Investment Banking Interview Guide 4.0

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Prepare Quickly Get study plans for 4 hours, 2 days, and 1 week, plus an "interview checklist" with the key points you need to know
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Test Yourself Complete global case studies, answer quiz questions, and get feedback on your "story" and other interview answers

Gain an Advantage by Quickly Conquering the Two Topics that Matter the Most in IB Interviews:

When you cut away all the fluff, two topics matter more than anything else in investment banking interviews:

1 Your answer to the “Tell me about yourself” or “Walk me through your resume/CV” or “Why are you here?” question.

In my 10+ years of conducting mock interviews, I’ve never once heard a good initial answer to this question.

That’s why it’s so tough to win offers in investment banking interviews – answer that one question wrong in the first 2-3 minutes, and you’re out!

But if you use our templates, and you outline your story and get feedback directly from us, you instantly jump ahead of everyone else in the interview room.

2 Your ability to answer technical questions competently and prove that you can do the work.

Technical knowledge is required to win offers. If you can’t explain the financial statements, valuation, or DCF analysis, you’ve eliminated yourself before the interview even begins.

It’s not possible to learn everything at the last minute because there is a lot of material – but you can focus on the most important concepts and use the quizzes and Excel files in this Interview Guide to make sure you know the ropes.

Our Interview Guide is designed around these two critical topics.

Yes, there’s lot of other stuff in here – fit/behavioral questions and answers, quizzes, practice case studies, industry-specific questions, deal discussions, and more.

But if you answer questions in these two categories like a pro, the rest is icing on the cake.

  • The Quick Start Guide gives you 4-hour, 2-day, and week-long prep plans, so you know what to focus on with limited time. If you have more time than that, great – but get the fundamentals right first!
  • Pitch Yourself Like a Pro with one of our 18 step-by-step templates for walking through your background in interviews regardless of whether you’re an undergraduate, recent graduate, MBA student, career changer, or seasoned executive.
  • Gain Conceptual Mastery with 86+ pages of guidance on “Fit” questions, including how to prepare and examples of good answers in the major categories. You’ll be able to discuss your strengths and weaknesses, analytical skills, and teamwork/leadership abilities like it’s second nature. Altogether, there are 109+ questions with model answers.
  • Discuss Deals and Markets Like a Lifelong Banker with 6 sample “deal discussions.” These discussions correspond to deals the bank has worked on and ones you have worked on. You’ll also learn how to research markets and companies efficiently – even if it’s 3 AM, and your interview starts at 9 AM.
  • Get Case Study Practice with our 17 Excel-based case studies. These are VERY similar to the types of case studies you’d encounter at assessment centers in Europe or standard IB/PE interviews. You’ll build 3-statement models, value companies and build DCF analyses, make M&A and investment recommendations, and complete merger models, LBO models, and even a debt vs. equity financing model.
  • Crush Your Technical Questions with conceptual explanations and rules of thumb in all the main technical categories: Core Concepts, Accounting, Equity Value and Enterprise Value, Valuation and DCF Analysis, Merger Models, and LBO Models… plus, bonus guides for Industry-Specific Questions (real estate, oil & gas, banks, insurance, and restructuring), Equity/Debt Capital Markets and Leveraged Finance, and Private Companies.
  • Each guide comes with full explanations of the concepts, interview questions and answers, Excel files, annotated diagrams, and more. You can use these tutorials to answer ANY technical interview question calmly and confidently.
  • Test Your Knowledge with 6 interactive quizzes that cover the core technical topics above – you’ll get a total of 218+ questions and answers, with full analysis of the questions and explanations of why answers were correct or incorrect.
  • Expert Support: We have a team of experienced investment bankers standing by to respond to your questions, comments, and emails 365 days per year, for a full 5 years after purchase. There are some limitations on this service – we can’t do your homework for you – but career-related, qualitative, and technical questions are covered.
  • Unconditional 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee: We’re so convinced that the IB Interview Guide is the most practical and effective program of its kind that it comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee for 90 days.

Take a Look at What You’ll Get
Immediately After Signing Up…

Module 1: Action Plan and Quick Start Guide

This module will show you how to get the most out of the Interview Guide with limited time, and what to focus on if you have only a few hours or a few days to prepare.

You get a Quick Start Guide with 4-hour, 2-day, and 1-week-long study plans, as well as checklists of everything you need to do before and after the interview.

