates it wants.
HR then tries to match up everyone so that you get into one of your top-ranked groups and each group gets their top-ranked recruits.
Speed dating meets investment banking.
Who?
Summer analysts, full-time analysts, summer associates, and full-time associates all go through the sell day process.
It doesn’t matter quite as much for summers because it’s only 8-12 weeks rather than 2-3 years.
If you’re a former summer analyst who accepted a full-time offer with a specific group, you won’t get to play unless you’ve asked to switch groups.
And if you interviewed for a specific group already, then you also won’t get to participate in the festivities – this is more common in regional offices and at middle-market / boutique banks.
Not every group recruits at sell days, either – sometimes a group might have no openings because summer interns already filled all their spots.
How?
There are 2 parts to the execution of a sell day:
- Preparation beforehand.
- Performance on-the-spot.
Preparation
You want to do some research on the bank, the different groups, and recent deals they’ve done.
You don’t need to memorize league tables or the names of everyone at the bank, but it’s good to have a few talking points.
Go and contact alumni or anyone else who’s already at the bank before your sell day to ask these questions and get your name out there.
Don’t bother “studying” for technical questions. Bankers will not ask you to multiply 35 * 17 or what a PIK note is – “fit” questions and chit-chat are far more likely.
You should also contact everyone you met during the recruiting process and set up in-person meetings around the time of your sell day – and before it, if you can.
90% of incoming analysts and associates never bother to set up these “off-book” meetings so you’ll have a huge advantage if you can get the real scoop on different groups.
During these meetings, cut to the chase and ask which groups are good, which aren’t, and how you can really get placed where you want – remember how you need to ask for what you want in order to get it in the investment banking networking process.
Performance
This one’s very similar to investment banking information sessions: don’t do anything stupid, meet as many people as you can, and collect business cards.
What Not to Do:
- Ask lots of irrelevant questions during the presentation just for the sake of asking questions.
- Stand in a corner and avoid introducing yourself to anyone.
- Appear too casual and start talking about how you just got arrested in Vegas or anything else you would not mention during an interview.
After the presentation, introduce yourself to as many bankers as you can and try to chat with each one for at least a minute or two.
Unlike information sessions, where it sometimes pays to get into an extended discussion with a banker, on sell days you don’t have enough time to do this.
So talk to each person, collect a business card each time, and if you’re pressed for time focus on the staffer and the other senior bankers because they have the decision-making power.
Types of Questions
Unlike informational interviews or information sessions – where you’re better off sticking to personal questions – you can and should throw in business-related questions on sell day.
Examples:
- How do you like this group?
- What kind of deal flow have you had lately?
- Why did you decide to work here?
- How many / what type of deals are you working on right now?
You can still ask personal questions about their backgrounds, but sell day is as much intelligence gathering for you as it is courting recruits for the bankers.
Follow-Up
After you’ve gotten business cards from everyone, send follow-up emails quickly – within a day – especially to your top-ranked groups.
If you’re ranking 10 groups, you don’t need to follow-up with every single banker you met – focus on your top 2 or 3 choices.
Unlike normal networking situations where you want to ask a substantial question in each interaction, saying “It was nice to meet you” and writing a short note is fine for these emails.
The purpose is to get your name out there and to make them remember who you are – not to build a relationship with every single banker.
You can reference whatever you spoke about with them as well – but chances are you won’t remember dozens of conversations very well.
What Next?
Contact everyone you met during the recruiting process and anyone else you know at the bank to ask which groups are solid, and see if you can meet with or speak with them before sell day.
Figure out which group you want to get into, and then dominate your sell day by meeting as many people as you can, following up quickly, and doing what you can outside sell day to come out ahead.
And maybe, just maybe, you won’t get stuck doing equities in Dallas.
Questions & Answers
Q: Which group should I pick?
A: Depends on your goals. If you want to do PE, groups like M&A, Financial Sponsors (maybe not this one quite as much), and Leveraged Finance are better; if you want better hours or you’re interested in investor relations, go for Equity Capital Markets.
It also comes down to the people in each group – M&A might sound nice on paper, but maybe the hours are better and the exit opportunities are the same in another group all because of one Sycophant in M&A.
There’s no “right” answer here because it depends on your background and what you want to do in the future.
See: Investment Banking Summer Analyst Group Selection.
Q: What happens if none of my top choices ranked me highly?
