The Best I-Banks For Careers & Interviews

Of course, you need to slog through the interview process before earning an in-demand i-banking slot. Here, you can expect to defend why you only earned a 3.8 GPA instead of a 4.0. They’ll grill you on why you really want to work in investment banking – and it’s not for the faint of heart. You’ll get shuttled around between managers, with each likely looking for something different, whether it’s technical skills, leadership, soft skills, or cultural fit. Chances are, you won’t know what they truly value. Last – but certainly not least – you’ll juggle questions rooted in calculating company value or cost of equity. So hopefully you didn’t hock your used finance and economics textbooks off to Chegg. You’re going to need them.

…especially at Evercore Partners. Sure, they provide the top training and advancement, but they also know how to separate the best from the rest. In Wall Street Oasis’ ranking of the most difficult interviews, Evercore interviews averaged 99.6 on a 100 scale, just ahead of Moelis & Company (99.4) and the Blackstone Group (99.1). Not surprisingly, Blackstone tied with Centerview Partners as the most selective company in Vault’s rankings. Houlihan Lokey and Goldman Sachs – which ranked high in training and advancement – were among the most difficult interviews as well.

You’ve probably heard the observation that, ‘whatever is easy isn’t worth attaining.’ Skeptics may wonder if that applies to a job at Harvey & Company, which scored the easiest interviews at 56.1 of percentile, nearly 18 points lower than Credit Agricole. Wall Street Oasis readers also listed Imperial Capital, PNC Financial Services, and KeyBlanc Capital Markets among the least demanding interviews.

Source: WallStreetOasis.com

While Harris Williams & Company ranked in neither the most difficult or easiest interviews, it did hit #1 on a different measure: Best Interview Experience. Ironically, PNC Financial Partners, The JMP Group, and Raymond James Financial – which were listed high among easiest interviews – also cracked the top 10 for best experience. None of the companies listed among the most difficult interviews made the top 10 for best experience.

To check out detailed rankings in each of the career and interview categories, go to the next page.

DON’T MISS: HOW TO LAND A COVETED I-BANKING INTERNSHIP or VAULT’S 2014 RANKING OF THE BEST INVESTMENT BANKS TO WORK FOR

Sources: Wall Street Oasis, Wall Street Oasis