Investment Banking Interview - The One Thing You Need To Know

cInvestment banking has been in the news recently with the failure of major companies like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. In addition the general public is appalled to learn that bonuses in excess of 1 million dollars are paid to investment bankers working for companies that received bailout money under the TARP program. Despite the negative press there is a huge supply of applicants each year for every open position in investment banking. Competition for these openings each year can draw 100 resumes for each vacancy. Candidates who are able to beat out their competition to be selected for that one opening are able to answer one question better than anybody else.

That one question is a very simple question. It is "Tell me about yourself." This one simple question can make or break you chance of being selected for a position as an investment banker. Every candidate will be asked this one question.

If you want to be hired as an investment banker, your answer to this one question needs to be compelling and allows you to stand out from the crowd. Failure to have a well planned answer to this question is the quickest way to get you resume placed on the reject pile. The challenge in answering this question is that you only have a few minutes in which to give your answer.

This question gives you a chance to talk about an interesting experience in your background, you educational qualifications and your work experiences. All of these items are what will make you stand out from the crowd. It is not easy to boil down twenty years of your life, four years of university and your entire work experience to 10 sentences that you can regurgitate in three minutes or less.

The ability to successfully answer this question will require extensive preparation on your part. If you attempt to answer this question on the fly without preparation will most definitely end in rejection. You should take time to prepare you answer to this question. Think of an event in your life that you can discuss that will show you as a human and make you compelling to the interviewer. This should be buttressed by your education and work experience.

Once you have spent time preparing your answer to this question, give you answer to friends and family members. They will be able to give you feedback on how well you answer the question, whether or not you sound genuine and, most importantly, did your answer leave a lasting impression. Try to get feedback from people who do not know you well so they are not biased by already knowing about your background. Their feedback will be more valuable in helping you craft a great answer to this question that would feedback from your parents.

Every investment banking interview will include this one question. Yet it is the one question that trips up most applicants and prevents them from being hired. Don't make that mistake in your interview.

Once you have spent time preparing your answer to this question, give you answer to friends and family members. They will be able to give you feedback on how well you answer the question, whether or not you sound genuine and, most importantly, did your answer leave a lasting impression. Try to get feedback from people who do not know you well so they are not biased by already knowing about your background. Their feedback will be more valuable in helping you craft a great answer to this question that would feedback from your parents.

Every investment banking interview will include this one question. Yet it is the one question that trips up most applicants and prevents them from being hired. Don't make that mistake in your interview.