A: Unlike speed dating, you can’t just be rejected by everyone – so they’ll place you in a group that wasn’t as popular or that couldn’t get their top choices either.
This doesn’t happen all that often – believe it or not, not everyone in the world wants to do M&A.
Q: I am obsessive compulsive and need to study something beforehand. Are you sure I shouldn’t study technical questions or memorize league tables?
A: Knock yourself out – some people are happier in hell.
The usefulness is close to 0, though.
Q: Are there any questions that I shouldn’t ask in the networking sessions after each presentation?
A: Don’t ask about the lifestyle or hours, because you might give the impression that you’re actually expecting to have a life.
Also don’t do too much “dirt digging” in these sessions – asking about which MDs are good and which are bad – because your conversation will be overheard. Save that for your off-book meetings.
Q: Should I meet my contacts for coffee or go to their offices if I’m setting up meetings before sell day?
A: Duh, go to their office so they can introduce you to everyone else.
Q: Do I need to get HR’s “permission” / go through HR to do any of this?
A: No, once again HR is useless. Do as much as you can without their involvement.
More questions? Ask away.
About the Author
Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions and Breaking Into Wall Street. In his spare time, he enjoys lifting weights, running, traveling, obsessively watching TV shows, and defeating Sauron.
Free Exclusive Report: 57-page guide with the action plan you need to break into investment banking - how to tell your story, network, craft a winning resume, and dominate your interviews
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Under COVID are sell days in person or online? For this upcoming year in SA 2022
Who knows, banks keep changing their policies. If “cases” are lower by the time the sell day takes place, it might be in-person. Otherwise it will be online, which means it’s basically useless.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for all the resources you provide for us!
I have a question about the mutual ranking process. Is there any game theory-type strategy to it?
Say there are two groups that would rank me very high. One is by far my first choice and is desired by a lot of people, and the other is probably my second choice but not as desired by other people. Now, could it hurt my chances of getting my top choice if I put the less desirable group as my second choice?
If HR is using a matching algorithm that minimizes the overall ranking numbers (gets as many 1st, 2nd choices and as few 9th, 10th choices as possible), then since a lot of other candidates will ranking my second choice low, the system may find it beneficial to give me my second choice so that someone else can have my first choice, since giving out a 2nd choice and a 1st choice is better than giving a 1st choice and a 5th choice, you know what I mean?
So if it works this way and I REALLY want my first choice, should I just put my first choice first and then have it followed by several groups that will rank me low, then followed by my second choice?
I know that this is probably overthinking it and trying to game the system is risky, but I’d like to know your thoughts on strategies.
I think you are over-thinking it. Most banks do not do anything that advanced to match people. It’s informal and mostly based on who already knows you and what they think. So you should just put your #1 choice first.
Unfortunately didn’t get any of my preferences for groups for the Summer. I am in London, how would you go about getting a more preferred group for FT (at the same bank or another) to ensure I don’t annoy my current group and put at risk m return offer?
Accelerated recruiting ‘events’ from other firms won’t be happening due to the pandemic I assume?
There is realistically not much you can do in the current environment because yes, accelerated recruiting is extremely unlikely to happen this year (see the recent articles). All you can really do is reach out to other groups when you start working and ask about a switch, but given the risk of that backfiring and your group finding out, it’s better just to do as well as you can, get the return offer, and switch later on.
Thanks for that, much appreciated. Can you clarify “switch later on”? Do you mean do an analyst year then ask to swap/lateral, or do you mean get the offer then ask/shop around before FT starts?
Yes, work for a year in one group first
Hi Brian and M&I Team,
Thank you for such an amazing post.
I am having a bit different situation here. I will not have a sell day before the summer, so my SA program is a generalist one; however, I am sure that the FT program will be group specific.
I wonder if you have experience in how the group selection process works? Also, should I reach out to people in my interested groups now (before the summer) just to gain some advantages?
Thank you in advance.
And just to add, I am not in the city where I will be interning, and the coronavirus makes travel less of an option just for now…
Thanks.
Group selection will probably be based on the needs in different groups and which bankers know which interns. So, yes, definitely reach out to the groups you’re interested in now to gain an advantage during the summer.
Hi Brian,
Really wanna thank you for answering so many questions and maintaining such a giant web for hundreds of thousands of readers.
I suspect bankers may not wish to meet me in person because of coronavirus. Would you suggest emailing them to set up calls first then maintaining the relationship, and trying to visit them in, say, May when the situation gets better?
