Questions to Ask in an Investment Banking Interview
For anyone interviewing for an analyst, associate or internship seat who has been handed the last five minutes of a first round or a superday and needs something to ask the banker across the table. The questions run from the group and its deals, through how juniors are staffed and what they do, to training, review and promotion and the culture, with a few to close on. Each has a note on what a good or a worrying answer sounds like, and many say whether to put it to an analyst, a VP or an MD.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The group
What made you choose this group, and what has kept you here?
Why ask it
It suits every interviewer from a first-year analyst to an MD, so it is the one to have ready when you do not know who is coming through the door. Good answers have people and deals in them: the associate who taught them, the sector they wanted to cover. If it is all brand and reputation, ask what surprised them after they joined.
What has the group been busiest with over the past few months?
Why ask it
Most bankers can answer this in general terms without naming a client, which makes it a safe opener at any level. A good answer names the kind of work, such as a sell-side process or a financing, and roughly where it stands. If you hear only 'a bit of everything', ask which kind of deal took most of the team's time.
Which deal have you learned the most from so far?
Why ask it
An analyst will usually talk about a model or a process that went sideways, and an MD about a client. Either way you get a story instead of a brochure line, and the part they found hard is the part worth a follow-up. Mention the deal when you write to thank them.
How has the market this year changed the kind of work the group is doing?
Why ask it
Pin it to something you have read about that month, whether a quiet stretch for public offerings or a run of buyouts, so it does not sound like a question from a list. A good answer ties conditions to the group's own mix of mandates. With an analyst, ask how it has changed what they are staffed on.
How is the team's time split right now between live deals and pitching?
Why ask it
Live deals teach how a transaction runs, while pitching teaches you to build a book quickly and well, and a first year needs some of each. A banker who answers with a rough proportion and a reason for it knows their own group. If it is nearly all pitching, ask when the last mandate closed.
What kinds of clients does the group spend most of its time with?
Why ask it
Large public companies, private equity firms and founder-owned businesses each mean a different working week and a different kind of deal. A VP or MD sees the full client list and can say how it is shifting. From an analyst you will hear what those clients are like to work for, which is the other half of the answer.
I read about a deal your group announced recently. What made it harder than it looked from outside?
Why ask it
Name the deal when you ask, and only ask if you have read more than the headline, because the banker may ask what you made of it. They may not be able to say much about a client, so accept a general reply with good grace. The fact that you looked is most of the point.
How does this group share the work with the product or industry teams on a deal?
Why ask it
Who builds the model and who runs the process is settled differently from bank to bank, and sometimes from deal to deal. A clear reply, such as 'we run the model and they bring the buyers', tells you which skills the seat would give you. A fuzzy one can mean the split is argued over each time.
What are clients asking the group about most this year?
Why ask it
Save it for a VP or MD, who hear it firsthand, and have a view of your own ready because the question often comes straight back. A banker who lights up here is showing you what the senior job is made of. With an analyst, ask what the pitch books have been about instead.
When the group wins a mandate over other banks, what usually tips it?
Why ask it
The reply is the group's own account of what it sells: sector knowledge, a long relationship, financing, or a senior banker's time. Whatever they name is material for your 'why this bank' answer in the next round, in their words and not the website's. If the banker is junior and unsure, ask what they have heard clients say.
Is the group adding people, and where do you expect new work to come from?
Why ask it
A junior's deals come from the mandates the senior bankers bring in, so this is a question about your own future workload put politely. Growth with a reason behind it, such as a new sector team or a recent senior hire, is a good sign. Talk of several recent departures at the top is worth raising again with the recruiter.
Junior work
What does a normal week look like for a first-year in this group right now?
Why ask it
'No two days are the same' is the stock reply, so if you get it, ask what last week held. A useful answer has a shape: how many deals at once, how much of the day goes to turning comments, when new work tends to arrive. A senior banker's picture of the week may be some years old, so put it to an analyst or associate.
How do juniors get put on deals here: through a staffer, or do senior bankers ask for people by name?
Why ask it
Best put to an analyst or associate, who lives with whichever system it is. A staffer who tracks workload tends to spread the work, while direct requests reward whoever is already known. Neither is a warning by itself, so follow up with how a new joiner lands a first deal.
On a live deal, which pieces of the work would someone at my level be responsible for?
Why ask it
A good answer is a list of things: the model, the buyer list, the data room, drafts of the management presentation. 'Supporting the team' with nothing after it is the worrying one, and worth a gentle 'for example?'. Interns can ask the same about last summer's class.
How large is a typical deal team, and who is on it?
