Investment Banking Central: Alumni Advice

Rijul Malik | Investment Banking Associate (Restructuring group) at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis  | Finance, minor in math '19

I had a Fortune 500 internship as well as a corporate development internship before ultimately interning at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis in the restructuring group, which I ended up converting into a full-time offer. I graduated in three years from Carlson so my internship experience prior to my internship in IB was lighter than most others

Claire Underhill | Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies (Power, Utilities and Infrastructure group) in NYC | Finance '20

I did an investment banking internship at a middle market bank in Minneapolis the summer prior to interning at Jefferies. I also did an unpaid internship at a local financial planner in my area during my freshman summer.

Rijul Malik | Investment Banking Associate (Restructuring group) at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis  | Finance, minor in math '19

Networking is extremely critical for IB recruiting. When I was in school as a freshman/sophomore, I used to use our Fridays that we have no class in Carlson to go downtown and get coffee with as many people working in IB as I could. This meant that come recruiting season, a few banks had already known me very well and took note of my interest when selecting candidates for first rounds and superdays

Claire Underhill | Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies (Power, Utilities and Infrastructure group) in NYC | Finance '20

Networking can be very helpful in the recruiting process for a number of reasons. First, networking is the best way to get to know a bank’s culture and structure, and will ultimately help you decide the best fit for you. These conversations give you great talking points in an interview when you are speaking about why you want to work at that bank.  Second, the recruiting process is incredibly competitive, so it helps to have a people on the inside rooting for you and helping to get you from the application into an interview.

That being said, there are a number of ways to break into banking. If you qualify, diversity recruiting programs are a great way to get to know a bank and also be placed into an accelerated recruiting timeline. There is naturally less emphasis on who you already know at the bank in these processes.

Rijul Malik | Investment Banking Associate (Restructuring group) at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis  | Finance, minor in math '19

Networking is the best way to get into the interview process. With regards to preparation, technical prep is extremely important – the best resources to start with would be the 400 question guide as well as the Investment Banking book by Rosenbaum. You also need to make sure you have a good understanding of the type of work investment banks do, and use that to craft a story that makes sense for why you want to do IB.

Claire Underhill | Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies (Power, Utilities and Infrastructure group) in NYC | Finance '20

• Recruiting for an investment banking internship is an accelerated process.  Summer analyst recruiting (junior summer) begins as early as spring of sophomore year. The interview process typically consists of a first round interview and a super day. Super Day structure can vary between banks, but are usually 3-6 back-to-back interviews covering both behavioral and technical questions.

• Technical questions can often feel like the most intimidating portion of the interview. There are a number of guides that can be used to help you prepare, but be sure to fully understand the concepts rather than just memorizing the answers. Additionally, the most important thing to remember is that the interviewer wants to understand how you think through problems. If you don’t know an answer, stay calm, explain your thought process and ask if you are on the right track.

• While technical knowledge is evaluated, the questions “Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume” and “Why do you want to do investment banking” are probably the more important. For these questions, it is helpful to nail down your “story” ahead of time. While you don’t want to sound rehearsed, you need to succinctly give your background in under 2 minutes. While walking through your  academic and professional experience, you should be able to explain how your path has led you to be interested in investment banking.

• Finally, a lot of people want to do this job. Try to find your own unique angle on why investment banking is right for you.

Rijul Malik | Investment Banking Associate (Restructuring group) at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis  | Finance, minor in math '19

Don’t stress/worry about things out of your control. Recruiting in IB is competitive and can feel like a crapshoot a lot of the time, but the best thing you can do is focus on things within your control, including networking, technical prep, mock interviews, resume prep, grades/internship experience etc.

A second piece of advice more from my own mind is to make sure to grow your interests outside of academics and make sure those show up on your resume. Throughout my interview processes, I was asked many questions about my interests and its important for recruiting into IB to be a well-rounded person. You will be spending a lot of time with your coworkers and so its important that you’re a good fit as a person and not just as an employee.

Claire Underhill | Investment Banking Analyst at Jefferies (Power, Utilities and Infrastructure group) in NYC | Finance '20

I think the most important advice that has been proven true from my time recruiting through my time as an analyst – Attitude is everything in this job. Anyone can learn technical skills, but good analysts separate themselves by keeping a positive attitude, being enthusiastic about their work and staying curious. Communicating that you have these attributes is crucial in any interview.

Rijul Malik | Investment Banking Associate (Restructuring group) at Houlihan Lokey in Minneapolis  | Finance, minor in math '19

Always happy to receive emails from UMN students, they can reach me at rmalik@hl.com or can send me a message on LinkedIn.