Also, would you say asking bankers to be my mentors/buddies in such settings appropriate? Not sure how mentors/buddies are picked in the SA program though. Does HR just randomly assign each intern a mentor/buddy?
Thanks again for your help.
Yes, just focus on the phone and email for now, and hope the situation improves eventually. I would not explicitly ask someone to be your mentor or “buddy,” but yes, it helps to have someone like that informally on your side because return offers are based on who is a strong advocate for you.
Hi Brian,
Thank you so much for your help.
I have purchased the IB Networking Toolkit. Would you recommend sending emails similar to intro email requesting informational interview, intro cold email, or something else in the Toolkit?
Also, would you say that mentioning something like “it would be great to meet up in-person (from your Weekend Trips Module) + ‘in your office'” in an email a few weeks later when the situation gets better sounds wired if I want to go to their office as you suggested above?
Appreciate your help.
I would follow the examples in the bonus module on Email Networking near the end because those have much better examples of email templates in all scenarios (directly asking for a job, following up, requesting an informational interview, etc.).
I would just avoid all suggestions of in-person meetups for now because all of that will be frozen for at least a few months. All networking will have to be phone or email-based for now.
I would be extremely grateful if you could shed light upon two further questions…
Is it ok to ask if their groups do modeling? It may sound like I’m considering exit opportunity already… And do current bankers and past interviewers know who the incoming interns are or have a list of incoming interns’ names at this point?
Thanks again for your help.
I would not ask if the group does modeling because a) You should be able to figure that out pretty quickly (M&A/LevFin/Industry Groups/Restructuring = Yes; ECM/DCM = Not really) and b) It varies a lot by team and individual within the group anyway, so they probably won’t tell you anything useful.
Yes, they should know who the incoming interns / full-timers are, or at least have a rough idea.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your invaluable advice.
Follow up on the thread (for some reasons I cannot comment below), I would ask one final stupid question.
In my online application last year, I use the college email for primary email, while putting my personal one with a really silly address for the optional secondary address. Neither interviewers nor HR ever asked and I got the offer. I did fill out an info collection form where personal email was asked for and I put an appropriate one there.
Now I’m worried because I don’t know how current bankers can know who SAs are – would they just have small talk and find out or receive a thorough list that shows names & contact details including secondary emails in online application?
If the latter, it will be super embarrassing when I reach out to bankers and they check my details on the list…
What attire do you recommend for sell day?
Hello,
I have a summer offer at BB and I have couple of questions regarding preparation before the sell day. I was curious who will be the ones in the group to actually rank the incoming summer analysts – will it be the analysts? staffer? or more higher-ups like VPs and MDs? The reason I am asking this is so that I know who I should be talking to and networking with before the sell day. In fact, is networking aggressively with the group even before the sell day effective? Thanks.
Associates, analysts and staffers rank incoming summer analysts I believe. VPs do occasionally provide their input too.
You brought up an interesting blurb in your article, about how various groups will try to show you stats regarding how may of their employees go on to certain buisness schools. I assume they are refering to top-teir ones (e.g. Stanford) or else it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. Do they publish that stuff online? Where could i find the numbers for different banks and groups?
Yes, I’d think so, but most banks’ employees are usually very ambitious so I’m not surprised if a lot of them attend prominent business schools. They don’t publish such information online I believe.
I have a summer offer at a BB and they will have their sell day for summer analysts in a few months. My top groups would be M&A, Financial Sponsors, and LevFin (original, I know…). When asked “Why our group,” would the following responses be good answers?
M&A: I want to learn about the mechanics of company financials in M&A transactions and gain significant technical experience.
Financial Sponsors: I want to work closely with the “movers and shakers” who are the ones doing these large deals that I always see in the news.
LevFin: I want to learn about various types of debt because it is something I have not had much exposure to in the past and something that I am particularly interested in for that reason.
Yes those responses are decent, though you may want to refer to the links below for FS and LevFin; I think your responses there can be improved:
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/financial-sponsors-group-fsg/
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/leveraged-finance/
Hello,
I have accepted a full-time offer out of college at an investment bank. However, there doesn’t seem to be a “sell day,” and the HR’s said that basically we just rank our choices and they will rank us. I have talked to a few of the folks from the group I really want to be in, but at this point, nothing is certain. If these talks went okay, would it be most likely that I will be in that group? Like, the group will probably pick candidates based on familiarity right, so as long as people in the group are familiar with me and have at least a neutral stance on me, they would pick me based on familiarity? Or how does it work?
