How to Master Investment Banking Interviews: From an Ex-Investment Banking Recruiter who Spoke at Harvard

This article is written by Hassan Akram, the CEO of City Careers Coach. We help students enter the world’s most elite finance careers through our experience as elite finance recruiters. Hassan has spoken at Harvard, MIT, and Yale on this and writes on getting into elite careers in the Times of India. He’s recruited for elite corporate careers, including investment banks, corporate law firms, and venture capital funds. He has also interviewed 1,000+ professionals from Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis, and McKinsey. 100% of our clients are successful at the CV stage. In our top programme, 95% of clients secure at least one offer for a corporate career, and our highest client starting salary is $180,000 at 21. We have an in-depth understanding of passing recruitment processes for elite, high-paying, and prestigious finance careers.

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Introduction

In the high-stakes world of investment banking recruitment, landing an offer at a top firm is akin to winning a championship. As an ex-recruiter who has worked with professionals from firms like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan — and having collaborated with consultants at McKinsey, Bain, private equity giants like Blackstone, and venture investors at Sequoia — I’ve seen firsthand what distinguishes the extraordinary candidates from the merely qualified. 

Spoiler: it’s not just flawless technical answers (though those are expected); it’s the strategic mastery of communication, personal presence, and insight. 

This article is a step-by-step deep dive into elite interviewing — an insider’s playbook that blends proprietary frameworks with real techniques and case examples. The goal is to help you deliver an interview performance so impactful that it could alter the trajectory of your career.

What Top Firms Really Look For

Investment banking interviews are famously rigorous. Banks filter thousands of Ivy League and Oxbridge candidates to find those rare individuals who have it all: analytical brilliance, yes, but also leadership, poise under pressure, and cultural fit. By final round interviews, every candidate left is smart and accomplished — the deciding factor is often executive presence. In fact, research on executive presence finds it boils down to three elements: gravitas, communication skill, and appearance. In interviews, gravitas translates to projecting confidence and decisiveness; communication skill means articulating ideas with clarity and impact; appearance means you look and act the part of a polished professional. 

In practical terms, senior bankers ask themselves: “Would I feel comfortable putting this person in front of a client?” If you can inspire that confidence, you’re halfway home.

Your finance knowledge must be rock solid — expect detailed questions on valuation, accounting, and markets. But even here, how you answer is as important as what you answer. As Managing Directors regularly state: “We’re not just testing if candidates know the right answer, but if they can explain their thought process clearly and identify the implications of different scenarios.” 

In other words, interviewers at firms like Goldman or Morgan Stanley want to see that you can think like a banker, not just recite formulas. If you stumble on a tricky accounting brainteaser, do you unravel it calmly and logically, or do you panic? The content of your response matters, but your composure and reasoning matter even more.

Frameworks for Structured, Compelling Answers

Great candidates don’t wing it — they deploy well-honed frameworks to deliver answers that are coherent and memorable. In my experience, a candidate who structures their responses with a clear beginning, middle, and end immediately stands out. You give the impression of a strategic thinker rather than a rambling talker. Structured frameworks such as BDC and STAR-3 can transform your responses into compelling narratives that resonate with interviewers. Below, we unpack these frameworks (BDC and STAR-3) and how to use them.

BDC — Crafting Your Personal Story (Began, Developed, Confirmed)

BDC is all about articulating your personal journey in a concise narrative arc — excellent for “Tell me about yourself” or “Why investment banking?” questions. It stands for Began, Developed, Confirmed: how you began your interest, how you developed it, and what confirmed that this path is right for you. This framework ensures your answer has a logical flow from past to present to future.

• Began: Start with the spark that ignited your interest in finance. For example: “My fascination with corporate finance began in my teens, watching my mother navigate a family business through a turnaround — I was captivated by how the right financial strategy could revive a company.” Notice this sets a personal, memorable scene rather than a generic “I like finance because it’s interesting” statement.
• Developed: Next, explain how you built on that interest. “In university, I majored in Economics and took on leadership of our Investment Club, where I found myself modelling cash flows for fun. I also interned at a boutique bank — working on a live M&A deal confirmed how much I love the fast-paced, high-stakes environment.” Here you provide evidence, showing progressive commitment: academics, extracurriculars, internships that all reinforce your trajectory.
• Confirmed: Conclude with the “aha” moment or insight that solidified your career choice. “During my internship’s closing weeks, I sat in on a client meeting about an acquisition financing. The rush I felt crystallised that investment banking is where I belong — the blend of analytical rigour and strategic impact was exactly what I’d been looking for.” By finishing with a decisive moment, you convey certainty and passion for banking. 

This chronological narrative not only answers the question but subtly sells your story — it shows evolution and intentionality. Using BDC forces you to include personal details (making you memorable) and to demonstrate growth, which reassures interviewers that you have long-term commitment to the field.

STAR-3 — Showcasing Your Impact in Behavioural Answers (Situation, Task, Action Points, Result [+ Reflection])

When answering behavioural interview questions — like “Tell me about a time you led a team through a challenge” or “Give an example of solving a complex problem under pressure” — the STAR method is a reliable framework. My approach, the STAR-3 approach, refines this approach by explicitly outlining three detailed Action Points and providing a structured Result section with clear, impactful outcomes, followed by an optional Reflection.