You’ll also learn how the recruiting process works and what you must do to be a competitive candidate.

  • 3 Written Guides: Quick Start Guide, Interview Checklist and What to Do Before and After the Interview, and The Recruiting Process and Differences at the MBA Level and in Other Countries.

Module 2: How to Tell Your Story (Resume Walkthrough Tutorials)

In this module, you’ll learn how to answer the most important question in any interview: “Tell me about yourself” or “Walk me through your resume/CV” or “Why are you here today?”

If you answer this question effectively, all the other “fit” questions will be easy because you can keep referencing your ‘story’ to answer those questions.

If you don’t answer this question effectively, the rest of the interview is pointless because the interviewer will stop paying attention after 1-2 minutes.

  • 1 Written Guide: How to Tell Your Story in Interviews.
  • 4 Slide Presentations and 4 Videos: Overall Strategy, Undergrads and Recent Grads, Experienced Professionals and MBA-Level Candidates, and IB Exit Opportunities.
  • 5 Templates and Executed Examples for Undergrads and Recent Grads: Engineer to IB, Liberal Arts to IB, Mixed Finance to IB, Previous Banking Experience to IB, and Consulting to IB.
  • 8 Templates and Executed Examples for MBA-Level Candidates and Career Changers: Big 4 and Accounting to IB, Corporate Finance to IB, Experienced Executive to IB, Law to IB, Back and Middle Office to IB, Military to IB, Equity Research or Sales & Trading to IB, and Entrepreneurship to IB.
  • 5 Templates and Executed Examples for IB Exit Opportunities: IB to Private Equity, IB to Hedge Funds, IB to Venture Capital, IB to Other Groups, and IB to Other Banks.

Module 3: Fit Questions and Deal and Market Discussions

In this module of the Interview Guide, you’ll learn how to answer “fit” questions (e.g., your strengths, weaknesses, and leadership skills) and how to discuss deals, companies, and markets, including your own deal experience.

Instead of presenting a laundry list of questions and answers, we focus on the strategies behind answering questions and how to prepare your discussions efficiently. We provide sample answers for the key “fit” questions as well as many examples of transaction discussions – for IPOs and equity deals, M&A deals, and debt deals.

You’ll also learn how to present your work if you have non-investment-banking deal experience, such as client work at a Big 4 firm, law firm, consulting firm, or in a credit risk role.

  • 3 Written Guides: “Fit” Questions and Answers, Deal and Market Discussions, and How to Discuss Your Own Deal Experience.
  • 3 Templates and Executed Examples for Deal and Market Discussions: One initial public offering (IPO) example, one leveraged buyout (LBO) example, and one shipping/maritime market discussion example.
  • 3 Templates and Executed Examples for Discussing Your Own Deal Experience: One sell-side M&A example, one buy-side M&A example, and one capital markets (debt/equity) example.

Module 4: Technical Questions and Answers

In this module, you’ll master all the technical concepts.

You’ll start by learning about the core concepts required to understand everything else: The time value of money, present value, net present value, discount rates, WACC, and IRR.

Then, you’ll move into accounting and 3-statement modeling, equity value and enterprise value, and valuation and DCF analysis.

The remaining lessons and guides cover M&A deals and merger models, leveraged buyouts and LBO models, and more specialized topics such as private companies, equity and debt capital markets analysis, and industry-specific technical questions.

Each guide has “key rules of thumb” that explain the concepts, as well as interview questions and answers and accompanying Excel files so you can test yourself.

The core sections alone have 578+ pages of instruction and guidance, along with hundreds of annotated diagrams and screenshots, making this the most comprehensive coverage of technical questions available on the planet.

  • 10+ Written Guides: Core Concepts, Accounting and the Three Financial Statements, Equity Value and Enterprise Value, Valuation and DCF Analysis, M&A and Merger Models, Leveraged Buyouts and LBO Models, Industry-Specific Guides (Real Estate; Oil & Gas; Banks and Insurance; and Restructuring), Equity and Debt Capital Markets and Leveraged Finance, and Private Companies.
  • 18+ Excel Files: These files concisely demonstrate all the mechanics, from the fundamental concepts to their actual application to real-life deals.
  • Short Video Walk-Through for Each Guide: These short tutorials summarize the most important points for each topic and explain how to use the written guides, questions and answers, and Excel files efficiently.