Why ask it
A lean team of one senior banker, one mid-level and one analyst hands over responsibility sooner and leaves less cover when something goes wrong. Bigger teams add layers of review. Whichever it is, ask who checks an analyst's work before it reaches the client.
How soon do juniors join client calls and meetings?
Why ask it
'Lots of exposure' means little until there is a story attached, so ask the analyst across from you about their own first client call. Listening on mute in month two and presenting a page in year two are both exposure. It differs by bank and by senior banker, which makes one real example worth more than a policy.
Would I mostly work with the same few senior bankers, or across the whole group?
Why ask it
A small circle learns your work well and can speak for you at review time. Working across the group gives more variety and fewer people who know you closely. Once you know which it is, the natural follow-up is who would know your work best after a year.
How much of the modeling is built from scratch, and how much starts from a template or an earlier deal?
Why ask it
It is usually a mix, and the interesting part is what gets built fresh and by whom. The question marks you as someone who cares about the craft, which goes down well with analysts and associates. An MD may wave it off, so pick a different one for them.
When you were new, what was the first piece of work you were trusted to run by yourself?
Why ask it
The story comes with a timeline, and that is how quickly responsibility arrives in this group. Weeks or a few months suggests juniors are stretched early. If it took well over a year, ask whether that is still how it goes.
How do associates and analysts divide the work on a deal here?
Why ask it
Essential for an associate candidate, above all one arriving from business school or another career. In some groups the associate still builds models, and in others they check the analyst's work and run the process. Whichever they describe is the skill to brush up on before your start date.
What do interns in this group work on, and do they join live deal teams?
Why ask it
For an internship seat this is the question. The answer you want has interns staffed on real teams with a deliverable of their own. A stand-alone summer project and little else means fewer bankers will have seen your work when return offers are discussed, so ask who would.
When several deadlines land at once, who decides what a junior works on first?
Why ask it
It asks about workload without asking about hours. Listen for a person, such as the staffer or the associate on the deal, and for a habit of raising conflicts early. 'You just get it all done' tells you the sorting would be yours to do alone.
Training
What training do new joiners get before they are staffed on a first deal?
Why ask it
The answer can be anything from weeks in a classroom to an online course to learning on the desk. If you would join off-cycle or as a lateral, ask whether you get the same program as the main class. A banker who can still name something they use from theirs is telling you it was worth the time.
What do the strongest juniors in the group do differently in their first six months?
Why ask it
Asking it tells the banker you mean to be one of them. Write down the exact habits they name and bring them out when a later interviewer asks what kind of analyst you would be. If the whole answer is stamina, ask what else they notice.
Day to day, who would I learn the most from?
Why ask it
The useful answer is a person or a role, not a program. Often it is the associate one seat up, who marks your pages and takes the late question. If you are told 'you pick it up as you go', ask who they went to when they were stuck.
How does feedback on a piece of work reach a junior here: marked-up pages, a call, a talk once the deal is done?
Why ask it
Comments on a draft are corrections. What matters is whether anyone explains the reasoning behind them. A banker who describes sitting down after a deal to go over what went well is describing a group that teaches, and an analyst is the one to ask, being on the receiving end.
What do you wish you had been better at when you started?
Why ask it
This is preparation advice from the person who has just done the job, so ask the most junior banker you meet. Expect something plain, such as Excel shortcuts, accounting or checking your own numbers. Work on it before you start, and if you meet the same banker in a later round, tell them you did.
Is there a mentor or buddy for new analysts, and do people actually use it?
Why ask it
The second half is the real question, since a scheme on paper and a person you can call are different things. Ask whether the interviewer has a mentee or had a mentor, and what they talked about last. A shrug at that is your answer.
What should I work on between now and the start date to be useful in the first week?
Why ask it
It assumes you will get the seat, so keep it for a late round or the final interview of a superday. A specific reply, such as a modeling course, sector reading or a filing to go through, is a banker picturing you on the desk. Suits interns as well as full-time hires.
How are new tools changing what juniors spend their time on in this group?
Why ask it
Which software and AI tools are allowed is each bank's own decision, and some permit very little. A thoughtful answer suggests someone senior is paying attention to where junior time goes. It also lets you mention, briefly, a tool or a skill of your own.
Review and promotion
How and when are juniors reviewed here, and who has a say?
Why ask it
A good answer gives the timing and says that the bankers you worked for on deals are asked for their view. If only one or two people decide, ask how they would come to know your work. Be a little wary if the person across from you is unsure how their own review works.
What would tell you an analyst is ready to step up to associate?
Why ask it
Put it to a VP or MD, who are in the room when those cases are made. Strong answers describe behavior: running a workstream, checking other people's pages, being trusted alone with a client. Asking it shows you are thinking about staying, which lands better than any question about leaving.