Situation: Briefly set the context to ensure clarity without overwhelming details. For example: “Last year, as a senior analyst, I was working on a significant acquisition when our VP unexpectedly became ill two weeks before the deal’s closure. This sudden shift meant critical tasks fell onto my shoulders at a crucial moment.”

Task: Clearly state your specific role or responsibility. For example: “My task was to coordinate the due diligence process and ensure all final documentation was accurate and complete. Essentially, I needed to step up and deliver at an associate-level capacity.”

Action Points: Clearly articulate three distinct actions to illustrate your skills:

“Firstly, I created a prioritised checklist of remaining due diligence tasks and briefed both our internal team and the target company’s analysts to ensure clear responsibilities and timelines. Secondly, I introduced daily evening updates with our Managing Director, maintaining clear communication and creating opportunities to seek strategic guidance promptly. Finally, I conducted an intensive review of our valuation models, identifying and correcting a critical $2 million error in the target’s inventory accounting just 48 hours before final sign-off.”

Each of these actions demonstrates desirable banking skills — organisation and proactive planning, effective and regular communication under pressure, and meticulous attention to detail combined with analytical rigour.

Result (3 Outcomes): Clearly and concisely present three impactful results stemming from your actions:

“Firstly, the deal successfully closed on schedule, safeguarding a significant transaction worth millions. Secondly, the client specifically praised our team’s seamless performance, despite the sudden staffing disruption. Lastly, my Managing Director commended my initiative and reliability, directly influencing my subsequent promotion to associate.”

Quantifying or highlighting explicit praise and outcomes clearly illustrates your direct impact and reinforces the effectiveness of your actions.

When using STAR-3, remember to keep your story tight — aim for 2 minutes or so. The structure will prevent you from wandering off-topic. Crucially, choose the right story for the question. Select examples that highlight qualities bankers prize: leadership, analytical thinking, perseverance, teamwork, client skills, etc. (Using the BDC method beforehand to prepare a “story bank” of experiences can be very handy here — you want 8–10 go-to stories you’ve structured and practised.) And always tailor which aspects you emphasise to match the question. If the question is about conflict, your actions should highlight diplomacy and listening; if it’s about a mistake, focus on how you took ownership and fixed it, and what you learned.

Mastering the Psychological Game: Gravitas, Communication and Body Language

From the initial handshake to the final handshake, the non-verbal impression you make in an interview often speaks louder than your words. At the MD level, interviewers are not just hiring a brain on legs — they’re hiring a potential future leader who needs to command respect from clients and teams. How you carry yourself in that 30–60 minute interview signals how you might act in a tense client meeting or a board presentation down the line.

Here is a key psychological strategy to project the gravitas and confidence that senior bankers respond to:

• High-Gravity Vocal Tone: Investment banking is an environment that rewards calm authority. Senior interviewers subconsciously favour candidates who convey gravitas when they speak. This doesn’t mean having a naturally deep voice; it means training yourself to speak in a steady, confident tone with deliberate pacing. An old trick of mine before interviews was to do a quick breathing exercise and speak a few practice sentences in a lower register to “warm up” my voice. It’s the same technique we coached our clients on: breathing and resonance exercises to slightly deepen the vocal register, giving a more commanding tone. In interviews, avoid high-pitched or sing-song inflections which can come across as nervous or overly eager. Instead, aim to finish your sentences on a down note (declaring, not questioning). 

Conclusion

Mastering the investment banking interview is about playing both the technical and human angles to perfection. You must convince interviewers that you have the financial skills and the leadership potential to navigate one of the most demanding careers out there. Use frameworks like BDC, PEAL-3, and STAR-3 to craft responses that are tight, evidence-packed and insightful. Deploy your voice, body language, and words to project an aura of confidence and capability that sticks in their minds.

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‘Really clear and structured frameworks. Genuinely world-leading. I’m a former private equity investor and was impressed by the depth of their knowledge for elite careers, such as private equity and venture capital. Can’t wait for them to come to HBS again.’

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‘City Careers Coach was incredibly helpful in my CV recruitment process. I had gathered useful pieces of recruitment information from various sources prior to meeting Hassan, but he was able to bring it all together to help me have a clear picture of what a good recruitment strategy looks like. Beyond being extremely knowledgeable, Hassan, the firm’s CEO, was incredibly flexible, friendly, and willing to help out in any way — I would highly recommend Hassan to anyone looking to break into elite finance careers.’

City Careers Coach is an international network of freelance finance recruiters with investment banking, corporate law, and private equity backgrounds. We provide premium, bespoke, and personalised 1–1 career development programmes for university students looking to enter elite, corporate, high-paying careers. We have an exceptionally strong track record. 100% of our clients pass the CV stage. 90% of our clients secure at least one internship or graduate role. Our average client’s starting salary is £150,000.

Click here to apply for our globally regarded 1–1 programmes, which have led us to speak at Harvard, Yale, MIT and write for the Times of India

Click here to join 2,000+ students from Oxford, LSE, and Stanford in our FREE Skool Community on entering elite careers

Check our case studies of clients securing offers in corporate law. Here’s a client from China CCD at A level secure a vacation scheme at one of the world’s most elite firm, Ropes & Gray, here’s a client from also from Malaysia, securing multiple training contract offers, and here’s a client from Switzerland securing a training contract with the elite US law firm Sidley Austin

Please visit our blog on The Times of India for guidance on entering elite careers