Module 5: Interactive Quizzes

This module lets you test your knowledge of the key technical topics by completing quizzes on Core Concepts, Accounting, Equity Value and Enterprise Value, Valuation and DCF Analysis, Merger Models, and LBO Models.

These quizzes are intended to be CHALLENGING – even if you have excellent knowledge of the material, you are unlikely to pass with a score of at least 90% on your first attempt.

Once you’ve tested yourself with these quizzes, you can download the full answer keys to verify that you understand the fundamental concepts.

In total, you’ll get to test yourself with 218+ questions across all the topics.

  • 6 Interactive Quizzes: These cover the core technical topics and expand on the questions and answers covered in the technical sections of the Interview Guide in Module 4. There are many trick questions!

Module 6: Case Study Exercises

In this module, you’ll get practice completing a variety of case studies and modeling tests given in interviews and at assessment centers in the EMEA region.

The time required for these case studies ranges from 30 minutes up to 2 hours to simulate the time pressure you will encounter in interviews.

The topics covered include 3-statement modeling, valuation and DCF analysis, M&A and merger models, LBO modeling, and credit analysis. There are both qualitative and quantitative case studies, and some exercises mix the two.

We feature companies and deals from all 6 inhabited continents and a variety of industries, including airlines, manufacturing, professional services, retail, and more.

  • 3 Three-Statement Modeling Exercises: A 30-minute case for Illinois Tool Works (U.S.), a 60-minute case for Frank Recruitment (U.K.), and a 90-minute case for Avianca (Colombia).
  • 3 Valuation and DCF Exercises: A 30-minute case for Idea Cellular (India), a 90-minute case for Michael Hill (Australia and New Zealand), and a 30-minute case for Attendo (Nordics).
  • 6 M&A and Merger Model Exercises: A 30-minute case for Steinhoff (South Africa), a 30-minute qualitative M&A deal discussion, a 30-minute deal discussion case for DSV (Europe), a 30-minute assessment center M&A case study, a 60-minute M&A calculations case study, and a 90-minute M&A case study on Starbucks and Krispy Kreme (U.S.).
  • 4 Leveraged Buyout and LBO Model Exercises: A 30-minute “paper LBO” model, a 60-minute case for Diana Shipping (Greece), a 90-minute case for Fromageries Bel (France), and a 2-hour case for My Family Fit (Singapore).
  • 1 Debt vs. Equity Exercise: 60-minute case for Central Japan Railway (Japan).

Hear Directly from Customers Who Achieved Spectacular RESULTS with the Investment Banking Interview Guide:

“I was shocked at just how well the guide prepared me for the questions they asked. It was like they were quizzing me on the guide.”

“Your prep material is by far the best, and you have an amazing intuition for how people learn information. Thank you so much. I am a customer and advocate of BIWS for life.”

“What I feel is the real unique selling point of the guide is the fact that it doesn't give you a preset answer but teaches you to formulate your own answers to the questions.”

“I'm a law school graduate with no financial background that will be starting at a BB M&A group in July.”

“I am an undergraduate junior at MIT who was recently given an offer for a summer internship at Barclays IBD.”

“I just wanted to take a moment to say that thanks to your interview guide, I landed an offer this summer at Goldman Sachs's Special Situations Group in New York.”

“I've since recommended the interview prep guide to friends in other industries as the gold standard.”

“I went through the EMEA IBD summer internship recruiting process last year and ended up with 2 offers. I decided to join JP Morgan's summer internship in London this summer and got a full-time offer.”

“I wanted to let you know that I have secured a graduate position at a bulge bracket investment bank. I would not have been able to get through the technical interview questions without the interview guide.”

“As an MBA student with absolutely zero finance experience, your IB Interview Guide was the most resourceful guide in my preparation.”

“After a year of trying, I finally landed my dream job of working in IB at a big bank.”

“I have secured 4 summer associate offers in London in IBD at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Nomura.”

The BIWS Interactive Learning Portal is Your Roadmap to Fast Understanding and Quick Answers from Our Expert Support Team

The BIWS Interactive Learning Portal is Your Roadmap to Fast Understanding and Quick Answers from Our Expert Support Team

Just moments after you enroll, you’ll receive Instant Access to the entire Guide.

Everything is digital, so you do not have to wait for physical products to arrive in the mail, and there are no shipping charges.

