How early should I start my interview preparation?

Great question! Investment banking interviews are challenging and intense and you need to make sure you're 100% prepared for anything they throw your way. Realistically, to be a top-tier candidate, you'll need to spend 200+ hours. You can cram it in a few weeks or most candidates spread it over several months spending 10-15 hours / week. 

In terms of when to start, "the best time to plant the tree was 25 years ago" as the saying goes. But failing that, start now. Most serious candidates have already started preparation for sophomore internships during their sophomore year in college.

Here are the three things you need to do:

1. Networking (80 hours): Before the interview even starts, make sure that you've reached out to and talked with as many people as possible at the firm. Learn about what they care about and what they're learning for in a candidate. Build advocates.
2. Behaviorals (30 hours): Then, get started on your behavioral prep. Work on your behaviorals "trifecta"--tell me about yourself, why banking, why this bank, and then create a stories-based approach for other behavioral questions. Do practice mock interviews and write everything out.
3. Technicals (100 hours): Finally, once you get past the first round (usually behavioral) it's time to really hone in on technicals. Start with the 400 Question Guide and then it gets more advanced from there across modeling tests, paper LBOs, and online courseware like Wall Street Oasis's courses.

There are 10,000 other things we need to discuss on each of these pieces--please reach out for a free intro session and let's talk about how to get you into the industry!