Do you have finance interviews? Prepare for questions just like these - or sometimes, these very questions.
1. Why Corporate Finance or M&A (or both if applicable)?
There are several good responses to this question, and you should tailor your response so that it is truthful and fits in with your goals. If you are interviewing for pure M&A or Corporate Finance positions at banks as well as rotational programs or internal Corporate Finance positions, you should be honest about this, although your first choice is always to be wherever you are interviewing. While you should not lie, you should omit any consulting, marketing or other completely unrelated interviews you may have lined up. Employers (especially the banks) want dedication.
You should also make certain that your answers mesh with the desired skills mentioned above. You should also not state that you want internal Corporate Finance because you think the hours are better (they are generally) because you don't want to come across as lazy. If you are going for a particular group or function, you should not deride an area you are not interested in. Many who aspired to be technology M&A bankers and started in 2001 or 2002 found themselves working on Food Industry corporate finance deals (if they were lucky enough to keep their jobs). Most banks place new associates in particular areas only if they have expertise (i.e. someone who worked at Disney before business school in the Media Group or a medical doctor in healthcare.) Financial Analysts are even less likely to get the group they want. Most likely, you will end up wherever there is an opening.
One questionable response would be that you want to make a lot of money. There are successful banking professionals who have said this in interviews and lived to tell about it, but most would advise against it unless the interviewer brings it up first. Even then it should be only one of many reasons why you want to work for a firm. The reason often given for this taboo is the idea that firms are looking for future leaders and team members, not those out for a quick buck. Of course, everyone knows Wall Street pays astronomical sums even to those just out of business school or a few years out of undergrad, and a good portion of the people interviewing you would not be working on the Street were it not for their 6-8 figure paychecks. It is, however, an unwritten rule that money is not discussed in an interview. This seems to be truer at "white shoe" firms like Goldman, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan than at Bear or Citigroup/SSB.
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