Currently at a semi-target elementary school but trying to lateral to a target middle school before recruiting starts.

Long term goal is MF PE. Current plan is:

Target middle school > elite prep school > HYPSW > BB IB >MF PE> HBS> back to MF PE

Problem is I'm already 8 and have zero relevant internships. Couple kids in my class already have search fund experience through their dads so starting to feel pretty behind.

Trying to decide between 3 opportunities for next summer:

1. Local newspaper route
Good early morning experience so could prepare me for IB hours. Concerned I'll get pigeonholed into operations.

2. Ice cream shop
$3/hr + free ice cream. Decent customer-facing experience but worried recruiters will view it as too retail-focused.

3. Playground startup
Friend's older brother has a 3D printer and sells custom stuff at school. I'd be helping with expansion to two new playgrounds. Technically biz dev but equity comp seems questionable.

Also started networking but response rates have been pretty bad. Sent 47 cold emails to MDs this week and only one replied asking how I got his personal email.

Should I take one of these or hold out for something more relevant?

Really don't want to mess up recruiting this late in the game.

If you're interviewing for investment banking, your preparation should focus on three areas:

1. Fit Questions

These determine whether you'd be someone the team wants to work with.

Common questions include:

• Walk me through your resume
• Why investment banking?
• Why our firm?
• Tell me about a time you handled conflict.
• Tell me about a failure.
• Tell me about a leadership experience.

A good rule is to prepare 6–8 stories that can be adapted to multiple behavioral questions.

2. Technical Questions

These are the fundamentals almost every candidate should know.

Topics include:

• Three Financial Statements
• WACC
• DCF
• Enterprise Value vs. Equity Value
• Valuation methodologies
• Why issue debt vs. equity?
• Three-statement questions
• Basic accounting flows
• M&A fundamentals

Don't just memorize answers. Interviewers usually care more about your thought process than whether you recall every detail perfectly.

3. Interview Behavior

Small things matter more than most candidates realize.

Some advice:

• Keep answers concise.
• Think out loud during technicals.
• Don't bluff if you don't know something.
• Stay confident without sounding arrogant.
• Listen carefully before answering.
• Practice explaining concepts clearly under pressure.

Final Thoughts

Technical knowledge gets you in the door, but communication and preparation usually separate candidates who receive offers from those who don't.

What interview question gave you the hardest time, and how did you answer it?

Could be something you experienced yourself or something you witnessed.

What's the most ridiculous, unexpected, or memorable task you've seen an intern or junior analyst get asked to do?

TL;DR: An MD forgot his $50k "lucky" watch and favorite suit before flying to close a deal in Chicago. An intern spent the entire day tracking them down, flew them to Chicago, and got absolutely no thanks in return.

One of my all-time favorite stories from the WSO forums:

An MD flew to Chicago to close a deal and realized he forgot his $50k "lucky" watch and favorite suit.

He called the office and sent an intern on a mission to retrieve them.

What followed involved locked apartments, building security, the MD's kids' elementary school, the family maid, multiple taxis, a last-minute flight to Chicago, and absolutely zero appreciation after the delivery.

The full story is below.

When I was an intern once, had an MD go to Chicago to close on a deal that was heating up. Guy was very much so "new money" and didn't act like the conservative traditional banker. I think he was from Brooklyn and went to one of the city colleges and just grinded to the top, respect. Anyways while he was in Chicago he hectically called our office and said he forgot his "lucky watch" and "special suit" in his house. Watch cost something like $50,000 and the suit at least $10,000+. Well he made one of the interns go to his house, pick up the suit and and watch and then personally fly over to Chicago to deliver it to him. I volunteered because I thought it was exciting and because I fucking hated the internship and being in the office.

The associate laughed at me and said good luck and gave me the MD's phone number. I called him letting him know I would be the one in charge of this task. He said "Ok, go to my office and pick up my credit card in the top desk drawer." I picked it up, and ordered a taxi to his apartment. I get to his apartment and no one is fucking home. I call him to tell him all the doors are locked and so he says to go down to the lobby and they'll open the door for me. I comply and security obviously doesn't believe that some 20 year old kid has the permission to go into this guy's house. They say they cant take authorization over the phone and that it has the be done in person with the resident's ID the night before. I try calling the wife, but she was at Soulcycle for the next hour and wasn't answering the phone. Mind you, this is in July, and I'm in my full suit sweating profusely. The MD begins to scream at me and tells me to "figure it out" and gives me all his people's phone numbers. I have nannies, maids, and his kid's phones and I have no idea who the fuck to call.

I get another taxi and go to his children's school. At the time I was twenty years old, kind of over weight, beaten down by my internship, in a cheap suit, and was in desperate need of a good shave and haircut. I'll go ahead and say I probably looked like a fucking creep. Oh yeah, I was also sweating profusely too. But ok, I go to the elementary school and try to match up with the guy's second and third grade kids who were in class at the time. Security tracks me down in the hallway and asks if they can fucking help me. At this time I have no energy to explain to them this retarded story and so I just call the MD and put the security on the phone, then security says that I have to ask the principal and not him for permission to find his kids and ask for the key. I hang up, go to the principal's office and then call the MD again. He has the nerve to tell me to stop calling him "until you make some real progress." The guy talks to the principal and so the principal agrees to walk me over to my boss's kid's classrooms. Well what do you know, fucking Piper and Sally both forgot to take their keys to school that day so none of the booger eating, moth breathing idiot children have their keys for their house. I call the MD to let him know this, and somehow it's my fault that his kid's still have the attention span of a dog and couldn't remember to bring their keys. I try calling the nanny, but of course it's 9AM and she doesn't have to deal this fucking family until 3PM so she doesn't answer.

He tells me he's not happy with my performance but gives me one more person to call. Well what do you, my fucking girl Wang Li, the maid answered her phone, and told me to meet her in SoHo where she was cleaning another client's house but had the key. I meet up with her, pick up the key, and then go to the guy's house and pick up his stuff. I call him again and he tells me "if you're not in my house right now, you're going to be in trouble." Luckily I was in the apartment but told me "which suit and what watch do you want." I can't tell the difference between an expensive suit and a regular suit, and do he says this is something else we will have to talk about. I facetime and I show him the suits and watches and he tells me which one to pick. Then I finally rush to JFK and order the next flight to Chicago to deliver him the suit.

When I land to Chicago and and meet up with him, I don't even get a thank you or a job well done. All he says is "Alright now go back to New York and re join your fellow interns who are currently working hard in the office." Oh and he also says "Don't forget to save all the receipts that you got today or else you're going to have to pay me back."

Really wish I had just stayed at the office that day instead.

What's the craziest or most ridiculous thing you've ever seen an intern get asked to do?

Seeing more bankers and finance professionals build personal brands on TikTok/Instagram lately.

Some people think it makes high finance more transparent and accessible.

Others think it hurts professionalism and turns serious careers into content.

Curious what people here think