Bank on Banking

For all of those eager overachievers out there, just getting an offer might not be enough – some of you might be interested in one particular group or another. Yes, before anyone says it, I am indeed talking about the sellday. In this case, however, I am not talking about performing During the Sellday or the Dos and Don’ts of the Pre-Sell Day Push. Instead, I wanted to take a quick article to cover what exactly you CAN expect during your pre-sellday meetings with, ideally, your groups of choice. I’ve received a lot of questions from many anxious soon-to-be SAs and FTs (as well as some eager soon-to-be interviewers) who want to not only know how to impress their target groups, but also how to navigate the pre-sellday meetings to make the best impression and be prepared.

First thing is first; since you already landed the offer, the meeting will NOT be like your Superday Gauntlet and you will NOT be expected to rattle off Technical Question Answers like a finance textbook. This meeting, fortunately (I am assuming most of you find this to be a fortunate point), will be entirely about fit – in other words, whether you like the type of people in their team and whether they think you are a good fit for the group. Essentially, you can expect it to be pretty casual (in terms of conversation, not attire – unless you are specifically told NOT to wear a suit, definitely wear a suit), while touching on many of the common points such as background, what interests you about group X, your hobbies, school, clubs, sports and so forth – depending on the person with whom you meet. No, you probably won’t be grilled on failures, strengths, weaknesses, etc, but you will still want to be confident and vocal in your conversation without coming off as cocky – remember, you are not really trying to impress them as much as you are trying to show them that you are likeable and a good fit with the team.

Be prepared to sell yourself as hard working and both interesting (as a person) and interested (in the team), but don’t be a phony – be genuine and true to who you are – it’ll make a much better impression and give both of you the opportunity to know if there is a good match there. Remember, while the group is checking you out, in a sense, to learn whether you are a good fit for the team, you should be evaluating the group to find out if you feel you would fit in and, more importantly, enjoy your time there – remember, it is work, but it is also going to be a BIG part of your life for the next few years (or at least months for a SA – although, of course, this is a much bigger deal to FT than SA since SA can change groups, etc after their internship).

Regarding what types of questions to ask the bankers, I would go with questions pertaining to the person him/herself – such as his/her interests, what brought him/her to the field and group, his/her school, etc. From there, I’d move into the general group dynamic. In other words, ask about the groups common interests – are they social (in other words, do they do anything as a group – whether that be outings, evening drinks, etc), is the group more casual or professional on the floor (in terms of not only attire, but banter, different banker level interaction, etc). While this is definitely a field of interest to you, this is also the field in which you need to exercise the most tact when posing the questions. Specifically, you need to make sure not to ask questions with judgmental tones in your voice essentially leading the banker to believe you feeling one way or another as opposed to simply trying to learn about the team. From there, you can go into analyst responsibilities – will you get modeling exposure, construct pitch books, draft and revise offering materials, etc. Additionally, will you get exposure to senior bankers or is it pretty structured (a vertical structure) meaning analyst goes to associate, and associate goes to senior bankers or even VP and only the VP goes further up the chain. Lastly, you’ll want to touch on the group as a product of the bank. In other words, ask about deal flow, hot products or industries right now (depending on whether you are talking to an industry or product group), whether the group is keeping busy and looking to some live deals (essentially you are showing an interest in becoming a part of the team while in reality you are trying to gauge just what level of experience you can expect).

While there are definitely other questions to ask, this should provide a solid foundation and a more complete picture of the pre-sellday networking process as a whole. If used properly the pre-sellday networking channel can be extremely valuable in terms of landing in your target group. Just as with anything that can give you an advantage, however, it can also give you a disadvantage if used improperly. Remember about all else to put your best foot forward and be genuine in your conversations – this will not only impress the group, but also help you to learn whether you would honestly be happy in that particular group going forward.

Keep an eye out for a new product coming soon, the kickoff article of the Lighter Side…of banking…and Much More! As always, comments go below and emails can be sent Here.