Today we’ll bust 6 myths that every student should account for when interviewing for internships, placements and graduate roles. If you think that interviewing is complex and difficult you are correct, there’s a lot to think about. But like all problems, if we can simplify the problem in our mind with interviewing hacks, we can make the challenge a more manageable.
I’ve interviewed many times, from my first job (my PhD), my first ‘proper’ job (at Barclays Capital as a grad) and a number of lateral moves over the years at various levels in the organisation. Today I’m going to share how I approach interviews by busting some myths and providing pointers that can help you get on the right track and deliver a great outcome.
Myth #1 – “I have no chance of getting a ‘prime time’ role”
The graphic above is real data from a recent graduate at Allspring, on the face of it your chances are slim. But she landed a role by thinking creatively and leveraging employability resources. For context, Allspring Global Investments are a global asset manager (1500 employees, >$400Bln AUM); a significant but not an obvious firm. However, Allspring offers exposure to all the training and skills you need just like Goldman Sachs, and arguably is in a better environment (3 vs a 400 grad cohort), and with an improved work-life balance.
Take Away >> To bust Myth #1 think differently about where to apply to avoid application ‘hot spots’, this takes a bit of work since you may not have heard of firms like Allspring, but you can leverage industry resources. For example investment2020 and the bright network, and the power of LinkedIn notifications. If you search in the unlit corners of the market, you’ll face better odds and oftentimes land in firms with better work-life balance and the prospect of a more sustainable long-term career. Remember, ‘the more you practice, the luckier you get’.
Myth #2– “It’s all about my grades”
Historically some universities hoovered up the bulk of graduate roles in banking and finance, think imperial College for quant (engineers & physicists) and LSE, Oxbridge and Warwick for banking. However, times have changed, stakeholder capitalism has applied pressure on institutions to break glass ceilings across all diversity dimensions including social mobility. What does that mean for you? It means if you get a 2:2 and are rounded, can show demonstrable interest in the domain and have a track record of performance you have every chance of landing amazing roles. Grade floors are lower than ever before to make graduate roles more accessible to EVERYONE.
Take Away >> To bust Myth #2 think about matching your personal superpowers to the best roles so your non-academic characteristics shine through. If you study Business Management or Marketing there are roles in investment product strategy and distribution for you, companies value imaginative critical thinkers. It’s not just about a 2:1 or a first, it’s about your performance ceiling and your grade isn’t the only indicator of success.
Myth #3 – “I’m the smartest in the room, I’m fine”
Myth #3 is the counterpart to Myth #2. If you are a top decile candidate by grades of course you are in a good spot, but you’ll need to bring more than that to the table. Except for some quantitative roles, most graduate schemes will identify future industry leaders, and again, except for quant nearly all technical skills are accessible and can be learnt on the job. That’s why banks hire so many engineers, they can solve problems. So, bring an engineering mindset, one where it’s not just about theory and being the smartest candidate, it’s about demonstrating you can execute.
Take Away >> To avoid the ‘smartest guy in the room’ trap (google ENRON), never give the impression of entitlement to the role.Take care in ‘command & control’ industries like consulting, accountancy, and banking, where grads do a lot of (high value!) leg work in the early years. You’ll need to demonstrate being action oriented, concise and on point with communication. That’s what they look for in associates, EVERYONE will have or can learn the technical skills, what they’re looking are folks who can apply their process under stress.
Myth #4 – “All my interviews are the same”
If you have 20-30 first round interviews (as our ‘Allspringer’ graduate did, 93!) it’s tempting to treat them all the same. Bust that myth! All companies have differing corporate purpose and values, an investment manager like BlackRock is focused on making investing accessible to all demographics & geographies and providing financial solutions problems like retirement. Goldman Sachs are part of that outcome but more focused on institutional client services (primary markets like IPO, Fixed Income, secondary markets including trading & financing). These outcomes have subtly differing needs that you need to account for at interview.
Take Away >> Bust myth #4 by doing a quick search for corporate values and purpose ahead of each interview, for example at BlackRock’s Principles or Goldman’s Purpose and Values. Or in FinTech for example Snowflake’s Values. Without being insincere or robotic, weave examples of these values into interviews to demonstrate you are a strong fit and future ‘culture carrier’ of the firm.
