国际投资银行面试技巧

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What do investment banks look for in new recruits? Tip No. 1: It has little to do with your ability to multiply 19 x 43 and everything to do with your passion for the job.

If consulting firms attract the type A personality, then the world of investment banking attracts type A-plus. Are you a workhorse? Do you find yield curves sexy? Do you debate company valuation methods the way sports geeks debate football teams? Great. But top firms are also looking for candidates whose personality makes them a great fit and who have the stamina to work insanely long hours and climb the ladder till the way to managing director.

Unlike a consulting interview, which lends itself to cool, cerebral case studies and brain games, the investment banking interrogation won"t involve many airy, academic questions. Instead, expect nuts and bolts: "Which would have a higher P/E ratio, a food company or a pharmaceutical company?" "Where are interest rates going, and why?" But never lose sight of the fact that the single biggest question lurking in the background of any I-banking interview is one that"s seldom asked directly: "How committed are you to this profession and our company?" The bank wants a return on its training investment in you, so show your passion and commitment, or don"t show up.

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Know Thyself

You must be in command of your resume and the story it tells. Ideally, you"ll be able to talk about your prior banking experience or at least relevant projects you"ve done. If you"re interested in the sales and trading side of the business, remember: Life can be both an ongoing sales pitch and an exercise in risk management. Comb your past for anecdotes that make those points. "If, at 16, you persuaded your reluctant parents to let you go to a foreign country where you didn"t speak the language, I think that tells me a lot about your selling skills and the way you thrive on a challenge," says a recruiter at Goldman Sachs. In any case, you must demonstrate that you"re a glutton for hard work. "They"re looking for people who are into 100 million things, who need more than 24 hours in their day for everything but are still focused," says Sheila Marmon, a former associate at Morgan Stanley. Talk about a situation where you (or, better yet, you in a team context) performed well under extreme pressure. If you led a dynamic organization or ran your own business, be sure to discuss that.

But go easy on the entrepreneurial spirit. A little can go a long way; too much can make you unhirable. "Of course we want entrepreneurial people," says Carlos Valle, managing director of GMI global recruiting. "But if I see someone was running a business in high school, two businesses in college, and one in B-school, I know they"re going to get restless here very soon." If you"re an incorrigible entrepreneur, focus on aspects of your past relevant to investment banking; for example: "When I was running my business, I needed to produce a model of sales versus expected returns, and here"s how I did it." Another potentially tricky question: "Do you have a favorite industry?" You probably do, and you should seize the opportunity to display your passion, but don"t create the impression that you"d be happy working on deals in only, say, the software sector. Seldom will you be able to write your own ticket.

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Know Thy Firms and Thy Coveted Job

It may sound obvious, but you need to be able to discuss the details of investment banking in plain language. And you should be attuned to differences among banks: Lehman Brothers is known for its bond deals while Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have retail distribution. Know their street lore too. "Goldman has a reputation for being team-oriented; Morgan Stanley was always known for encouraging individuals and mavericks," says Marmon.

Current events are your friends. You can find valuation techniques in books, but you can"t teach common sense about day-to-day finance. Firms look for the latter. If Goldman"s P/E is two tenths lower than Merrill"s, you should be able to say why. Make sure you"re conversant in the recent history of the bank too. If an interviewer lobs a question about a current merger, be able to refer to precedents and make specific comparisons with them. You may even be asked about a firm"s very recent past, such as its stock price at the prior day"s close.

All of this prepares you for the inevitable question: "Why do you want to work here?" A good answer will acknowledge the firm"s interests as well as your own; for example: "I"m interested in working here because you"ve focused on market Y and market Z rather than trying to serve everyone, and your firm encourages individual initiative by . . ."

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Quantify the Measure of Some Things

If you"ve made it to the interview stage at an investment bank, you can more than likely multiply 23 x 17. Your interviewers know this, and they will be apt to keep most of their questions practical. Still, you do need to know basic valuation techniques: how to use sales, market capitalization, or earnings information to evaluate firms. But remember that such evaluations are as much art as they are science. And don"t use jargon carelessly. "If you"re truly a finance jock, go ahead and dive into the details," says Marmon. "Just know what you"re doing. I remember a job candidate who responded to a question by saying "Well, you need to use a P/E ratio." When we asked him why, it was obvious he didn"t know what he was talking about."

If the interviewers want to play brain games ("How many public telephones are there in the United States?"), keep in mind that they"re looking for the quality of your thinking process, not the correct answer. "I once asked a candidate, "If you were a trader, and with one trade you had a 50 percent chance of making $100,000, and with another you had a 20 percent chance of making $1 million, which one would you choose?" The guy went conservative and explained why. He got the job offer." The lesson: The key part of this is the "why," not the "right" answer. "They"re looking for people with strong opinions and convictions," says one trader at Goldman Sachs. "They"re less interested in what those convictions are than in how you"ve arrived at them."

A Strong Fish

When you get a chance to turn the tables and ask questions, do it wisely. "It can be the most important test you pass," says Neil Rothenberg, a former associate at Dillon, Reed. "Ask provocative questions that imply your long-term interest." Try these:

"Could you describe the culture here, using examples?"
"How are decisions made within the organizational hierarchy at this firm?"
"Has there been any recent attrition in management?"

All of these are challenging and all of them suggest you"re looking at the big picture. More important, perhaps, in asking them, you"re answering that big, lurking question: "Yes, I"m prepared to commit for the long haul."