How to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" in IB Interviews

Why This Question Opens Every Interview

The question "Tell me about yourself" appears at the start of nearly every investment banking interview. While it sounds casual and conversational, this question serves a strategic purpose for interviewers and presents a significant opportunity for candidates who prepare thoughtfully.

Unlike the more structured walk me through your resume question, which follows a strict chronological format, "tell me about yourself" gives you flexibility in how you present your story. You can emphasize what matters most and shape the narrative to highlight your strongest qualifications for the role.

Interviewers use this opening question to assess several things simultaneously. They evaluate your communication skills by observing whether you can organize thoughts logically and express them concisely. They gauge your self-awareness by listening to how you describe your own motivations and career trajectory. They test your genuine interest in banking by noting whether your story naturally leads to this career path.

The first impression you make in these opening moments shapes how the interviewer interprets everything that follows. Research on interview psychology consistently shows that initial impressions heavily influence subsequent evaluations. A confident, well-structured response creates positive momentum that carries through technical questions. A rambling or unfocused answer raises immediate concerns about your preparation and fit.

What Interviewers Actually Evaluate

Understanding what interviewers look for helps you craft a more effective response. They are evaluating several dimensions simultaneously, and strong candidates address all of them.

Communication clarity is the most obvious criterion. Investment bankers communicate constantly with clients, senior leadership, and colleagues. If you cannot explain your own background clearly and concisely, interviewers will doubt your ability to present complex financial information to demanding audiences. They observe your sentence structure, your pacing, and whether you can make a point without excessive filler words.

Self-awareness reveals whether you understand your own strengths, motivations, and career trajectory. Candidates who can articulate why they made specific decisions and what they learned from each experience demonstrate the reflective thinking that banks value. Interviewers are skeptical of candidates who cannot explain their own choices or who seem to be pursuing banking without genuine understanding.

Authentic motivation separates serious candidates from those casually exploring options. Your answer should convey genuine enthusiasm for the work itself, not just the prestige or compensation. Interviewers have heard thousands of responses and can detect rehearsed enthusiasm from real interest. They notice when candidates light up discussing deals versus when they mechanically recite talking points.

Cultural fit emerges through how you present yourself. Are you someone who would thrive in a demanding, team-oriented environment? Your tone, energy, and the examples you choose all contribute to this assessment. Banks want colleagues they would enjoy working with during long hours on challenging projects.

Logical thinking shows through the structure of your response. Does your story make sense? Does each experience build logically toward the next? Interviewers notice when career paths seem random or when candidates cannot explain transitions between roles.

The Three-Part Framework

A strong response follows a clear structure covering your past, present, and future in 60 to 90 seconds. This is shorter than a full resume walkthrough because the question invites a more focused, narrative-driven response rather than a comprehensive chronological review.

Part One: Relevant Background

Start with the context that frames your story. This typically includes your education and early experiences that sparked your interest in finance or business. The goal is to establish your foundation quickly so you can spend more time on what makes you distinctive.

Keep this section brief since it sets the stage rather than serving as the main content. Mention your school, major, and one element that connects to finance. This might be a relevant class, an investment club, a competition, or an early work experience.

Strong opening: "I studied Economics at NYU where I first got exposed to finance through the undergraduate investment club. Running stock pitches for our portfolio taught me I loved analyzing businesses and making investment decisions based on fundamental research."

Weak opening: "I'm a senior at NYU studying Economics. I've always been interested in business since I was young. My dad works in finance so I've been around it my whole life."

The weak version relies on vague claims and family connections rather than specific experiences. The strong version immediately establishes a concrete, personal connection to finance work.

Part Two: Key Experiences

This section forms the core of your answer. Highlight one or two experiences that demonstrate your interest in and preparation for investment banking. Focus on what you did, what you learned, and how these experiences confirmed your career direction.

Choose experiences that showcase relevant skills: financial analysis, working under pressure, client interaction, or deal exposure. Be specific about your contributions and quantify impact where possible. Emphasize achievements and insights rather than job descriptions.

The best experiences to highlight involve actual transaction work or situations where you performed analysis that influenced decisions. Internships at banks, boutiques, or in corporate finance roles provide obvious material. But candidates from other backgrounds can also find relevant examples from consulting projects, case competitions, or personal investing.

Strong example: "Last summer I interned at a middle-market bank where I worked on two live M&A transactions. I built the financial model for a $75 million acquisition in the healthcare space and presented sensitivity analysis directly to our client's CFO. Seeing how our work influenced a real transaction confirmed my desire to pursue banking full-time."

Weak example: "I've had several internships in finance. I did some modeling work and helped with various deals. It was a good learning experience overall."

The strong version specifies deal size, your actual contribution, and what you learned. The weak version is vague and forgettable.

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Part Three: Why Investment Banking Now

End with a clear statement about why you want this specific opportunity. Connect your background to the role and express enthusiasm for what lies ahead. This closing should feel like the logical conclusion to your story, not an abrupt pivot.

Reference the specific bank or group when possible. Mentioning recent deals, the firm's culture, or its strengths in your target industry shows you have done research beyond the basics. For detailed guidance on articulating firm-specific interest, see our guide on answering why this bank specifically.

Strong closing: "These experiences confirmed my passion for transaction work, and I'm particularly excited about JPMorgan's healthcare group because of the complexity of deals in that sector and the team's reputation for developing junior talent."

Weak closing: "So that's why I'm interested in investment banking. I think it would be a great opportunity to learn and grow in my career."

The strong version demonstrates specific knowledge about the firm and connects your interests to their platform. The weak version could apply to any bank or any job.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Understanding what weakens answers helps you avoid these pitfalls in your own preparation. These mistakes appear frequently in interviews and immediately signal inadequate preparation.

