Hi everyone, I am an incoming 2nd-year studying in the UK. I have recently completed my summer internship in one of the Big 4 in Risk Advisory. I have been hearing people around me really interested in joining the IB sector and would like to have a look in this industry as well. However, I am not sure where do I start on researching and reading up about this industry. Everything seems really new to me and I can’t think of any other ways to untangled this knot of knowledge. Besides that, I am trying to apply for a Summer Internship in UK in the IBD, but I am struggling to relate my 1st year summer internship experiences with the role I have applied for. Would appreciate if anyone here can give me some advice/guidance. Thank you
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Hi, congrats on finishing your internship! I think your experience working in risk advisory at a Big 4 will definitely look appealing on your resume to IBD hiring managers. First, you’ve dealt with corporate finance and you’re familiar with certain regulatory requirements when it comes to handling risk. Although it’s not perfectly transferrable to IB, it demonstrates to HR that you were able to work at a big company that services clients too. You learnt about business processes, gov’t regulations, business strategies and overall operational structure etc., which are all pluses. Also, IBD summer internships don’t look for much working experience so the fact that you already have a summer internship is for sure a leg up. They look for people who are ambitious, have a passion for finance, and have an attention for detail (all things you can leverage with your internship).
In terms of getting familiar with the IB industry, I would definitely check out Afzal Hussein on Youtube for introductory videos (What is an Investment Bank? - YouTube). I would also recommend the following books:
- Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and Acquisitions by Rosenbaum and Pearl
- Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice by Vernimmen
- The Technical Interview Guide to Investment Banking by Pignataro
- Frequently Asked Questions in Corporate Finance by Quiry
Some may be a bit technical so don’t worry about those parts.
Since you’re a second year and you’re not 100% sure about IBD yet, consider doing a spring insight/spring internships (1-2 weeks) to get a much better understanding of the field and increase your chances for the summer internship as well. If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask!
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Hi financeGuru, first of all thank you for all the advice that you have provided. I checked out the books that you have recommend and realized there is indeed a lot of technical terms in it. Is there any common terms that the interviewer would expect from the candidate? Besides that, I can’t seem to distinguish the difference between the Investment Banks in the market as they all have similar characteristics. This has caused me to have a relatively weak answer whenever I am asked “Why (this bank)?”. Do you have any advice that you would suggest I can start my research on regarding the firms that I have applied to?
Hi there. Regarding technical terms, the expectation is not super high and you’re not expected to know all the jargon. They just want to see that you prepared. Know as much as you can generally about their business model and the bank. Interviews used to be more technical a while ago but these days IB interviews tend to be behavioral heavy.
As for your second question, I want to start off by saying you’re not alone in this, a question that seems so simple can be instrumental in the decision to hire someone. For example, I was recently interviewing candidates for an internship program at the bank where I work and during the debriefing, candidates were decided against because they didn’t provide a clear/satisfactory answer to the “why this bank?” question.
I believe the way to handle it is straightforward but just requires a bit of preparation. I would first research the mission and core pillars of the bank as interviewers want to see that you spent time looking into the bank. Watch some videos (HR or management talking about the bank), read news articles etc. e.g. you can say something the CEO said recently really resonated with you. I get that the banks will have similar principles but that’s fine - they’re not expecting a new or creative answer, just preparation to show that you’re enthusiastic about the bank. I would really emphasize for this answer people, people, people. They want to hear that you are very interested in working with and learning from the people that you’ve encountered or know of who work at the bank. I’d reach out and network with a few alumni who work there so you can bring them up during your interview.
Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!
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Thank you for the advice financeGuru! Do interviews in the finance industry have case study in general? As mentioned in my 1st post, I had a summer internship in Deloitte and I didn’t had any case study interviews back then during my interview. I was wondering is it because I was a 1st year student back? Besides that, I recently attended a talk and one of the speakers is working in a Private Equity firm. He mentioned that the common route to enter the PE industry is normally through IB then entering PE, or through consulting and then switching to PE. Do you by chance have any idea about why is PE such a high in demand exit opportunity for most people working in the IB industry?
For your first question, yes, assessment centers/superdays often involve a case study question. After 4 or 5 interviews that are behavioral/technical, you are given a case study with documents about a company and you’re asked to recommend what decisions the company should make e.g. should company X expand in a new continent. You are then given some time (say 30-45 minutes) to prepare, where you are asked to write your key points down on a large piece of paper and then present it to a few interviewers. Afterwards, you are then put into a group with all fellow interviewees who are doing the assessment center the same day. You are then asked to work together on the same case study (or something else) where you assume you’re the board/representing the company and have to come up with a solution. The HR/interviewers are meanwhile assessing everyone, looking for analytical skills, team work etc. It’s slightly different from consulting case studies in that it’s not as rigid or structured (they’re not looking for an exact structured response because that’s what you would do on a daily basis). The goal is just get to get a gauge of your analytical and logical thinking skills and your ability to provide solutions and relay them in a concise manner. I’d still advise practicing a few case studies, e.g. from Case In Point.
As for IB existing into PE, it is a logical transition as it pays well, often better, has better WLB, better cultlure and you can work on interesting projects. You’ll also have the opportunity to network a lot and build relationships with execs from different companies. It is possible to go straight into PE but much harder and more rare. For example, GS and Blackstone have PE summer internships.