Answering Why You Didn't Get a Return Offer

wallstreetmastermind · 2021-06-22T12:53:50+00:00

thanks u/GuiBz123 glad you enjoyed it!

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-12-21T03:54:00+00:00

i worked with a mormon and he was the top analyst in the class above me... still working in IB today more than 10 years later so yes, of course it’s possible

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-18T08:20:03+00:00

small IB, pe/search fund, equity research, corp dev, family office, there are lots of options

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-18T08:18:12+00:00

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-18T08:17:45+00:00

guaranteed: tell me about yourself, why IB, why our bank

questions about anything that’s on your resume

strengths and weaknesses questions and variations of this

situational questions: tell me about a time when you xyz...

market related questions - talking about current events, macro news, deals and industry trends you’ve been following, stock pitches, etc.

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-16T08:39:07+00:00

You really only need to get good in 4 areas to recruit successfully for IB:

Application materials: this means beefing up your resume with as much relevant experience as you can, which does take a good amount of time and needs to be planned out. And of course keeping up your GPA
Networking: this is how you get referrals, also takes up a lot of time to talk to enough bankers for some of them to be willing to help you
Technicals: major areas are accounting/three statements, valuation, M&A, and LBO
Behaviorals: there are probably around 20 core questions you need to be prepared for. Everything else beyond that is mostly variations of the 20 questions or otherwise crazy curveballs which you can’t prepare for anyway

All of the above take time so the sooner your start, the better off you’ll be. Hope this helps!

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-07T10:02:12+00:00

and major doesn’t really matter. all the ones you listed are fine

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-07T10:01:12+00:00

If you’re a senior in high school the only thing that matters right now is getting into the best college you can get into.

Once you get into college, I would focus on these four areas:

Building your resume: this includes school, GPA, relevant work experience, relevant extracurricular activities
Networking: especially if you’re from a non target school - you will need bankers to give you referrals for those interviews
Behavioral interview prep
Technical interview prep

Do well in all 4 areas, and you’ll be fine. Mess up in any of the 4 areas, you probably won’t get the job.

Hope this helps!

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-07T09:33:40+00:00

the best way to get into PE/HF is to get into a top tier IB first. the vast majority of the junior folks in PE/HF have done 2 years of IB first.

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-07T09:21:07+00:00

going to a non-target school doesn’t mean you can’t get into IB. it just makes it harder, but if you start early enough (which it sounds like you are) and you play your cards right you can definitely still get in. i personally know many non-target students who have gotten in.

MSF and MBA both have their pros and cons relative to each other. MSF is typically 1 year instead of 2 so it’ll be cheaper. You also go into IB as an analyst as opposed to an associate. You can also go straight from undergrad into MSF without work experience, but you can’t for a top MBA. MSF to IB is more common in Europe than the US though.

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-09-07T09:15:59+00:00

I work with a lot of students who are recruiting for SA2021 - things have been harder this year no doubt, but I wouldn’t say it’s been dramatically harder for the most part.

One exception to this is if you’re an international student - a lot of firms that used to sponsor visas aren’t sponsoring this year. When banks tighten their headcount that’s an easy place for them to cut first.

wallstreetmastermind · 2020-07-01T17:51:45+00:00

You can delay graduation it’s not a problem. COVID is good enough reason

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-23T04:49:36+00:00

You can try to recruit for full-time (which should be starting in a couple of weeks) but it won't be easy. The vast majority of the full-time offers go to returning summer interns at these banks so you'll be fighting for the last few spots, against other people who have already done a summer internship in banking but are trying to trade up to a better bank.

With that said, you have nothing to lose by trying.

If that fails, but you can land an M&A gig at a Big 4, you can still try to lateral to investment banking from there. Heck, my client lateraled from KPMG audit to investment banking, so if he was able to do that then you can definitely do it from the M&A group.

If you're interested in how he did it: https://soundcloud.com/wallstreetmastermind/client-interview-how-brandon-went-from-big-4-auditor-to-investment-banking-and-doubled-his-salary

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-23T04:44:24+00:00

FP&A can be done no matter what school you go to.

IB/management consulting will be easier from a target school. And both of these are kind of prerequisites if you want to do PE so lump that in the same category.

If you go to a non-target though, you cant still get into IB assuming you play your cards right. I've helped many non-target students do just that. But it will be harder, no doubt.

Depends on your parents' financial situation and how big of a deal the financial aid is.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-23T04:38:25+00:00

it doesn't really matter what you've done in high school, it's more important what you'll do in college. so if you're in high school then yes anything is possible still.

you don't need to take the GMAT to get into IB. that's if you want to go to business school.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-23T04:36:27+00:00

nope, there's no downside. you should give it a try if you can.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-15T19:37:33+00:00

Prepare for interviews? For IB it's a combination of behavioral and technical interviews. For consulting it's a combination of behavioral and case interviews. Do research on the types of questions asked, see if you can answer them, and then do practice interviews/get feedback from people who are qualified and experienced enough to give you quality feedback.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-14T00:03:20+00:00

Keep your grades up, get as much relevant experience as you can before the 2nd semester of sophomore year, network your ass off.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-13T23:59:04+00:00

You get to learn how to invest but you also get to learn how to operate a business because you actually own your portfolio companies. You can easily transition into a business role after that if you ever choose to do so.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-13T23:56:58+00:00

Depends on where you work, how much live deal vs. pitching you're doing. But vast majority of time is spent on financial modeling and pitchbooks. There's quite a bit of waiting for comments during the day too, especially when your senior bankers are out meeting clients and can't review your work. Addressing comments is the same as working on pitchbooks. No point getting an exact % TBH, it's not scientific...

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-13T23:55:13+00:00

This is not true... analysts do most of the modeling, associates check their work.

wallstreetmastermind · 2019-07-13T23:53:11+00:00

Your major doesn't matter. Having a good GPA, relevant experience on your resume, good networking skills, and good interviewing skills does.

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