Thank you!
Yes, if the group really likes you, you’re more likely to be placed into that group. In terms of how the process works, it really depends on the bank. But I believe you’re more likely to be placed in the group if you know that group well.
I’ll be joining Bar Cap in two months as an associate. I’m kind of curious what process we go through, because after training we have a three 5-week rotations before our final group placement. Can anyone provide insight regarding this type of process? Do we also have a sell day and then we rank our top choices and those are the ones that we get for the rotation? Or is there no sell day and rather everyone gets at least 1 of their top 3 choices through their rotations and then that’s how teams choose?
Thanks
I will be joining a BB in Hong Kong as a FT Associate. Have not heard anything about a “sell day” and in fact this is the very first time I have heard about this.
Is this event still true, does it hold true for Hong Kong (“regional”)? And if I wasn’t made aware of it before, is that an oversight, or is this just something that will be made aware to us during training.
Thanks
Hello,
I’m interning at a BB in IBD this summer and am interested in one particular coverage group there. The sell day hasn’t occurred, and we haven’t even received information about the placement process yet.
Nevertheless, one of my interviewers is an MD in my group of choice so I contacted him over phone so as to indicate my interest in the group. He then forwarded me to a senior analyst in the same group whom I chatted with as well, who again referred me to yet another analyst in the group I will speak to over the phone in two days time.
From your experience, who ultimately has the say when it comes to sorting interns in specific product/coverage groups in IBD? What do you recommend I do in addition to hopefully land a place in said preferred group?
Your advice is appreciated. Thanks!
The whole team has a say, because you’ll be working with the whole team, and most likely under the supervision of an Associate and Analyst. I’d recommend you to meet everyone on the team and make a very good impression! I wouldn’t pester them, though I would be subtly persistent!
Hi Brian!
Thanks to M&I I got an offer and we went through our sell day(s) where a lot of coverage/product/s&t groups presented. One MD started shooting in depth questions at me that I knew a fair amount about, so he was extremely impressed with my performance. Now he’s asking around about me (presumably to take me into the group). The problem is that this is not my top choice (maybe 4th,5th)and I want to push for other groups. How do I stay on good terms with him while saying (in terms of banker speed dating)”let’s just be friends?”
Thanks in advance,
John D.
Congrats! I’d suggest you to have a coffee with him and see what he’s thinking. You should also network with MDs in groups of your 1st and 2nd choice and see if you click with them. If this MD really likes you, you might want to get to know him better because you might end up wanting to work for him!
Thanks Nicole, but unfortunately HR has put restrictions on “approved” networking/interaction, so coffee is out. I definitely will follow up with my top choices though. Your thoughts?
Hi Mr Brain,
I am Suganthi, i work a KPO in India for a U.S based Hedge fund. I have been working for US market for the past 2.5 years. I have access to Firstcall and Reuters news sources and we have our own huge database, which has historical data about the companies. If new news coming about the stocks in the universe track list, I will try to capture the probable impact on the companies’ profitability, I will also categorize the news based on the parameters such like, whether it is expected by the market or not, is it one time or will it continue, structural or cyclical, any impact on supply chain or industry so on.
I have tried CFA last June, i dint get through. I dont want to give one more try because my salary is less. I want to do equity research, is there any course which can enhance my skill. Kindly suggest me a course. Thank you
CFA will help ER. CAIA might also help, not as useful as the CFA though. You can also try breakingintowallstreet.com/biws/
M&A, Random Question: Do I-Bankers in NYC use the subway or drive to work. I’ve always wondered this
They are no different from you. They can use the subway or they can drive depending on their preference
Hi,
after an internship in a BB regional office, I was invited in London to meet the IB teams; the invitation says I will network with junior bankers at lunch and meet the senior bankers individually afterwards, the day after I will meet the team of my preference. I don’t understand whether will be more like a superday or a sell day? Thanks
Yes this is similar to a superday. The link below should help you:
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-interview-questions-and-answers/
I recently had an interview with an M&A group at a well known region investment bank. The position is for an experienced analyst. I am entering my 2nd year at a BB bank in the real estate group.
I know the interview went well and the interviewers’ feedback was that they were impressed but I was told the job was given to someone coming from an M&A group at another bank. I found out today that that person declined the offer, would it make any difference to reexpreas my interest at this point in the position or am I completely out of consideration? Thanks.
