Wall Street Diaries

Episode 162: How to Sanity Check Your DCF

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you do a discounted cash flow, you can get a wide range of outcomes. Depending on what you assume for your revenue growth rate, margin assumptio...

Episode 161: How to Talk About Your Internship Experience

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Aside from “tell me about yourself”, “why investment banking”, and “why our bank”, the next most likely question you’ll get during inter...

Episode 160: ELEVATE Program Session 3 Diversity Program Recruiting

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we discuss the importance of diversity programs and strategize on how Ximena can take advantage of these additional recruiting channe...

Episode 156: How to Figure Out a Company’s KPIs

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

To really understand whether a business is doing well, you need to first figure out what KPIs to look at. “KPI” stands for “key performance ind...

Episode 155: What to Do If Your Internship is BS

01 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of times students take on internships to get more relevant experience, only to find that they are not getting much in terms of real responsibili...

Episode 154: ELEVATE Program Session 2 Setting Up Ximena's Networking Game Plan

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session we review the initial draft of Ximena's networking contact log, strategize on which banks she wants to target, and how to set goals fo...

Episode 153: Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Manage Tight Deadlines

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A common situational question that bankers like to ask is “tell me about a time when you had to manage tight deadlines.” They want to see how you...

Episode 152: Can I Get IB Referrals From Employees in Other Divisions?

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Should you spend time networking with someone who works at a bank you’re interested in, but doesn’t work in the investment banking division? Can ...

Episode 151:How Jenn Went From Getting No Interviews to Landing an Offer From PJT Partners

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Jenn is a sophomore who has already secured her junior summer offer at PJT Partners (as of mid-April). Hear how she went from being someo...

Episode 150: Should I Network With Senior Bankers?

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most students focus the majority of their networking efforts on bankers at the analyst level. This is primarily because junior bankers are generally ...

Episode 149: How to Reconnect With Bankers You’ve Already Spoken To

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Most of the time, you will have bankers that you networked with months before having to submit your applications. After all, you can’t wait until t...

Episode 148: How Luke Got Into Evercore From a Non-Target That Sends 2 Students Into IB Each Year

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Luke is a sophomore who just received a junior summer internship offer from Evercore. He attends a non-target school where just two stude...

Episode 147: Do Different Industry Groups Have Different Technical Questions?

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that some industry groups actually have different technical questions that they ask during interviews? This means that you have some ext...

Episode 146: When to Stop Networking

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of my students recently asked me if it would be OK for him to stop networking with a certain bank, because he had already been networking with mul...

Episode 145: ELEVATE Program Session 1 Transforming Ximena's Resume

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this session, we introduce Ximena, who is the first student to go through our ELEVATE Scholarship Program where we help high potential students bre...

Episode 144: Tell Me About a Time When You Solved a Complex Problem

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A common question during investment banking interviews is to talk about a time when you had to solve a complex problem. The interviewer wants to know...

Episode 143: Behavioral Answer Audit - Why Investment Banking

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“Why investment banking” is probably the second most important interview question you’ll get during the interview (after “tell me about yourse...

Episode 142: How Will's Mindset Helped Him Land an Offer From Centerview

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Will comes from a low-income family, and had to take out loans and work part-time just to go to USC. Despite WSMM being a major financial...

Episode 141: Behavioral Questions That Most Get Wrong

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to answering behavioral questions, it’s always hard to tell if your answer is what the banker wants to hear. Because there’s no “...

Episode 140: How to Reach Out to Networking Contacts When Submitting Applications

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s say you had some networking conversations that went well awhile back. And now the bank’s application is open, and you’re about to apply. ...

Episode 139: How Kyle Secured 3 Investment Banking Offers to Follow in His Dad's Footsteps

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Kyle was a rising junior and the son of a long-time investment banker and private equity investor. Ever since he was young, he's wanted t...

Episode 138: What to Expect in a First Round Interview

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you have a first round interview coming up, you’re probably wondering what you should expect to be asked. After all, it’s just a 30 minute int...

Episode 137: What are the Most Common Technical Interview Questions?

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most popular questions I get from students is “Sam, what are the most common technical concepts I’ll get asked about in interviews?” ...

Episode 135: The Key to a Good Elevator Pitch

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Having a good elevator pitch is one of the most important things you need when it comes to networking. It’s what establishes the first impression t...

Episode 134: How to Prep for a Networking Call

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, one of our students told me that he spends 1-2 hours preparing questions before each of his networking calls… I was shocked because that ...

Episode 133: How Krish Made the Rare Successful Pivot From Sales and Trading Into Investment Banking

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Krish came to us as a junior trader/desk analyst on the leveraged loan desk at Cantor Fitzgerald. He wanted to switch from sales and trad...