But that’s not the best part.

The best part is 365-day-per-year expert support, for a full 5 years after purchase!

If there’s anything at all you don’t understand or need to clarify, just go to the “Question/Comment” area below each and every lesson, and ask your question there.

These comments are monitored and responded to by our expert support team – every one of whom has personal experience working on deals at investment banks, private equity firms, and other finance firms.

That ensures that you’ll get responses from people with deep experience in the field – not a clueless high school temp clutching the “Help Desk” manual.

This personalized, expert support is one of the things that sets Breaking Into Wall Street apart and gets you to your goals faster.

You can often learn just as much from reading other customers’ questions and our responses, as you will from the lessons themselves!

Our 1-on-1 coaching rate is $200+ per hour. But when you invest in the Investment Banking Interview Guide 4.0, personal support is included for FREE.

NOTE: There are some limitations to these support services. For example, we cannot complete models, case studies, or homework assignments for you.

We also cannot provide play-by-play support with an earpiece during interviews.

Finally, we cannot answer questions on topics not covered in the guide, such as sales & trading interview questions or coding/programming interview questions.

We’re happy to answer career-related, qualitative, and technical questions that are related to the course materials.

So, What’s Your Investment in the IB Interview Guide 4.0?

To put this in context, let’s look at your Return on Investment in this guide…

The compensation for entry-level investment banking jobs varies from year to year, but it’s safe to say that even entry-level Analysts right out of university earn $150,000 USD at the bare minimum.

And the pay range is often more like $150,000 – $200,000, depending on your region and firm.

At the MBA level, that climbs to $300,000 – $400,000 USD or more (again, just in your first year out of school).

And as you progress, your total compensation only gets higher and higher; top senior bankers earn over $1 million USD annually.

And every top banker had to start at the entry level and get their foot in the door, just like you today.

So, we could charge $500 or $1,000 for this Guide because of the huge payoff potential and the fact it’s flat-out impossible to find out all this information and knowledge any other way (unless you have several years to do full-time research).

But I also want to make this information as accessible as possible to the finance community.

Many customers who sign up for the Interview Guide are so impressed that they go on to do more business with us down the road – so it benefits both of us if I lower the barrier to entry as much as possible.

That’s why I’ve decided to offer the complete Investment Banking Interview Guide, including everything described above, for a one-time payment of just $197.

At $197, the price shouldn’t be an object – the right role at the right firm could make you thousands of times that amount over the course of your career.

And perhaps more importantly: You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

That’s why we focus so heavily on your “story” in this Guide: You can do all the preparation in the world, but if you mess up those first 2-3 minutes of the interview, it’s all over.

How much is it worth to avoid that disastrous, but all-too-common, outcome?

An IB internship at a large bank pays $15,000+ USD, and a full-time role pays 10x that amount (or more), so the answer is “A lot more than $197.”

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100% Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee

And just in case you’re not totally convinced this Guide is for you, rest assured that you’re covered by our risk-free 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee:

Here’s What Happens Within Minutes of Signing Up

Once you sign up, you’ll immediately have access to the 578+ pages of written technical guides, the 18 templates for pitching yourself in interviews, the “Fit” guide and the deal/market discussion templates, the 18+ Excel files, the 218+ practice quiz questions, the 17 case studies, the video tutorials, and more.

And you’ll have access to our expert support team to ask whatever questions you need, for a full 5 years after purchase.

You’ll also get free updates and new content as we add it.

A Simple Choice…

If you are reading this right now, you’re serious about a career in investment banking, private equity, or hedge funds…

You know the importance of your first impression in that initial 30-minute interview and your performance in the interviews that follow.

Interview success can be the difference between a lucrative career at prestigious firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, KKR, and Blackstone… or the back office.

Sure… you could ‘wing it,’ hope for the best, and take a huge risk with your future, even though you know you are competing against some of the best and brightest…

You could prepare to dominate your competition, gain an unfair advantage, and land one of the limited investment banking opportunities available, by investing in the Investment Banking Interview Guide 4.0.

I know you will make the right choice so that you start landing six-figure job offers with investment banks – places that just might make your friends a bit jealous when they hear about your success!

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100% Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee

Click here now to gain Instant Access to the Investment Banking Interview Guide.

To YOUR success,

Brian DeChesare
Breaking Into Wall Street Founder