How to Answer "Describe Your Role and Feedback"

Why This Question Appears in Every Interview

In investment banking interviews, technical skills get tested extensively, but behavioral questions often determine who receives offers. One question you will encounter in nearly every interview is: "Could you describe your role in that position? What feedback did you receive?"

This is not casual conversation or small talk to fill time. The question serves a strategic evaluation purpose that separates strong candidates from average ones. Interviewers use this prompt to assess multiple dimensions of your candidacy simultaneously, making it one of the most information-rich questions in the behavioral portion of interviews.

Understanding why interviewers ask this question helps you prepare more effectively. They are evaluating your self-awareness by listening to how accurately and honestly you describe your own contributions. They are testing your communication skills by observing whether you can explain complex responsibilities clearly and concisely. They are gauging your growth mindset by noting how you respond to criticism and whether you demonstrate genuine improvement.

Beyond these direct assessments, interviewers are also forming impressions about how you would function as a junior banker. Can you articulate your work clearly to senior team members? Do you take feedback constructively rather than defensively? Are you someone who learns quickly and adapts based on input? These qualities matter enormously in investment banking culture where feedback flows constantly and improvement is expected.

The question also reveals how you think about your own career trajectory. Candidates who can reflect thoughtfully on their experiences and articulate what they learned demonstrate the maturity that banks value. Those who give superficial answers or cannot identify areas for improvement raise concerns about their readiness for demanding professional environments.

Understanding the Question's Many Forms

Interviewers phrase this question in various ways, but the underlying evaluation remains consistent. You might hear direct versions like "Tell me about your responsibilities in your last internship" or "What did your team rely on you for?" You might encounter feedback-focused variants such as "What feedback did you receive during performance reviews?" or "What were your biggest strengths and weaknesses in that role?"

Regardless of the specific phrasing, the interviewer is probing two related dimensions: what you actually did in the role and how you improved based on input from others. Strong candidates address both elements seamlessly, weaving together their responsibilities with the feedback they received and the growth that resulted.

Some interviewers ask this question early to establish context before diving into technical topics. Others save it for later rounds when they want to understand you as a person beyond your technical capabilities. Preparing a polished answer ensures you can deliver effectively regardless of when the question appears in the interview sequence.

The question connects closely to the walk me through your resume discussion that typically opens interviews. While your resume walkthrough provides the narrative arc of your career, this question zooms in on specific experiences with greater depth. Think of it as the interviewer asking you to elaborate on one chapter of your professional story.

Presenting Your Role Effectively

Before you reach formal interviews, you will discuss your background during networking conversations and informational calls. The skills you develop articulating your role clearly serve you in both contexts and beyond.

Highlight Qualities That Matter in Banking

When describing your role, emphasize qualities that align with what banks seek in junior hires. Ambition and drive matter because banking demands discretionary effort beyond the minimum requirements. Share examples of times you went beyond expectations, took initiative on projects, or volunteered for additional responsibility when others held back.

Attention to detail is critical because errors in banking have real consequences. An incorrect number in a pitch book seen by a client damages the firm's reputation. A mistake in a financial model can lead to flawed advice on billion-dollar transactions. Describe instances where your precision caught problems before they reached stakeholders or where your thoroughness improved deliverable quality.

Teamwork and collaboration skills matter because banking projects involve coordinated effort across analysts, associates, vice presidents, and managing directors. Explain how you supported colleagues under tight deadlines, stepped in when team members needed help, or contributed to group success beyond your individual assignments.

Provide Specific Details That Create Credibility

Vague answers like "I was an intern and helped with various projects" tell interviewers nothing meaningful. Instead, describe your responsibilities with specificity that demonstrates genuine involvement. Name the types of deliverables you produced, the processes you supported, and the stakeholders you interacted with.

Strong example: "I built financial models to support a fundraising process, creating sensitivity analyses around revenue growth and margin assumptions. I presented my work to the deal team during internal reviews and incorporated feedback to refine the outputs before client presentations."

Weak example: "I worked on some modeling and helped the team with different tasks as needed."

The strong example specifies what was built, what analyses were performed, and how the work connected to the broader deal process. The weak example could describe almost any internship and leaves no lasting impression.

Quantify Impact Where Possible

Interviewers respond well to quantified achievements because numbers create concrete impressions. When you can attach metrics to your contributions, do so. These might include deal sizes you worked on, time savings you created, error rates you reduced, or revenue impact your work supported.

