What groups within banking are you interested in?

This question is fairly straightforward. State that this group (the one you’re applying to – e.g. M&A or Capital Markets) is your #1 choice, but that you’re open to others, and mention a few that you might be interested.

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For example, if you have a tech background, say that you could see yourself working in a tech banking group or anything else that you’re personally interested in.

You don’t necessarily have to give a concrete reason why this group is your first choice because they’re not looking for a long response here, but something brief is good to mention.

Sample “Good” Answer: “I am most interested in working in the Leveraged Finance team at your firm because of the technical skills you gain and the debt deals and LBOs you work on, but of course I would be open to working in other teams, such as mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, or industry groups.

Also, my major in biochemistry could prove very useful to a healthcare or biotech team, so I’d be more than happy to work in whichever group has the most need for someone with my background and skills.”

Why It’s a Good Answer: The key point the interviewee makes is that he is flexible, and your response should be similarly flexible. The interviewee starts off by expressing his primary interest in the banking group he is applying to, but says with the rest of his response that even if he cannot work in the group he is most interested in, he would still gladly work anywhere else.

If you lock yourself into one or two groups, there may be an opening in another division that you’ll be passed over for since you did not seem receptive to working in groups aside from the ones you stated.

Commitment / Long-Term Plan Questions

5. I see you’ve switched jobs once every 1-2 years in the past. How do I know that you’ll be here for the long-term?

If you are asked this question because of your resume, point out how each time you switched jobs you had very specific rationale, and then explain one or two of the reasons.

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Follow up by stating how you’ve stuck with other things for the long-term in order to demonstrate your commitment in the past.

Finally, finish by stating that you are confident you’ll be in this role for the long-term because of all the research you’ve done, the people you’ve met with, and so on, all of which confirm that this is the best choice for you.

If you have not done anything that could be considered “long-term,” then skip that part and follow-up by explaining why this time is different from the past.

And no, you can’t say that you didn’t like your boss or that you got tired of the city you were in when explaining any of this – even if those are true, you’ll have to think of other reasons that sound better, such as saying that you wanted a different type of work or more responsibility.

Sample “Good” Answer: “Sure. So I agree that I’ve changed jobs a few times, but I always had specific reasons for doing so. For example, when I worked at Staples as a sales associate, I left after about a year because I wanted to take on more responsibility and move to a management role, but it was not their corporate policy to promote sales associates.

And I left my accounting position at Ernst & Young because I had always intended on getting my MBA after working for 3-4 years, and it made sense to complete that after finishing the rotational program I was in at E&Y.

Outside of my work experience, I’ve stuck to a number of long-term commitments for many years – for example, I’ve organized a youth retreat and annual conference for my church for the past 5 years and we’ve improved both of them every year.

I’m confident that I would be at your firm for the long-term because investment banking is my career goal – and there’s no better way to achieve my objective of

eventually becoming an advisor to management teams. I certainly learned a lot from my previous jobs, but did not view them as my long-term career goals.

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I’ve also met with lots of people at your firm, including Seth Davis and Nancy Jones in the New York office, and I’m confident that it’s the best fit for me – and where I see myself working for years to come.”

Why It’s a Good Answer: The interviewee provides several explanations to illustrate how he left his previous jobs for specific reasons, none of which would apply to the job he is interviewing for now.

The reasons the interviewee provides are understandable and do not reflect on his character or ability to commit. And finally, the interviewee finishes his response by explaining why he is confident that he would be at the firm for the long-term.

He also points out a specific example of how he’s organized a retreat and annual conference for the past 5 years, which shows that he has been committed to long-term projects in the past.

6. Most analysts stay here for 2 years. Would you leave early if you received a better