Do analysts here often stay on and become associates, or is the seat set up as a fixed program?
Why ask it
This is the acceptable way to learn about the path without mentioning exits. Banks treat it differently, and so do groups inside one bank. If the banker can point to people on the floor who came up from analyst, the route is real.
If a review shows a junior has something to fix, what happens next?
Why ask it
Reviews are easy to describe and harder to act on, so this asks what the group does with one. Good answers hold a concrete step: a change in the deals someone is put on, an associate asked to check in, a date to look again. If nothing follows until the next cycle, getting better would be yours to arrange.
How do interns find out how they are doing before the summer ends?
Why ask it
A midpoint review with a named reviewer is the good answer, because it leaves weeks to act on what you hear. If feedback only arrives with the offer decision, plan to ask your deal teams for it yourself. Return offers are decided differently at each bank, so ask who weighs in at this one.
What do the interns who are invited back tend to have in common?
Why ask it
Whatever the banker lists is your checklist for the summer, and it is often less technical than candidates expect. Follow up by asking who in the group has a voice in the decision. Skip it if you are interviewing for a full-time seat.
How is a lateral or business school associate judged in the first year next to one promoted from analyst?
Why ask it
Only for associate candidates, and best asked of a VP. Promoted analysts know the bank's templates and people already, so the fair answer admits a catch-up period and says how long it is allowed to last. No allowance at all is worth knowing before you accept.
What changed about the job when you moved up to your current level?
Why ask it
Each step is a different job: from producing the pages, to checking them and running the process, to owning the client. Hearing it from someone who has just made the move shows what promotion would ask of you. It works best with associates and VPs.
Do juniors ever move between groups or offices, and how does that come about?
Why ask it
Ask it as curiosity about the bank and never in a first round, where it can sound as if this group is your second choice. A real answer includes someone who did it and how long they had been there. Policies on this vary, so take the example over the principle.
Culture
How would you describe the people on the team to a friend outside banking?
Why ask it
The 'friend outside banking' part moves the banker off the recruiting script and into plain adjectives. Notice whether the words are about how people treat each other or only about how smart they are. If all you get is 'sharp and hardworking', ask who on the team they would take a basic question to.
What happens when an analyst finds a mistake in something that has already gone to the client?
Why ask it
You want to hear a routine: tell the associate at once, fix it, send the corrected page. A joke about someone who never lived it down is the worrying version. It also shows you already know that errors happen and that hiding one is the real offense.
How much do the senior bankers deal with analysts directly?
Why ask it
Put this to an analyst in the morning and to an MD in the afternoon, then compare the two accounts. Where both describe the same thing, believe it. Where the MD describes an open door the analyst has never walked through, go with the analyst.
What does the team do differently when a deal hits a hard stretch?
Why ask it
Here you learn about the heavy weeks without asking how many hours they run to. A good answer has seniors staying reachable and work being shared around. Be careful with a reply that is mostly pride in how bad it got.
What kind of person struggles here even when they are technically strong?
Why ask it
Senior bankers have watched it happen and usually answer plainly: someone who takes markups personally, sits on a problem, or will not ask. Measure yourself against the reply honestly. It is also a quiet guide to what the group will not put up with.
How do analysts in the same class work with each other?
Why ask it
Only an analyst can answer it properly. The telling details are small, such as checking each other's models or covering a deal so someone can go to a wedding. If staffing is described as a contest between classmates, picture living inside that.
Is the group in the office together most days, and where do juniors sit?
Why ask it
Attendance rules change, so ask about this group this year and not the bank's stated policy. Sitting within earshot of senior bankers on client calls is a kind of training no course gives. If juniors sit on a separate floor, ask how they get that exposure.
When the group is between deals, how do juniors use the slower weeks?
Why ask it
Quiet spells come to every group. Good ones use them for training, for ideas to take to clients, and for vacation that really gets taken. If slow weeks are spent looking busy at the desk, that says something about how time is valued there.
Closing
Which of the people I am meeting today would I work with most closely?
Why ask it
On a superday it sorts your interviewers into future teammates and people you may rarely see. Aim the questions about daily work at the first kind. It is fine to ask the recruiter this at the start of the day instead.
What makes a candidate stand out to you on a day like today?
Why ask it
Asked in an early interview, it gives you something to act on for the rest of the day. Each banker has a private test, and some will simply tell you theirs. Avoid it in your last interview, when there is nothing left to do with it.
What would you want someone joining this group to know that never comes up in interviews?
Why ask it
An open door for the candid version. Sometimes the banker raises the hours or the hard personalities themselves, which saves you asking. Whatever comes out, thank them for it and do not argue with it.
