How to Answer the Why Investment Banking Question

Why do you actually want to be an investment banker?

Expect this question in every single interview – so be prepared and have a good answer ready.

But you probably have a poor idea of how to answer this one, at least if you’ve read other guides.

-You want to be a lifelong learner.

-You like finance and accounting.

-You like a fast-paced environment.

They’re not wrong – but these answers are all too generic. You sound the same as everyone else.

But if you want to succeed in interviews, you’ll have to be more memorable and give answers that make the other person actually like you.

You should use either the “Big Picture” or “Slice of Life” method to accomplish this.

“The Big Picture” method is more appropriate if you’re a career changer, a non-finance or accounting major, or you can’t think of a specific incident that made you interested in finance.

The basic idea is: Background in One Field + Finance Experience = Long-Term Success.

Maybe you’re a healthcare policy analyst and you want to combine your industry knowledge with investment banking so you can advise companies one day; or maybe you’re an engineer who wants to go into venture capital, combining technical knowledge with finance.

If you don’t have “long-term goals,” then make up some to fit the situation – just make sure you’re consistent with what you tell interviewers.

The “Slice of Life” method is better if you’ve had solid finance experience.

Here, you start off with a specific event that made you interested and then explain how that interest developed over time.

-You observed some family members trading stocks when you were younger, so you got interested, started following the market, and did some trading internships.

-You met top female executives at banks in a summer camp, which made you look into the field more seriously.

You can combine these methods as well – but keep your story short if you want the interviewer to listen.

Aim for 20-30 seconds at most, keep it brief and on point, and you’ll be well-ahead of 90% of interviewees.

Riyan Richter writes about the job search process, how to successfully network, and how to get into the finance industry at Mergers … Inquisitions, the web’s top resource for investment banking and answering the why investment banking question in interviews.