^Best of luck…
^ All the best Dp…
good luck. less us know how it goes
Also say “No” to water once you got there. 
Haha, I wasn’t asked whether I wanted water or not. So, I didn’t have a problem with that one. I was 10 minutes early though.
good job
Must have been itera. He doesn’t even offer water. Even when he sees the candidate choking up. Damn, the guy doesn’t even offer a chair. Only a panzy ass hacksaw state school kid sits down when interviewing with itera.
You didn’t sit down, did you?
During IB interviews one should just drop to bows and toes, and stay there throughout the interview. Also, never make eye contact. It’s a sign of respect.
I wish I could argue, but unfortunately as a 23 year old I see a lot of this in my peers. This does make people like myself (reserved, respectfully inquisitive) look a bit better, so thanks vandy.
da_mad_tiki, you are right, you’ll look better by not making the same mistakes as so many people your age. I often look back at my early 20’s and ask myself, “What the heck was I thinking?” and then I see this new crop of recent graduates and it really just makes me scratch my head. A person can have all the technical and analytical preparation you want, but there is something about having the right character – being respectful, intellectually curious, and amiable – this all carries that person the rest of the way.
People often ask me what books I’d recommend to get a good buy-side or sell-side job. I have a number of ideas related to finance, market psychology and valuation. But I am really thinking of adding this one book to my list of recommended reading. It is called “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.
There is a certain sense of self-awareness and comportment that separate the men from the boys. I often know it within the first 5-10 minutes of meeting someone. And these people, with a *little* coaching the analytical and technical front, end up getting front office finance jobs.
Readers, take note: This thread is a perfect case study of the kind of attitude that is not only extremely difficult to coach, but more importantly the kind of attitude that reflects what happens when over-confidence meets lack of self-awareness. This is also a textbook example of how NOT get a finance job.
Finally, there is a huge difference between being contrarian when you are in the right – history refers to these people as ‘visionaries.’ Then there is being contrarian when you are in the wrong – this is more colloquially described as ‘royal pain in the @$$’, generally not remembered in history except as part of the unemployment statistics.
^ Being respectful and humble is the most critical thing, I think not only in job hunting but just life overall. Guys that wonder how they can subtly slip that they are high rollers to everyone in the room likely aren’t getting far.
Compare this thread to the recent posts of emichan, a person striking out early in their career as well. I doubt any of us old folks who have been involved in hiring decisions would have any doubt about who we would hire into an entry level role. Coming across as intelligent, respectful and humble is an absolute winning combination in interviews. And I think to truly pull it off, you’ve got to genuinely have those characteristics.
Hey guys - So, I recently saw that the posiiton I interviewed for last week was posted to LinkedIn a few days ago. Is this a bad sign? What’s usually the protocol for banks when it comes to making offers and deciding on candidates? Could they be unsatisfied with the pool of candidates they interviewed and want to tap into other avenues for other potential candidates?
^ I wish I had better news, but likely this is a neutral sign at best and a negative sign at worst. Probably the employer wants to keep their options open because they did not find anyone super-compelling or there is no catalyst for them to hire (i.e. there isn’t another potential employer vying for your services, so they figure why not look around before making any final decision).
^ I appreciate the feedback. It’s so strange though because one VP said, “Your résumé is incredible,” and commented on how he loved my background. The other VP said I was well polished, professional, and very well spoken. Although, he did say, “my only issue with you is that you don’t have any experience at the analyst level, but you seem to have a pretty compelling case.” Almost like dating, I feel like I’m getting mixed signals. You are probably right though. The bank is most likely neutral and I think my lack of IB experience is the one item holding them back from making an offer, but you never know. Definitely a little discouraging.
^hang in there, hopefully you get some better news soon, keep your options open anyway and keep looking around.
Not necessarily bad, but skewing bad. Companies decision makers and HR recruiting don’t always be in sync.
Yup. This happened to me shortly before I was given the “it’s not you, it’s us” email.
Yeah, I just received an e-mail from HR and received the following message:
“Thank you for interviewing for the Investment Banking Associate position. We are still conducting first round interviews and hope to complete those early next week. I will be in touch as soon as we have more information.”
Doesn’t sound promising…
It’s a very competitive field. Which surprises me given the terrible work/life balance.
You should generally know if you passed the first round of interview. It’s still the first filter of candidates, so they’ll be less selective compared to later on. Don’t worry for now.
No, that is good. You didn’t get the hacksaw. They would have axed you if you sucked. Keep you head up kiddo.