Yes contact them again
Thanks for the insightful article!
I am an intending SA in a BB in asia. I guess the process is a bit different here and I seldom heard of anyone having a sell day. From what I heard of, they usually just ask you to indicate your group preference and then get back to you with the result.
But normally, when would we be asked for group selection and when would the result be out?
Yes in Asia it might be a bit different esp. if they would have to fly you in it might be a different process and they might not want to pay for that.
Normally group selection happens a few months before you start working full-time, results are usually out quickly after that.
Another great post, thanks for all the information!
I had a question regarding Latin America IB groups as I just recently got that specific placement. I was wondering what the preception of these types of group is. With M&A and other coverage groups, do they serve more as a relationship manager? I was wondering if the exit opps are more limited as well. Thanks for help.
I don’t think there’s a particular perception other than they work on mostly regional deals; exit opps would probably be more limited to going to something else in that region.
Great post as always!
I just had a sell day, and I focused on 3-4 groups that I have strong interests in. But it was a large crowd – not enough time to have deep conversations and was very hard to make an impression within 5 minutes or so with each banker. I did collect business cards though.
Before I need to officially rank the groups, I have about 2 weeks’ time now. What should I do within this time period? Should I continue emailing/calling the people I already knew + the people I met at the sell day to get more insights? I want to get into my top choice groups (which are the popular groups everywhere), but I don’t want to overkill or appear annoying. What are your suggestions? Appreciate your insights. Thanks a lot!
Yeah I would just focus on the people in your top groups and follow-up once or twice with them.
I accepted a FT offer in IBD, and have a sell day coming up before training. My first choice is TMT, but I do not have much to support that on my resume.
Do you suggest that I find a tech-related internship/interest before the sell day? Or would that be a complete waste of time considering placement is more based on fit?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Nah I would just talk about current events, companies you like in TMT, and so on.
This has to be the best blog on banking so far. Thanks a lot !
Question: I have a meeting with the Division VP of Banking at a bulge-bracket next week. My background is in technology design and development (Read cubicle bird), and I am at a top 3 B-school.
I’m interested in banking.
What should I talk to him about ? I don’t want to look stupid, and I want to make the most of my time, and do some sort of a plug that I’m interested in banking. How do I go about it? Any thoughts?
thanks a lot
PC
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-informational-interview/
I didnt know where my question would fit in so I just put it here. I am interning in Equity Sales this summer but I am looking to get into trading. I applied for an internship for spring 2011 and got invited to an interview but Ill be interviewed by three salespeople so it’s certain that the internship would be in Sales.
I like Sales but I definitely want to do a trading internship so what would you do? I am thinking of politely asking the recruiter if they have any vacancies in trading.
Yes I would just ask if they have anything available in trading
For someone trying to break in, what is your advice on the best size of bank to start with? Which one sets you up for better opportunities down the road? I assume it would be Bulge but thought I would ask.
– Bulge
– Mid
– Boutique
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/top-investment-banks/
If you can, go to larger banks but if it’s not feasible then take what you can get.
Love your blog – in all seriousness how many hours a week on the average should one expect to work as an associate?
Does it get better as you move up?
Does it vary from firm to firm or from bulge bracket to boutique?
thanks
You will never work less than 60 hours no matter how high up you are. Associates will start out close to analysts (80-100+ hours per week) but it gets better over time as you reach the VP level. It may be slightly better at smaller firms but bonuses are also much smaller.
Two Q’s for you.
1.) What is FIG? (Does it mean Financial Industries Group?) If so, what are some of the better bank’s to get into that specialize in that type of industry?
2.) New MBA fresh out of school, worked in commercial banking for six years as a commercial credit analyst, federal bank examiner and a brief stint in a public accounting. What level do think someone should expect with this type of work experience and education? (Upper level analyst or Associate) neither?
thanks again
Financial Institutions Group. I’m not sure on the best banks there but I think GS/MS/JPM do the most work.
If you have an MBA then you’ll be an Associate.
Any idea what would be the best approach for someone trying to break into industry coming from the midwest and not having any direct connections to the industry? I plan to use my college placement office but don’t expect them to be able to offer much.
Network and cold-call like crazy (see all the related articles / interviews on this site on that topic).
Really – that is quite a bit more than I would expect. How much of that would be base? Is this salary at a GS / UBS type firm or a true mid market like Cantor Fitzerald / Piper Jaffray?