Episode 132: What If the Networking Call Doesn’t Result in a Referral?

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably experienced this before: You reached out to a banker to network with them. The call goes well, you have a pleasant conversation. A...

Episode 131: How to Sound Knowledgeable About an Industry

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of times during interviews or even networking calls, you will get asked industry-related questions. This is especially true if you’re intervi...

Episode 129: Answering “Why Investment Banking”

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most important questions that is guaranteed to come up in your investment banking interview is “why investment banking?” If you can’...

Episode 128: Tell Me About a Time When You Solved a Complex Problem

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Situational questions are very common during investment banking interviews and you definitely need to prepare for them. This is when the interviewer ...

Episode 127: How Takashi Used WSMM to Get a Bulge Bracket Investment Banking Offer in Asia

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Takashi is someone who didn't have any background, resources, or information in investment banking. Despite this, he leveraged Wall Stree...

Episode 126: How to Ask for More Time After Receiving an Internship Offer

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever received an internship offer from a firm, while you were still waiting to hear back from other interviews? This can become a tricky sit...

Episode 125: How Much Effort Should I Spend on Customizing Networking Emails?

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You probably already know that networking is an absolute necessity if you want to maximize your chances of getting selected for investment banking int...

Episode 123: How Nathan Overcame Doubts About WSMM and Secured Sponsorship for an IB Internship

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Nathan joined halfway through sophomore year as an international student. Despite having someone who had never used WSMM warning him that...

Episode 122: How Harrison Spent His Free Time on Learning Technicals and Got Multiple Offers

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Harrison joined WSMM halfway through his sophomore year in order to get a clear roadmap on how to maximize his chances of breaking into inv...

Episode 121: How To Check in If You’ve Been Ghosted by an Interviewer

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever had an interview that went really well, but you didn’t hear back for a long time? You are probably wondering if you have been dropped...

Episode 120: Can a Non-Banker Connection Lead To an Investment Banking Offer?

30 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you at a non target school that has very few banking alumni… and even the ones that are on Wall Street are not in investment banking? One of my...

Episode 119: How Sriman Landed an Investment Banking Offer w/ a 3.5 GPA

29 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Sriman recently received an offer from an upper middle market investment bank despite only having a 3.5 GPA and not knowing how to network ...

Episode 118: Is Your Elevator Pitch Canned?

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever feel like your elevator pitch sounds a bit canned? Meaning you feel like you sound like you are reading off a script? A lot of the times, you m...

Episode 117: Why Our Bank? Middle Market Edition

23 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Why Our Bank” is one of the very first questions bankers typically ask during interviews. It is pretty easy to answer that question for a top ti...

Episode 116: How Zeb Went From 0 to Having 7 Interviews and a Middle Market Investment Banking Offer

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Zeb attends NYU, but in the College of Arts and Sciences, which is a non-target, unlike Stern. Prior to joining Wall Street Mastermind, h...

Episode 115: How to Answer Weakness Questions

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Talking about a weakness is a behavioral question that many people mess up on. You don’t want to give them a real weakness that would hurt your int...

Episode 114: How to Keep Networking Connections Warm

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever had a great networking conversation with a banker, where they even agreed to give you a referral at the end of the chat? Only problem i...

Episode 113: How Dean Learned His Technicals in Just 1 Week and Got an Offer

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Dean was able to secure a summer analyst offer despite going to a non-target school and not having any relevant finance experience. What'...

Episode 112: Why This Industry Group

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are times when you might be interviewing with a bank or group that covers a specific industry. This could either happen if you’re interviewin...

Episode 111: Walk Through an M&A Deal You’ve Been Following

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most basic questions you might get asked during an investment banking interview is to walk through an M&A deal you’ve been following. Fi...

Episode 110: How Megan Landed a JPMorgan Offer as International Student at a Small Non-Target School

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Megan is an international student who didn't start learning English until 9th grade. Attending a small non-target liberal arts school, sh...

Episode 109: How to Get More Responses from Cold Networking

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you sending a lot of cold emails to bankers but getting little to no response? What are you doing wrong? How can you get more bankers to be willi...

Episode 108: How to Value a Company

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You will almost certainly get asked to value a company during your investment banking interview. When it comes to valuation, there are a few differen...

Episode 107: How Nathan Secured an Elite Boutique Offer Without Joining Any Organizations on Campus

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Nathan realized during sophomore summer that he needed more recruiting help. Originally, he thought he could just DIY, which led him to n...

Episode 106: Talk About a Deal You've been Following

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Aside from a recent trend, you may also get asked to talk about a deal you’ve been following during your investment banking interview. To do this e...

