Interest: Why are you interested in consulting/banking? This is probably the single most common question asked in the interviews. It is therefore worth investing some time in. You are being tested on your interest in the industry and the company. Take an hour and reflect: How did you initially become interested in the industry? What are the benefits of taking the job, and where might this experience lead you in your wildest dreams? Develop some real excitement that you can project during the interview. Also, how can you portray your past experiences as a long-term chain of events that have led you to your current interest? Once you've developed a storyline, you can use it repeatedly. Nobody will expect you to have a different answer each time the question is asked. This is a topic in which the more directly you answer the question, the better.
A good response for a consulting interview might be "I am an economics major here at Duke, but I have concentrated on theory rather than applied economics. I have increasingly felt over the past year that I would like some 'real-world' business experience. I'd like to learn more about how companies make operations and strategic decisions. I've talked about management consulting with some of my friends who are doing it now, and my sense is that as a consultant I will really learn about how companies operate." Other reasons for wanting to be a consultant: you'll gain exposure to many different industries and issues, the learning curve is steep during your entire experience, there is a large degree of client interaction, and you like to think about strategic and operational decisions that companies make.
A poor response might be: "I heard about it from all my friends, who were applying, so I decided to submit my resume. Since then I've talked to other friends who are in the industry and I think the work sounds really interesting." Even if it was, don't make your interest sound impulsive or random; make it sound thoughtful and logical.
Reasons for wanting to be an investment banker: You're interested in finance and securities markets, you like the transaction-oriented nature of banking because you like to see concrete results of your work, you will gain strong computer modeling skills, you will be exposed to a variety of companies, you will work with high-level clients.
Other questions that test your industry interest and research:
- What brings you here? Why are you applying to our firm? (Have some reasons that are tailored specifically to the company you're interested in.)
- What other firms are you applying to? (It's a good sign if you're applying to several companies in the industry, since this means you're really interested.)
- What other industries are you considering? (Be careful; don't seem too scattered. You don't need to tell bankers that you're applying to consulting, and vice versa.)
- Follow-up question: Which would you prefer: investment banking or consulting? (If you want a job, tell bankers you'd prefer banking and tell consultants you'd prefer consulting.)
- What do you think a banker/consultant does every day?
- Why do you think you would be good at banking/consulting?
- What do you think you would enjoy most about this job?
- I-banking: In which investment banking department do you see yourself? (Tests to see whether you've done some research.)
- What are some differences among consulting/investment banking firms that you have noticed, and which are important to you? How will you make a choice among firms?
Business Knowledge: How does the government raise or lower interest rates? Investment banks rather than management consulting firms often ask business knowledge questions, particularly because banks are more likely to want some prior business knowledge than consulting firms. Yet investment banks are not likely to ask business knowledge questions of anyone except business or economics majors. Business knowledge questions delve into your understanding of current events or finance or are related to your major. Stay calm and try to use your personal experiences or what you've read in the media to come up with an answer. If you haven't heard of or don't understand the subject being considered, ask first for clarification.
A response to the last question would be "The government affects interest rates through two main methods: increasing or decreasing the money supply, which in turn affects interest rates, or directly changing the rate at which the government lends money to major financial institutions."
Other business knowledge questions:
- What do you think are the major strategic issues in the XYZ industry in which you worked last summer?
- What do you think are the major strategic issues banks/consulting firms face?
- What do you think of the Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter merger [or other situation in the investment banking industry]?
Your Questions
In the last few minutes of the interview, interviewers will ask you if you have any questions. You are still being evaluated; this is not a time to rest! While the quality of your questions probably won't make or break the interview, it does make a difference when interviewers are uncertain about your interest in or understanding of the job. Poor questions are seen as a sign of little interest in the job and, even worse, of bluffing: Your until-then enthusiastic performance will seem rehearsed rather than genuine if you end with clichéd or very basic questions. Resist the temptation to succumb to fatigue during this last segment of the interview. Nothing is worse than when you ask a question and then stare at interviewers blankly, repeating "uh-huh" and not truly listening to the interviewer's response. That's when they know you are killing time and can't wait to get out of there. Develop questions specifically for each interview. The best questions are those that are neutral, are tailored to the firm, show that you have thought about the job, and genuinely interest you.
Good questions for a first-round interview:
- In your opinion, what major changes will occur in the banking/consulting industry over the next few years?
- How will your firm adjust to these changes? How is your company's approach different from others?
- Could you describe a recent project you've worked on? A typical day on the job?
- It helps me to hear about others' career decisions. What other options were you considering, and why did you choose to join the firm?
- What types of people perform best at the firm? How are analysts evaluated?
- How much client contact would I have? How would this evolve as I progressed?
- Could you describe the project staffing process at your firm?
- I read in your brochure that you assign people to [industry/product/ functional groups]. How is this assignment made? How much interaction is there among groups? (This type of question is tailored to the specific company.