Effective quantification: "I automated a weekly reporting process that previously took four hours of manual work, reducing turnaround time to under thirty minutes and freeing analyst capacity for higher-value tasks."

Effective quantification: "I contributed to due diligence on a $150 million acquisition, building the comparable companies analysis that informed our valuation range for client discussions."

Even in non-finance roles, frame your impact in measurable terms. Marketing internships can cite engagement metrics. Operations roles can reference efficiency improvements. Research positions can quantify output volume or accuracy rates.

Practice articulating your experiences: Download our iOS app to rehearse behavioral questions and refine your answers until they sound natural and confident.

Discussing Feedback Constructively

The feedback portion of your answer requires careful balance. You want to demonstrate openness to growth without suggesting you were bad at your job. You want to acknowledge weaknesses without undermining confidence in your capabilities.

Balance Strengths and Areas for Development

Start by sharing positive feedback that highlights your strengths. Choose praise that relates to qualities valued in banking rather than generic compliments. Then transition to constructive feedback you received, explaining the specific criticism and how you addressed it.

Balanced approach: "My manager noted that I handled high-volume tasks well under pressure and consistently met deadlines without sacrificing quality. She also suggested I could improve my efficiency on complex analyses by building more structured templates. I took that feedback seriously and created reusable frameworks that cut my turnaround time significantly."

This approach shows you can receive both positive and developmental feedback, that you took criticism constructively, and that you implemented concrete changes in response.

Use Real Examples Rather Than Generic Claims

Interviewers have heard thousands of candidates claim they "work hard" or "received positive feedback." These generic statements carry no weight because they lack specificity. Instead, share feedback from actual conversations, performance reviews, or informal discussions that you can describe in detail.

Specific example: "During my mid-internship review, my supervisor mentioned that my presentations contained too much supporting detail for executive audiences. I worked on distilling my materials to key takeaways, and my revised slides were later used in an actual client meeting."

This example describes the feedback source, the specific issue identified, the action taken, and the outcome that validated the improvement. Generic claims cannot compete with this level of detail.

Demonstrate Growth and Learning

The most important element of your feedback discussion is showing what changed as a result. Feedback only matters if it drives improvement. Explain the specific steps you took to address the criticism and, where possible, describe evidence that your approach worked.

Avoid simply acknowledging feedback without explaining your response. Saying "I was told to improve my communication skills" without describing how you addressed that feedback leaves the story incomplete. Interviewers want to hear about the action and the outcome, not just the initial criticism.

Adapting Your Response by Career Stage

Different career stages require different emphases when answering this question. Customize your approach based on where you stand in your professional journey.

For Interns and Current Students

If you have limited professional experience, focus on learning velocity and coachability. Interviewers understand that students will not have extensive track records. What matters is whether you can absorb guidance quickly and show improvement within short timeframes.

Student example: "In my finance club, I initially included too much irrelevant data in stock pitch presentations. After feedback from senior members, I learned to focus on the key drivers of my investment thesis. By the end of the semester, my pitches were selected for presentation to our alumni advisory board."

This example acknowledges limited experience while demonstrating rapid learning and meaningful improvement within the available context.

For Analyst Candidates

If you are applying for analyst positions, emphasize team contributions, precision, and responsiveness to guidance from supervisors. Analysts operate under close oversight from associates and vice presidents, so showing that you work well within that structure matters.

Analyst example: "During my corporate finance internship, I updated models under tight deadlines to support live client conversations. My manager appreciated that I asked clarifying questions upfront rather than making assumptions that required rework. She also suggested I develop faster Excel proficiency, so I practiced keyboard shortcuts until I could complete routine tasks significantly more quickly."

For Associates and Experienced Hires

Senior candidates should emphasize leadership, project management, and developing others. At the associate level and above, your value comes not just from individual contributions but from how you multiply the effectiveness of those around you.

Associate example: "As a senior analyst, I received feedback that I was handling too much work myself rather than delegating effectively to interns. I started spending more time coaching junior team members on modeling, which freed me for higher-level analysis while improving their skills. The feedback helped me understand that leverage and development are as important as individual output."

For more strategies on positioning yourself at different experience levels, see our guide on breaking into investment banking which covers various paths into the industry.