Is there anything in my background you would like me to say more about before we finish?
Why ask it
A softer way of asking about doubts, and it gives you a second go at a technical answer you fumbled. If they raise something, reply in two or three sentences and stop. If they say no, take it at face value and move on.
If I receive an offer, could I speak with one or two of the current analysts before deciding?
Why ask it
That later conversation is the place for hours, weekends and where people go next, none of which belong in the interview itself. Asking for it shows you intend to choose carefully. Hold it for a final round or for the recruiter.
What are the next steps after today, and when are decisions usually made?
Why ask it
This one is for the recruiter or the HR contact before it is for a banker. If your final interviewer is a banker and nobody has told you, ask once and briefly. Timelines after a superday vary from bank to bank, so do not read silence by someone else's schedule.
How to use your questions in a banking interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the interview
Match the question to the banker
Analysts and associates know the daily job: staffing, who checks the work, what training was like, how the class gets along. Put the questions under Junior work, Training and Culture to them. VPs run deals and sit in on reviews, so they are the ones for deal teams, feedback and what readiness for the next level looks like. MDs win the work. Ask them about clients, why the group wins mandates and where it is heading, and leave the details of an analyst's week out of it.
First round or superday
A first round is often a single banker and half an hour, with room for one or two questions. Take them from The group, where curiosity about the work is the whole message. A superday is several interviews back to back, so you need more questions and you can ask a few of them twice. Formats differ by bank and by country, so ask the recruiter how the day is set up and who you will meet.
Read the group's recent work first
Look up what the group has announced lately and read one deal properly: who the client was, what was sold or raised, and why then. One question built on that reading does more than five general ones. If the bank hires into a pool and assigns groups later, read the firm's recent deals and ask how placement works.
Prepare more than you will use
Bring six or eight and expect to ask two or three per interviewer. Bankers often answer your best question while describing the group, and 'you covered what I had' is a weak way to end. Rank them so the one that matters most to your decision goes first.
In the room
Ask about their experience, not the policy
'How does the bank develop juniors?' gets the website. 'Who taught you the most in your first year?' gets a person and a story. Nearly every question on this page can be turned toward the banker's own time in the seat, and most people answer better about themselves than about their employer.
Build on what you heard
If the interviewer mentioned a deal or a client type earlier, start there: 'You said the group has been busy with carve-outs. What does an analyst do on one of those?' It proves you were listening, which is a large part of what a junior banker is hired to do.
Keep each one short
A question that takes thirty seconds to ask is a speech. Ask in one sentence, then stop talking and let the banker fill the time. If the answer is brief, one follow-up is plenty.
Repeat one question across the day
On a superday, put the same Culture or Junior work question to a junior and a senior banker. Few interviewers mind hearing a question a colleague also got, and the gap between the two answers is some of the best information you will take home.
What not to ask in the room
Hours and weekends
Everyone in the interview knows the hours are long, and asking how long can read as doubt about whether you want the job. The questions here about a normal week, competing deadlines, hard stretches and slow weeks get you most of the picture. Save the direct version for a call with a current analyst once you hold an offer.
Pay and bonus
The bankers interviewing you rarely set your pay, and many are uncomfortable discussing it with a candidate. Figures and the way a bonus is decided vary by bank, level and country, so ask the recruiter or HR how it works there, and ask once there is an offer.
Exit opportunities
Asking where people go after the analyst years can tell the group you are already planning to leave it. The questions under Review and promotion about staying on and stepping up cover the same ground from the other direction. What former analysts do next is something to research yourself or raise in a coffee chat.
Showing off, and what the website answers
A question built to display what you know about a valuation method fools nobody and spends your five minutes. So does anything the bank's site answers, such as how many offices it has. Ask what you want to know.
Having none
'No, I think you covered everything' closes the interview on a flat note. Even at the end of a long day, one question about the interviewer's own work is enough.
Reading the answers
Listen for deals, names and dates
A banker who answers with a specific transaction, a named colleague or 'last month' is describing something that happened. General praise for the culture or the platform may be true, but it is not evidence yet. Ask for an example before deciding.
Weigh the junior answer on daily life
When an analyst and an MD describe staffing or feedback differently, the analyst is describing what you would live with. On where the group is heading and what clients want, trust the senior answer.
Write it down between interviews
On a superday the conversations blur by mid-afternoon. Take two minutes after each one to note who said what, including the deal they mentioned. Those notes make a thank-you message specific, and they are what you will rely on if you end up comparing offers.
Treat one worrying answer as a prompt
A flat or evasive reply can come from a tired interviewer at the end of their own long week. Put the same question to someone else before drawing a conclusion. If three people dodge it, that is the answer.