Investment-bank Analyst Interview

These companies hire from campus through an online assessment followed by two to four interview rounds held on a single day or across a week. Amazon runs coding rounds and a Bar Raiser round built entirely on Leadership Principles stories; Microsoft and Google run DSA and design rounds plus a culture or 'Googleyness' discussion; Flipkart, Swiggy and Zepto add a machine-coding or low-level design round. Deloitte USI, EY GDS, KPMG and PwC run a group discussion or case, a technical or case interview and an HR round. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley run two or three back-to-back interviews that mix accounting, valuation, markets and behavioural questions; Barclays, Citi and HSBC lean on strengths-based and competency interviews. ZS and Mu Sigma run data cases and guesstimates; APM programmes run product-sense, metrics and execution rounds. ExamPilot compresses the loop into one 17-minute panel: an HR screen, a hiring-manager round in the Amazon Bar Raiser style on your real projects, a role round that talks through code, a case, a model or a product problem, a Leadership Principles STAR round, and a closing. Real loops are pass or fail per round and the hiring manager or bar raiser holds a veto; here every round is scored against the corporate rubric with feedback on the specifics and numbers you did and did not give.

1. 1

   Three statements

   If a company's depreciation expense increases by ₹100, walk me through the impact on the three financial statements at a tax rate of twenty-five percent.

   What a strong answer covers

   Income statement: pre-tax profit falls by 100 and net income by 75. Cash flow: net income is down 75 but depreciation of 100 is added back, so cash rises by 25 through lower tax. Balance sheet: fixed assets down 100 and cash up 25, so assets fall 75, matched by retained earnings down 75. Avoid forgetting the tax effect.

2. 2

   Valuation

   Why might two companies with similar EBITDA have very different enterprise values?

   What a strong answer covers

   Differences in growth prospects, margins, capital intensity, risk, quality of earnings and market sentiment drive different multiples. Give an example comparing a growing consumer company with a cyclical industrial. Avoid confusing enterprise value with market capitalisation.

3. 3

   Comparables

   Walk me through how you would value a company using comparable companies, and what makes a good comparable.

   What a strong answer covers

   Select peers with similar business, size, growth and geography, calculate multiples like EV to EBITDA or P/E, apply a range to the target and adjust for differences. Mention outliers. Avoid using unrelated companies.

4. 4

   Market awareness

   Pick a recent Indian IPO or deal you followed. What was your view on its pricing?

   What a strong answer covers

   Name the deal and its date, summarise the business in two lines, compare the valuation multiple with listed peers, weigh growth against risks, and give a clear view on whether pricing was rich, fair or cheap and why. Mention how it has traded since. Avoid naming a famous deal with no numbers or opinion.

5. 5

   Mental maths

   What is 17 times 24, and what is 15 percent of 640? Do them aloud without a calculator.

   What a strong answer covers

   Seventeen times twenty-four is 408, and fifteen percent of 640 is 96. Explain the method briefly, such as splitting numbers. If you make a mistake, correct it calmly. Avoid freezing or guessing.

6. 6

   Markets

   If the RBI raises interest rates, what would you expect to happen to bond prices and bank stocks?

   What a strong answer covers

   Bond prices fall as yields rise, with longer-duration bonds hit harder. Bank stocks can go either way: margins may widen if loans reprice faster than deposits, but treasury losses and slower credit growth weigh on them. Show the cause-and-effect chain. Avoid one-word answers or saying all banks always benefit.

7. 7

   Operations

   For operations or technology graduate programmes at Barclays, Citi or HSBC: what does a trade settlement failure mean, and why does it matter?

   What a strong answer covers

   Explain that a trade did not settle on time due to issues like mismatched details or insufficient securities or cash, leading to costs, risk and client impact. Mention reconciliation. Avoid vague answers.

8. 8

   Integrity

   You find an error in a pitch book an hour before it goes to the client, and your senior is unreachable. What do you do?

   What a strong answer covers

   Fix it if the correction is clearly factual and within your remit, record exactly what you changed, try reaching another team member such as the associate, and inform your senior the moment they are reachable. Accuracy and transparency come first. Avoid sending a known error to the client or making judgement changes alone.

9. 9

   Motivation

   Investment banking analysts work very long hours. Why do you want this job, and how will you sustain it?

   What a strong answer covers

   Give a genuine reason such as wanting deal exposure, fast learning or a long-term interest in markets, backed by an internship, a club or a stock pitch you did. Then describe realistic habits for sustaining long weeks: sleep, exercise, asking for help early. Avoid romanticising the hours or pretending they will not affect you.

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