Connecting Your Experience to Banking Skills

Regardless of your background, always tie your experiences to capabilities required in investment banking. This connection transforms your answer from a generic career reflection into a targeted demonstration of your fit for the specific role.

Attention to detail connection: "Catching calculation errors in compliance reports taught me the importance of precision that I know is critical for financial modeling work."

Client readiness connection: "Presenting recommendations to senior management prepared me for the high-stakes client interactions that junior bankers participate in."

Work ethic connection: "Balancing full course loads with demanding internship responsibilities built the discipline needed for long banking hours."

Understanding different banking roles helps you make more targeted connections. For example, candidates interested in M&A should connect their experiences to skills like understanding synergies and deal evaluation, while those targeting other groups might emphasize different capabilities.

Common Mistakes That Weaken Your Answer

Avoid these frequent errors that undermine otherwise solid responses.

Being too vague leaves no lasting impression. Statements like "I helped with projects" or "I supported the team" tell interviewers nothing distinctive about your contributions. Replace generic descriptions with specific details about what you actually did.

Mentioning only strengths makes you sound unrealistic or lacking self-awareness. Every professional has areas for development. Candidates who cannot identify any weakness raise concerns about their ability to receive feedback honestly.

Sharing overly negative feedback damages your candidacy. While you should acknowledge developmental areas, choose criticism that does not suggest fundamental problems with your capabilities. Feedback about efficiency or communication style works better than feedback suggesting you could not handle core responsibilities.

Failing to show improvement leaves your answer incomplete. Describing feedback without explaining your response suggests you may not actually learn from criticism. Always close the loop by explaining what changed.

Not connecting to banking misses the strategic opportunity. Your answer should reinforce why you are prepared for this specific role, not just describe your past experiences in isolation.

Get comprehensive interview preparation: Download our complete interview guide covering 400+ behavioral and technical questions with detailed frameworks for every key topic.

Sample Framework for Structuring Your Answer

Use this five-part structure to organize your response effectively:

Part 1: Role Overview. Start with a clear description of your position and primary responsibilities. Establish context quickly so the interviewer understands what you were doing.

Part 2: Key Contributions. Highlight specific accomplishments with quantified impact where possible. Focus on achievements that demonstrate qualities relevant to banking.

Part 3: Positive Feedback. Share genuine praise you received that reinforces your strengths. Connect this to capabilities valued in investment banking roles.

Part 4: Constructive Feedback and Response. Describe developmental feedback honestly, then explain the concrete actions you took to address it. Include evidence of improvement if available.

Part 5: Banking Connection. Conclude by linking the lessons learned to skills required in investment banking. Reinforce your preparation for the demands of the role.

Complete Sample Answer

"In my corporate finance internship, I built financial models to evaluate acquisition opportunities and supported due diligence on two live transactions. I worked closely with analysts to refine projections and presented sensitivity analyses to the deal team during internal reviews.

My manager noted that I was highly detail-oriented and consistently caught errors before deliverables went to senior leadership. She appreciated that I asked clarifying questions upfront rather than making assumptions that required rework later.

She also suggested I could improve my efficiency on complex analyses. I was taking too long on certain tasks because I rebuilt frameworks from scratch rather than leveraging existing templates. After that feedback, I started creating reusable model structures and learned additional Excel shortcuts. By the end of the internship, I reduced my turnaround time on recurring analyses by roughly forty percent.

This experience reinforced how important both precision and efficiency are in high-volume environments. I know those same qualities are essential in investment banking, where attention to detail protects the firm's reputation while speed enables teams to handle demanding transaction timelines."

Key Takeaways

Conclusion

The question about your role and feedback received is one of the most revealing prompts in behavioral interviews. It gives interviewers insight into how clearly you can explain your work, how honestly you assess your own performance, and how effectively you learn from criticism.

Strong candidates use this question as an opportunity to demonstrate professional maturity. They describe their responsibilities with precision, share feedback openly, and explain meaningful improvement that resulted. They connect their experiences to the specific demands of investment banking, reinforcing their preparation for the role.

By preparing a thoughtful, structured response that follows the framework outlined above, you transform this common question into a chance to differentiate yourself from candidates who give vague or unreflective answers.

Once you have mastered this behavioral question, continue preparing for the technical topics that follow. Our guide on DCF methodology covers one of the most common technical questions that often appears immediately after behavioral discussions.