FILE 1 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
The panel asks a candidate to walk them through a company. The candidate begins: 'It was founded in 1987, and in 1995 it moved into...'
// THE IN-TRAY / CHAPTER 26 FILES · ONE MINUTE EACH
THE IN-TRAY · CHAPTER 2 OF HOW BANKERS THINK
6 files on The Four Signals
The question this chapter answers: What is a senior banker listening for beneath an interview answer?
Make a call on any file and every option opens with how far it sits from the senior banker’s read. There is no score.
FILE 2 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
Asked about a company's margins, a candidate says: 'I'm not sure what's normal for them. I'd want to see three years before saying whether 9% is good.'
What does the panel hear?
FILE 3 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
Mid-answer, the interviewer adds a fact: 'The largest customer has just given notice.' The candidate replies: 'That doesn't change much. The order book is still strong.'
What does the panel hear?
FILE 4 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
Asked whether they would lend to a company, a candidate answers at once: 'Yes. Revenue has grown 30% a year for three years.'
What does the panel hear?
FILE 5 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
Asked to define a ratio they have never met, a candidate gives a fluent, confident definition. It is wrong.
What does the panel hear?
FILE 6 OF 6 · WHAT THEY HEAR
Late in the interview the panel says: 'Your first answer assumed the loan was secured. It isn't.' The candidate pauses: 'Then the cash flow has to carry it alone, and I'm less sure it does.'
What does the panel hear?
6 FILES · PICK A CALL ON ANY OF THEM
// THE WHOLE TRAY
The placement draws three files from each of the eight chapters and ends in a card of where you read from.
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