Myth #5 – “I can’t over prepare”
Myth #5 runs a little counter to the ‘plan the work, work the plan’ blog post. For sure, you need to be organised to ensure you hit the right milestones in the process, but you must not be robotic. You MUST NOT enter an interview with a checklist of things you have to say. Interviewing is all about listening to the interviewer and being present in your answers. In that sense it is possible to over prepare to the point you are inauthentic and irritate the interviewer by delivering a ‘performance’ rather than a ‘conversation’.
Take Away >> Bust myth #5 by practicing talking adlib, for example at pitch events within societies like ENACTUS and Fish-On-Toast. One fantastic way ensure you are on track when interviewing is taking a pause after delivering a summary answer to ensure you aren’t heading down a rabbit hole. Also, when answering questions be problem rather than solution centric; yes, they want solutions from you, but all solutions come out of a strong problem statement. If you misunderstand the problem, you are toast. So, if you are unsure about the question don’t be afraid to restate the problem and validate your understanding.
Myth #6 – “Interviewers love interviewing”
Myth #6 is about understanding the process and the experience of interviewers, in particular for large firms where the graduate scheme is done on an industrial scale. Be consciously empathetic towards your interviewer. Typically, interviewers are mid-ranking leadership who are time poor, they may have dozens of candidates to rank and feedback to campus recruitment. It is MUCH more important for you to NOT be in the bottom quartile, than it is for you to be in the top quartile. In other words when interviewing a large cohort of candidates, the focus tends to be identifying those they don’t want to hire as much as those they do. So don’t offer any opportunities for them to mark you down (a lot of the prior take aways will help). The simplest advice is to ace the online assessment and to not be a jerk (or hungover!!) to avoid being dropped before you shine.
Take Away >> You want to offer your interviewer a positive and memorable experience that pushes you up the ranking. You want them to warm to you as an individual and be excited at the prospect of collaborating with you. Ensure you are dressed appropriately for the interview and that your body language is positive and engaging. Remember “To Finish First, First You Have to Finish”, you can certainly lose at interview by acting entitled or arrogant, so de-risk yourself from the ‘drop zone’ by offering the interviewer a positive experience by listening, holding engaging conversation and being concise and ‘on point’ with your answers.
There you have it, six interviewing myths busted. Couple these thoughts with good organisation and planning and you have every chance of achieving a great employment outcome. Remember these tips come from 20+ years of both interviewing candidates and interviewing for roles myself.
What Next?
If you have already interviewed you have experiences to reflect on, if you’ve yet to interview then think about these myths as you work through the process. Remember ‘practice makes progress’, with each interview you’ll learn a new process from the employer and be challenged in different ways, sometimes technically, sometimes relating to teamwork and resilience. But you must bring learnings to the next round. I chatted with one our Allspring graduates who gave a some of insights into their experience.
- The bulk of candidates are screened through numerical and logical reasoning and other computer-based assessments
- Take Away – Make sure you build muscle memory in advance with mock tests from careers and other sources, so you pass the first round.
- If you do video uploads ensure you stage the interview correctly vs instructions (backgrounds, lighting etc).
- Take Away – make sure you flat mates and other distractions don’t get in the way and ensure you are fully engaged with your audience by looking directly into the camera (rather that off to the side or down at your notes)
- Make sure you are watching the newswires relating to the companies you are interviewing with.
- Take Away – If the firm recently reported earnings check market commentary in the Financial Times, and if you are looking to work in (for example) mergers and acquisitions or IPOs, have a recent transaction to draw on to demonstrate your interest in that line of business.
The most important thing to remember is that employers a looking for collaborators, who thrive under pressure, are self-starters and are rounded and coachable. Assuming you have a foundation knowledge via your degree, those qualities will get you over the line, so think about how to demonstrate them (with humility!!). Finally, ALL recruiters want you to succeed, and want you to have a positive experience (because you may be a future lateral hire), so relax, enjoy it and the offers will come!