Introduction
If you want to break into banking, a major component is nailing your interview. Many companies require a technical component to test your knowledge of the fundamentals of finance and accounting and to see if you keep up with current market trends and news.
If you are interested in investment banking, sales and trading, private equity, etc., companies will want you to know about the four major financial statements, evaluating a company, and pitching a stock, to name a few. They will also want you to be able to eloquently explain why you are interested in them as a company or firm and why you are interested in the role you are applying for.
The resources below will better help you to understand more about the types of questions you may be asked and will give you the platform to practice.
How You Can Research
The process of prepping can seem overwhelming, but the good news is that there are many resources available to you to help you prep, and many of them are free! We will help you break them down below.
Through Villanova, you have access to Vault, which offers hundreds of guides on industries and top employers. In addition, they offer a guide to finance interviews, which includes guidance on both behavioral and technical questions. This is a good resource to use as you first start your research.
BigInterview is an online system that combines training and practice to help improve interview techniques and build confidence. It provides an innovative way to help students prepare more effectively for job interviews. Check out their Financial Services Industry Practice set for finance-specific questions.
LinkedIn Learning is a leading online education platform featuring thousands of courses taught by industry experts. Many courses include financial concepts such as Financial Modeling, Excel, and Business Analysis & Statistics Foundations.
Forage offers free virtual work simulations, which are designed and delivered by leading companies in various industries. Forage experiences are anywhere from 2-8 hours long and are designed to help students get better prepared for work in that industry. Try out some of their Banking & Financial Services job simulations.
Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Financial Times
Stay up to date on current affairs and the global economy by reading these publications. As a Villanova student, you have free access to all three journals. You can access the WSJ by signing up at wsj.com/villanova. Sign-up instructions for Bloomberg are here. Instructions on how to access The Financial Times can be found here.
Bloomberg is a computer software system that allows users to analyze real time market and economic data. Bloomberg includes features such as news, price quotes, financial analysis, analyst reports, company financial statements, stock market indices, etc. This is offered to you for free as a Villanova student. You can sign up at Bloomberg for Education.
Wall Street Prep is a great website to explore. Although they offer many great paid resources, like their “Red Book” or Financial Modeling Courses, they have a whole library of free content. This can help you gain a basic understanding of finance or specialized areas within.
A website with hundreds of articles to help you break into Wall Street, including “Investment Banking Interviews 101”, which includes sample questions for behavioral, fit, markets, and technical. They also offer paid courses by Breaking Into Wall Street including financial modeling courses.
An online community with various threads on industry-related topics. They also have online services (some free and others fee-based) to help prepare you for the industry. A good resource to review is 10 Basic Finance Technical Interview Questions.
The Villanova Finance Group is open to all students across the college and has several sub-groups, including M&A Society, SWIFT, and FINS. Each of these groups has resources and training created to help you launch a successful career in Finance. If interested in joining you can email vfg@villanova.edu.
Questions:
- What are the three main financial statements, and how are they linked together?
- What financial statement would you use to evaluate a company if you could only have one?
- What do Investment Bankers do?
- What is the Chinese Wall in finance? Why is it important?
- Walk me through a DCF Analysis.
- How would you value a company, and what are the three main valuation methods?
Things to Research:
- Current events in the global economy
- knowledge of a specific industry or firm that you’ve been following on the market.
- The company and division you are applying for.
- Understand what sets this bank apart from the others.
- Recent news about the bank (recent deals, mergers, etc.).
- Know what division/group you are applying for and why you want to work in that role.
- Why you want to go into banking. This is an opportunity to sell yourself and set you apart from other candidates.
You will need to have a baseline of financial concepts and have some intermediate Excel skills for modeling if your interview will include a case or modeling component. Below are a few concepts, but please use tools like Vault, WSP, and LinkedIn Learning or your finance courses for the most up-to-date and accurate information on modeling.
Basic Finance Concepts:
Accounting Knowledge:
US GAAP accounting equation: Total Assets = Total Liability + Owners Equity
Financial Statements:
Balance Sheet
Income Statement
Statement of Retained Earnings
Cashflows
Source: Vault Financial Services Interview Guide
EXCEL skills
Formulas
SUMIFS, INDEX and MATCH or XLOOKUP
Tools
Pivot Tables
Conditional Formatting
Graphs and Charts
Source: LinkedIn Learning – Excel for Finance: Building a Three-Statement Operating Model
The Importance of Networking
Networking with alumni can not only help you get your foot in the door, but may also connect you with people who have been through the interview process recently and can help to coach you through what to expect. Use Nova Network and LinkedIn’s Alumni Tab to connect with alumni at companies that you are interested in.