When I say 1st year associate I mean some just graduating with an MBA and with 6 years work experience in commercial banking / lending. This would be a career change for me. I have not worked in the IB industry before.
Thanks again for answering my questions. I am glad I found this blog.
Usually associates start at $95K or $100K base. Smaller firms pay less in bonuses but base salaries are usually the same at both bulge brackets and middle market firms. In a bad year you might not get much more than your base salary – those estimates are based on what you would get in a decent year.
For a new first year associate at a mid market firm, what would you say is a reasonable all in comp to expect for the first year? (working in Mezz finance, PE, Lev Fin, Debt restructure)
$200-$300K depending on the economy and your group
Thanks for the reply. In terms of pay, how is it usually structured for an associate in M&A, LevFIn or Mezzanine Finance? Base + bonus only – or is there another component in there somewhere besides the bonus? When you get an offer is there any room to negotiate any of these components in todays market?
Just base + bonus. There is no room for negotiation unless you have several years of experience in banking already – newly minted analysts / associates can’t negotiate anything at bulge brackets.
So what groups are typically the highest paying for associates?
Depends on the bank, region and other factors… usually M&A, LevFin, and industry groups will pay more than capital markets.
Awesome post!
Last summer I interned in a team that is regarded as one of the most “prestigious” in the bank (i.e. one of M&A, FSG, Lev Fin), and whilst I was converted I didn’t really like it there. It was nothing personal, they treated me very well and the work was great, but the hours and the constant intensity was what put me off. I’ve also heard a rumour that the bank won’t do a sell day for the returning analysts, they’ll simply place them in teams they’ve interned in.
How do I go about asking the HR to invite me to a sell day? I know the simple answer would be just to ask them, but I’m afraid that it might get back to my team and it will make things very awkward if I won’t be able to switch teams.
Thanks
Other than asking HR, all you can really do is ask anyone you know in other group you’re interested in at the bank. No matter what you do or who you ask, it may get back to your team – that’s just the nature of gossip at banks.
Haha yeah I suppose so. In all honestly, it is more like 80 hours a week isn’t it–are most claims of 100 or 100+ exaggeration? At least on a regular basis?
No one works over 100 hours a week on a regular basis, so yes. Although some groups are worse than others.
Great post!
Question: Is M&A really that much worse than other groups? In terms of hours, intensity…
Depends on the bank and region. Once you get up to 80 hours a week, a few more doesn’t really matter…
if say i was president of a club for 2 terms in the past but not anymore and also secretary at one point, can i just say President & Treasurer under the club on my resume or do i need the years? i dont really care if they find out, it just looks neater without dates next to each one
president & Treasurer without years should be fine
I have an SA position at an investment bank this summer and i have a few weeks before the start of school – if I were to do a second internship (likely in hedge funds because i’m interested in that as well) would that put me in any hot water with the original company? the start/end dates will definitely not overlap
No you should be fine
Is there a similar sell day for S&T? What about research (particularly FICC research)?
For S&T not really because you usually interview for a specific desk, even at large banks. Research I’m not certain of, but I would also assume “no, or at least not in the same way” because they accept fewer recruits to begin with.
I got this strange question,
“As a junior person in PWM, how could/would you add value?”
how should i have handled this?
Probably say something like “Come up with new investment ideas or ways to change a client’s portfolio that they haven’t already thought of and suggest them to senior people without being asked” or “Find a way to make the investment selection / other processes more efficient”
Great post as usual!!!!!
Just curious, what is the percentage of analysts or associates who are interested in M&A, 90% percent?
Probably more like 30-40%. Lots of people want the better hours that you get in a capital markets group.
say, if am offered a coffee during the interview.Should i accept it?
Sure
So if you’re at a BB that simply asks SA’s to rank their industry group preferences, how much can you do to help increase your chances of getting into a particular group? Speaking to bankers in the group is certainly informative, but I don’t see how that necessarily translates into helping me get into that group? Thanks.
Be very direct with them that you’re interested in that group and that they’re your top choice. You would be surprised how much getting your name out there helps – like anything else networking-related it sounds stupidly simple but hardly anyone does it in the first place. Aside from asking good questions and indicating that the group is your top choice, you can’t do much.
Hi,
I was wondering how to answer this question,
“Do you have any questions for us?”
Any help? Thanks in advance
See the examples above. Ask about deal flow, what the group is like, what kinds of clients they work with, etc.