Episode 105: Walk Me Through the Pros and Cons of Valuation Methodologies

26 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most important technical concepts for you to learn is valuation. Because everything you do in investment banking revolves around it. Aski...

Episode 104: How David is Skipping IB and Going Straight to Buyside Investing w/ a $2Bn AUM Fund

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client David just finished sophomore year and recently accepted an offer at a $2Bn growth equity firm for his junior summer. He dropped out of p...

Episode 103: How to Discuss an Industry Trend During Investment Banking Interviews

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One thing you might be asked during an interview is to talk about a recent trend you have been following. To do this effectively, you first need to d...

Episode 94: No Alumni at Your Dream Investment Bank?

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Oftentimes students want to apply to a specific bank but can’t find any alumni to contact. This is especially prevalent for non-target school stude...

Episode 102:Tell Me About Your Greatest Weakness

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Tell me about your greatest weakness” is a behavioral question that many people mess up on. On the one hand, you don’t want to give them a wea...

Episode 101: How Kyle Went From Community College Transfer to Getting Into IB at the Last Minute

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Kyle started school at a community college, but then transferred to UC Berkeley junior year. He thought his life was set, until senior ye...

Episode 100: Should a Regional Target School Student Try for NYC Positions?

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I get this question a lot, especially from students who go to semi target schools that primarily place into regional offices (think SF Bay Area, Chica...

Episode 99: Can You get into Investment Banking if You’re Not a Business/Finance Major?

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you majoring in something other than business or finance but want to get into investment banking? You may be wondering if it is even possible. H...

Episode 98: How Justin Missed Out on a Return Offer and Recovered by Securing a Full-Time Offer

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Justin is a rising senior who did well during his summer internship but unfortunately wasn't given a return offer due to COVID-19. Knowin...

Episode 97: How Can Freshmen Prepare for Investment Banking Recruiting?

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many of you might be realizing that you want to get into banking as early as freshman year. Given the accelerated investment banking recruiting timel...

Episode 96: How Do You Leverage the Network You Develop During Your Finance Internships?

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The most qualified investment banking applicants start building up their resume by doing relevant finance internships during freshman and sophomore ye...

Episode 95: How Pedro Secured Offers From Morgan and Evercore Despite Being an International Student

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Pedro is an international student at Wharton. During freshman year, he applied to many bulge bracket diversity programs, but failed 5-6 f...

Episode 93: How Saksham Went From a Non-Target International Student to Landing an Offer

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Saksham had two big disadvantages when it came to recruiting, being both a non-target student and an international student. Despite these...

Episode 92: Building a DCF for a Pre-Revenue Business

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The DCF is one of the most commonly tested topics during an investment banking interview. Recently a student of ours talked about doing a DCF for a p...

Episode 91: How to Ask Industry Specific Questions During a Networking Chat

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Networking is one of the most important things you can do to get investment banking interviews. Without referrals from your networking contacts, you ...

Episode 90: How Kevin Went From a Non-Target MBA Program to Landing Multiple Bulge Bracket Offers

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our student Kevin had been dreaming of IB for 15 years before joining WSMM. In between, he tried entrepreneurship, worked in ministry, served in the...

Episode 89: What is the difference between CapEx and OpEx?

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the technical concepts that trips up many students is the difference between capital expenditures and operating expenses. It’s not as compli...

Episode 88: How Alex Landed a Job With WSMM’s Help, Got an Even Better Offer with Jefferies

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Alex originally came to us as a senior from a non-target after failing to secure an investment banking summer internship. We helped him g...

Episode 87: Tell Me About Yourself. Non-Business Major Edition

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common questions that you will get asked during an interview is “tell me about yourself.” Do well on this question, make a good fi...

Episode 86: Walking Through a Multi-step 3-Statement Question

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are seeing more and more interviewers today ask “multi-step” three statement questions to really test a candidate’s knowledge. Watch me walk ...

Episode 85: How Andy Confidently Turned Down a PE Offer Before Landing an Offer at Goldman

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Andy had all the typical resources at his disposal (interview guides, finance clubs, etc.). He joined WSMM after realizing how those resour...

Episode 84: Pros and Cons of the Three Valuation Methodologies

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common technical interview topics is valuation. Because everything you do in banking revolves around it. Watch how I explained these p...

Epsiode 83: What You Should do Freshman Year

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you an underclassman who is interested in getting into investment banking? Watch me explain what types of things to focus on right now to take adv...

Episode 82: How to Explain the Mid-Year Convention in a DCF

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the technical concepts that trips up a lot of candidates is the mid-year convention in a DCF. You not only need to know what it is, and how it ...

Episode 81: What was an Interesting Pitch You got to Work on?

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most common questions asked during full time recruiting is talking about a deal or pitch that you got to work on. However, what if you feel...

