ASK A BANKER

How cool would it be to kidnap a team of bankers, Alcatraz-them-up and then ply them with questions for days on end?

Let us save you the hassle (and serious felony charges), because below you’ll find all the big questions students ask us again and again, and the links to the respective lessons that answer them. Enjoy!

Resume Questions

• Straight up, what does an A+ investment banking resume actually look like?
• Can you show me a ‘before’ and ‘after’ resume taken straight from your $1000+ resume review service?
• Also, can you explain the changes you made to the before resume – the why and how?
• I’ve heard so many urban legends, so I have to ask how do investment bankers really screen resumes?
• What is the secret to good resume presentation?
• How do I write about my education so it impresses even those arrogant Ivy League bankers?
• How can I make my work experience dramatically stand out from the crowd?
• I’ve done a banking internship, what specific advice do you have for writing about that on my resume?
• What the f*** do I do with the final section of my resume – the ‘other’ section – it seems like lose-lose?
• Are there any common mistakes you see students making with their resumes?
• How long should my resume be and how the heck do I achieve that?
• Or do you maybe have a simple fill in the gaps template that I can use to produce my resume in 10 minutes?
• I’m struggling to come up with good ideas for my resume, do you have anything to guide me?

Cover Letters Questions

• No time to waste, what does an A+ investment banking cover letter look like?
• Can you show me a ‘before’ and ‘after’ cover letter taken straight from your $400/hr coaching service?
• And can you please explain all the changes you made to the student’s cover letter and why?
• Do investment banks even care about cover letters?  I’ve heard they don’t even freaking read them anymore!
• How do you write a cover letter bankers will not only read, but actually love?
• What are the big mistakes I should watch out for when writing my cover letter?
• Or at least give me a simple fill in the blanks A+ cover letter template?
• I’m struggling to work out what I should write about in my cover letter, can you help me develop some ideas?

Interviews Questions

• Can you explain to me how investment banking interviews work in plain English – the what, the who, the why?
• I would love to be a fly on the wall of an interview room; to hear the questions, the answers, the interrogation.  Do you have word for word transcripts from interviews?
• Can you give me access to feedback reports from your mock interview coaching services so I can learn exactly where students go right vs screw up?
• What are superdays exactly and what should I be expecting?
• How do I go about preparing for investment banking interviews the smart way?
• What are bankers really thinking when I step into the interview room?  How are they really judging me?
• What should I wear to interviews, everyone seems to have different thoughts?
• How do I go about answering pressure test questions, fit questions, brainteasers etc?
• When bankers ask “Tell me about yourself” at the very start of the interview what the f*** do I say?
• How do I answer all those tough questions bankers love to ask about me; where I went to school, where I’ve worked, why they should hire me etc?
• What about interview questions about the bank; like “Why do you want to work for Goldman Sachs?”.
• What are the most popular market and business questions investment banks ask, and how do you give A+ answers to them?
• Tell me about a time you failed, succeeded; tell me about your strengths, weaknesses; how do you answer these annoying fit questions?
• Can you give me the answers to those classic banking brainteasers, like “How many tennis balls fit in a 747”?
• What about in-depth answers to some popular technical questions?
• How do I end the interview on a high?  And what should I say when they ask me if I have any questions for them?
• What should I do after the interview is finished; email them my thanks, call them, ask for feedback, nothing?

Strategy Questions

• Can you help clear things up for me, exactly how do I break into banking?  What’s the step-by-step 100 point checklist for making it happen?
• What sort of education achievements do I need to get into banking?
• How about work experience; what are the banks really expecting from me?
• What do investment banks want to see in candidates; how can I show them I’ve got what it takes?
• What is the number one thing I could do today to dramatically improve my resume and interview answers?
• What do I need to find out about the banks before I apply to them?
• Do you have any resource to make my bank research easier?
• Apart from Inside Investment Banking, what else should I be studying to help me with recruiting?
• Just as importantly, what prep areas should I forget about – I don’t have time to study everything?
• How can I land a job in banking when traditional recruiting channels are dead?  What are my Plan Bs?

Networking Questions

• What can networking really do for someone trying to break into banking?
• Before I go out and meet bankers, what should I do to ensure I avoid the common pitfalls of students?
• How do I make myself banker friendly and avoid getting on their bad side?
• What are the major f*** ups you see students making all the time that get them blacklisted?
• How do I use on-campus networking, events and clubs to break into investment banking?
• What about off-campus networking; do you have any good ideas I can us?
• How about online networking, is it even worth considering for more than 10 seconds?
• Networking isn’t working out like I had hoped, got any Hail Marys for me?
• How do I make contact with bankers?  Email, phone, meet ups? 
• How do I setup and crush investment banking informational interviews?  I’ve hear they’re the #1 way to get into banking in today’s slow recruiting environment.

Internships Questions

• What do investment banking interns (and first year analysts) really do?  Day to day tasks?
• What skills should I pick up before I start my summer internship?
• And what about knowledge; are there any areas of expertise that will help me gain an unfair advantage over the other interns?
• I’m worried that I haven’t prepared enough for my internship, how much is enough and what pitfalls should I aim to avoid in the lead up to it?
• How do I convince the bank to take me on full time?  And who decides; how do they do it?
• What’s the absolute #1 thing I should aim for during my internship?
• Can you reveal exactly what happens during the first week of a banking internship and what I should do to make a blistering first impression?
• What’s the purpose of an intern, I mean why did the bank really hire me for 12 weeks?
• How do I make my banking mentor help me get the best work, look good and earn the return offer?
• The work is going to be tough, what sort of insider tips do you have that’ll make it much easier for me?
• There is not much deal flow now, so how do I rack up achievements during a slow summer?
• Can you go through all the do’s and don’ts of summer internships so I don’t f*** up the opportunity of a lifetime?
• Do you have any essential pointers on how to dominate Excel Work?
• Bankers seem to speak another language, is there a quick and dirty dictionary of popular industry terms for me to read now so I can keep up with them on Day 1?