Graduate Finance Association
Graduate Finance Association
Common Questions
Q. Do you need to be a finance or accounting major in your undergrad?
A. No. Your undergraduate major is not an overriding consideration for the banks’ recruiters. However, what is more important is that you excelled in whichever field of study you pursued during undergraduate studies. Grades are not everything, though, and there are many factors taken into consideration when selecting interviewees. Several successful candidates did not have superior undergraduate grades, but were able to excel during their first semester in the McCombs program and show the banks that they had improved their study habits.
Q. Do I need to have experience in finance or banking to get into investment banking?
A. Absolutely not. Intern candidates have very diverse backgrounds. This past year, successful interviewees’ ranged from a former airline pilot, to marketing professionals, to sales associates, to engineers, as well as to those in the finance and accounting fields. As long as you can demonstrate to the banks during the recruiting process that you are passionate about, and have a high level of interest in investment banking, then you stand a good chance of landing an interview slot during January. To show the recruiters that you have this level of interest, you should make an effort to attend all Brief and Meets, Information Sessions, and other recruiting events brought to campus by all the investment banks. Also, you should consider attending “the Treks,” and make contact with the banks outside of the mainstream recruiting process (via informational interviews, phone calls, etc.)
Q. When do investment banks typically come to recruit?
A. The banks start recruiting early on in the Fall semester (usually by late September or October) so they can quickly identify the serious folks, or those that are primarily focused on investment banking. Campus events include the Brief and Meets, Information Sessions, and other meetings or presentations (the GFA, Investment Banking Group, and the FCC are great resources on keeping up to speed on when the firms plan to be on campus). As the semester moves on, the banks may invite several of their top candidates to other events such as dinners, happy hours, and off-campus meetings. By the end of the Fall semester, you should have taken advantage of a substantial opportunity to get to know several people at the banks, to better understand what their jobs entail, and to convey to them that you are 100% interested in investment banking.
Q. Which companies recruit at McCombs and how many interns do they pick?
A. This past recruiting season, virtually every “bulge-bracket” investment bank came to campus to recruit and interview candidates, except for Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. However, some students were still able to successfully schedule meetings and develop relationships with those firms through their own initiative. The number of associate interns taken from McCombs varies from year to year based on market conditions and the firms’ recruiting efforts at other MBA programs, but many students who put forth a strong effort to obtain an internship were successful. A large bulge bracket bank may have summer associate classes ranging from 60 interns up to 95 interns nationally, but those slots are filled from all the top MBA programs, so there is competition among programs to get their students placed. The McCombs program successfully competes for these internships with all the top 20 MBA programs.
Q. When should I start contacting the alumni?
A. You should begin contacting alumni as soon as you feel comfortable calling them to strike up a conversation (i.e. “informational interview”). Depending on your understanding of investment banking and/or a particular industry, this might be something you could do rather quickly (after a few weeks at school), or it might make sense to wait until you are more comfortable and you have learned about the industry from Brief and Meets and Information Sessions, as well as from your own research. Generally, most serious candidates had started a dialogue with several of the banks by October. Several students began to do informal “in-person” informational interviews in November, December, and even January.
Q. Should I go for both the Houston and NY trek?
A. It probably makes sense to attend the NYC Trek, and maybe the Houston and Dallas Treks, but it might not always be necessary to attend all three. You must weigh the likelihood that you would accept a position in each of those cities, then decide whether it is worth the time and expense to attend the Trek. Remember that summer internship locations do not always have to coincide with a full-time location. So, just because you know you don’t want to live in a particular location, doesn’t mean that you will not benefit from attending the Trek, which could lead to contact with a firm offering a summer internship. Some students are able to negotiate their full-time location after they do their summer internship with the same firm but in a different city. For most students, attending the New York Trek is invaluable toward furthering their understanding of investment banking, and demonstrating their interest in working on Wall Street.
Q. Are brief and meets important? What do we need to be prepared with at these meets?
A. Brief and Meets are crucial to successfully recruiting for an investment banking job. The firms keep records of who attends these fall events (via attendance sheets), and place a strong weight on those records in deciding who to interview during January for internship positions. Many highly qualified and smart students attempt to drop for investment banking jobs in January, but are not selected by the banks for an interview because the banks have no idea who those candidates are because they have never met them during the fall process. Investment banking firms want to make sure they offer jobs to committed people, not those who shop at the last minute for a summer internship. At Brief and Meets, recruits need to be ready to ask basic questions so that they can learn more about each bank, its coverage and product teams, and its people. The banks want to see that people are genuinely interested in what they have to say, and in their teams.
Q. Do I have to know which industry or product group I want to work for within banking?
A. No, but if you have a preference you should speak up as soon as possible because that point will impact where you recruit (Houston versus NYC) and which firms you want to talk to. If you don’t have a strong preference, you might want to develop an idea of what your general interests are so that you have a broad idea of the types of groups you’d be interested in (i.e. technology versus oil & gas, etc.).
Q. What is the interview format for investment banking?
A. The format is pretty standard across all the banks. The Ford Career center has vast resources for you to use when you prepare for your interviews, so you should begin to check out certain publications (i.e. from the Vault, Wet Feet, etc.). The link for the FCC is: http://fcc.mccombs.utexas.edu/
Q. What kind of questions should I ask at informational?
A. The FCC has sample questions for you to think about when you schedule your informational interviews. Keep in mind that the main idea for those types of meetings is for you to learn more about each bank to see if you would like to work with a particular group, and to demonstrate to them that you are willing to take time out of your schedule to get to know them and their firm. Second year students who have completed their summer internships are a great resource for you to talk to before you pick up the phone or travel to another city to conduct your informational interviews. Many candidates have mock interviews with second year students to prepare for actual interviews and informational interviews.
Q. Is CFA necessary for IB?
A. The Chartered Financial Analyst designation is not necessary for an internship in investment banking.
Q. Do IB sponsor work visas for international students?
A. You will have to check with each individual investment bank to see what their policies are regarding work sponsorships for international students. They each have different policies, but you should try to sort that out early on the process so you do not waste time and effort recruiting at a firm only to discover that you will not be employable there.
Q. How does the recruiting process for Sales and Trading differ from that for Investment Banking?
A. On the surface, these two recruiting processes are very similar, in terms of both companies and
timeline. However, there is a much less structured process with S&T than in IB, so you’re going to be
have to be much more proactive in contacting and keeping in contact with individuals who work in
these areas. Use your fellow students, alumni and other contacts as much as possible. In particular
at the University of Texas, you will see very little on-campus recruiting from the S&T side; this
doesn’t mean these positions don’t exist – it just means that you’re going to have to be willing to do
the leg work yourself. Set up as many informational interviews as possible. Although energy trading
positions (usually in Houston) can be numerous at McCombs, if you’re interested in working in other
areas or outside of Texas, be especially prepared to take the initiative. If New York interests you,
definitely plan on going on the Wall Street Trek, as this will be an excellent way to meet face-to-face
with S&T individuals in leading firms there. In order to be successful in S&T, you’re going to have to
be aggressive, so look at it as a good preparation for your future career!