Episode 80: What are the Drivers that Affect Accretion / Dilution?

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the more advanced topics in investment banking technical interviews involves doing M&A math… also known as “accretion / dilution.” I rece...

Episode 79: What are Valuation Multiples?

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Valuation is one of the four major topics you’ll get tested on in investment banking interviews (the other three are accounting, M&A, and LBO). It m...

Episode 78: How Paolo Got Into IB as an MBA After Recruiting Unsuccessfully From a Non-Target School

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Full transcript here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Lf3PWakIdcZnaYmGbP6vHOHsiphoqJor Our client Paolo is a perfect story of perseverance and resi...

Episode 77: How to Pitch a Stock

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One question that we see a lot of students struggle with during interviews is “pitch me a stock you like.” The reason why this question can be tri...

Episode 76: How Kelly Went from Being an Already Good IB Candidate to Being One of the Best

29 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Our client Kelly studied at a top target school and was actually pretty qualified for investment banking. Although he knew he could probably get into ...

Episode 75: How Selin Went From Having Self Doubt to Getting Goldman Sachs TMT

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Selin discovered investment banking during sophomore year, but wasn't sure if she was good enough to break into such a competitive field. Despite some...

Episode 74: How to Start a Networking Conversation With Investment Bankers

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re just starting to network with investment bankers, one of the most intimidating parts of the process is probably figuring out what to talk ...

Episode 73: Are Recommendations on Linkedin Necessary for Recruiting?

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Some of you probably have seen a recommendations section on Linkedin where past coworkers/connections can vouch for you. But is it really necessary fo...

Episode 72: How to Network if You are From a Non-Target School

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you from a non-target school that has very few alumni working in investment banking? When networking, what can you do aside from just reaching out...

Episode 71: How Bradley Landed Every Top Tier Investment Banking Offer He Applied For

08 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Full transcript here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GukUSOgfyPRZsMT40r7eE1q8xDG4KiLW/view?usp=sharing Our client Bradley is a rising junior who ha...

Episode 69: Do Different IB Groups Require Different Technical Preparation

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are there different technical concepts for different investment banking groups? Depending on what group it is, there may or may not be some extra tech...

Episode 68: What to do if You Have No Relevant Finance Experience

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Wondering what to do if you want to break into investment banking but don’t have relevant finance experience? This is a common question that a lot o...

Episode 67: How do I Follow up After a Networking Call to Keep the Connection Warm?

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Someone recently asked me what is the best way to follow up with bankers after the initial networking call. If you’ve also been having a lot of netw...

Episode 66: Is Applying for Junior Summer Internships In September or October Too Late?

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I recently got asked this question during an AMA, and I wanted to share because a lot of you are probably wondering the same thing. The answer is it r...

Episode 65: Is Investment Banking Summer 2022 Recruiting Over?

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are you wondering if it is too late to get an investment banking summer internship offer? At this point in time, what types of banks are still recruit...

Episode 64: How Much Do Investment Bankers ACTUALLY Make

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably heard that investment banking is one of the highest paying jobs you can get right out of school. But how much do you make exactly an...

Episode 63: Investment Banking EXPLAINED

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Most people don’t have a good idea of what investment bankers actually do. They think it has to do with picking stocks (it has nothing to do with th...

Episode 62: BILLIONAIRES Who Started Their Careers On Wall Street

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Many students talk about exit opportunities when they’re asked why they want to start their career on Wall Street. But what kind of exit opportuniti...

Episode 61: How To Become A Millionaire By Age 30 (Through Investment Banking)

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hey there! My name is Sam Shiah and I'm the founder of Wall Street Mastermind. I grew up in an immigrant family that didn't have a lot of money. But b...

Episode 60: With Ex-Rothschild Restructuring Banker / Oaktree / DE Shaw / Wharton MBA

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast, I got a great opportunity to interview my friend Will, who worked in restructuring during the 2008 financial crisis at Rothschild, wh...

Episode 59: Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker’s Thoughts on Goldman Analyst Survey

17 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By now you've probably seen the analyst survey that came out of Goldman Sachs. Are investment banking hours really that bad? Is it really worth it to ...

Episode 58: Candid Thoughts About Wall Street Mastermind From WSMM Client Justin

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Listen to this interview I did with my client Justin about how he was able to convince his mom to help him out, despite them being strapped for resour...

Episode 57 : The Hidden Benefit for Investment Banking Networking

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The investment banking networking process can be long and grueling. But if you adopt this mindset, every networking conversation becomes a win. Check ...

Episode 56 : The Importance of Three Financial Statements in Investment Banking

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What are the 3 financial statements and why should you learn this before you study for any of the other investment banking technical concepts? Let's f...