Going too long is the most frequent problem. When candidates exceed 90 seconds, interviewers lose focus and question whether you can prioritize information. In banking, the ability to communicate concisely is essential since clients and senior bankers have limited patience. Practice with a timer until you consistently deliver your response in the target range.

Listing accomplishments without connecting them into a narrative fails to tell a coherent story. Each experience you mention should build toward why banking is the logical next step. Random achievements without narrative cohesion make your answer sound like a verbal resume rather than a compelling pitch.

Being too generic makes you forgettable among dozens of candidates. Phrases like "I've always been passionate about finance" or "I'm a hard worker who loves challenges" appear in countless interviews. Interviewers remember specific, concrete examples that only you can claim, not generic statements that could describe anyone.

Neglecting the why now leaves your motivation unclear. If your answer ends without explaining why you want this particular role at this particular firm at this particular time, interviewers will question your genuine interest. The transition to your forward-looking statement should feel natural and motivated.

Over-rehearsing makes you sound robotic and disconnected. Know your key points but vary the exact phrasing each time you practice. Conversational delivery builds rapport better than a memorized script. If you sound like you are reciting from memory, interviewers will wonder if you can think on your feet.

Starting with childhood wastes precious time on irrelevant history. Interviewers do not need to hear about your entrepreneurial lemonade stand or how your parents inspired your interest in business. Start with college or relevant professional experience unless earlier history is genuinely distinctive.

For additional pitfalls to watch for, see our comprehensive guide on common investment banking interview mistakes.

Tailoring Your Response by Background

Different backgrounds require different approaches to this question. Customize your framework based on your specific situation while maintaining the three-part structure.

Current undergraduates should emphasize academics, clubs, and internships since professional experience is naturally limited. Highlight leadership roles in finance clubs, relevant coursework in accounting or valuation, and any competition experience. Show intellectual curiosity and initiative through projects you pursued independently.

Career changers need to explain their transition clearly and confidently. Emphasize transferable skills from consulting, accounting, engineering, law, or other fields. Address the pivot directly rather than treating it as something to apologize for. Many successful bankers come from non-traditional backgrounds; the key is explaining your motivation convincingly.

MBA candidates should briefly acknowledge undergrad and pre-MBA roles, then focus on why you pursued business school and what you have accomplished there. The MBA represents a deliberate pivot point in your story that requires explanation. Connect your business school experience to your banking aspirations.

Experienced professionals applying for lateral roles should focus on relevant deal experience and what specifically attracts you to the target firm. Hiring managers assume competence; they want to understand why you want to move and whether you will stay.

If you are coming from a non-target school or lack traditional finance experience, see our guide on breaking into investment banking without connections for strategies to strengthen your positioning.

How This Question Connects to Follow-Ups

Your opening answer often shapes the questions that follow. Interviewers typically probe areas you mention, so be strategically thoughtful about what you include.

If you mention an internship, expect questions about specific deals or projects you worked on. If you reference building a valuation model, be ready to walk through DCF methodology or discuss your assumptions. If you cite a recent transaction in the news, prepare to discuss the strategic rationale and valuation considerations.

This creates an opportunity to guide the conversation toward topics where you are strongest. Strategically mentioning experiences you can discuss in depth gives you more control over the interview flow. Avoid mentioning anything you cannot elaborate on if asked.

Think of your opening answer as setting the agenda for at least part of the interview. If you mention an M&A deal, expect M&A questions. If you mention a challenging team situation, expect behavioral follow-ups about teamwork. Use this dynamic to your advantage by highlighting areas where you have prepared deeply.

Practice and Refinement Strategies

Preparation transforms adequate answers into compelling ones. Invest serious time in practicing before your interviews because this question appears in virtually every conversation.

Record yourself on video or audio. Watching yourself is uncomfortable but reveals problems you would otherwise miss. Check for filler words like "um," "like," and "you know." Evaluate your pacing and whether your energy level conveys genuine enthusiasm. Note any nervous habits that might distract interviewers.

Practice with others who can provide honest feedback. Mock interviews with friends, mentors, or career counselors help you refine timing and identify weak spots in your narrative. Ask them specifically whether your story sounds coherent and whether your motivation seems genuine.

Prepare variations for different contexts. A first-round phone screen might warrant a slightly shorter version than a final-round superday. A conversation with an MD might emphasize different elements than one with an analyst. Being able to adjust your length and emphasis based on context demonstrates polish.

Test your timing repeatedly. Use a stopwatch to ensure you stay within 60 to 90 seconds. If you consistently run long, identify what to cut. If you finish too quickly, consider what depth to add. Consistent timing shows preparation and respect for the interviewer's time.

Get comprehensive interview preparation: Download our complete interview guide covering 400+ technical and behavioral questions to complement your personal pitch.

Sample Response Structure

Here is a sample answer demonstrating the three-part framework. Use this as a template but personalize every element for your own background.

"I'm a senior at Columbia studying Finance, where I first got interested in banking through the Columbia Undergraduate Investment Fund. Analyzing companies for our portfolio and pitching ideas to the investment committee taught me I genuinely enjoyed digging into financial statements and building investment theses.

Last summer I interned at Lazard in the restructuring group, where I worked on two distressed situations. I built a liquidation analysis for a retail client and helped prepare materials for creditor negotiations. That experience confirmed my interest in complex transaction work where rigorous analysis directly impacts outcomes.

I'm particularly excited about the M&A group at Morgan Stanley because of the breadth of deal flow across industries and the training program's reputation for developing strong technical skills. The recent healthcare transactions I've followed in your deal announcements align with my interest in that sector."

This response runs approximately 150 words and takes about 70 seconds to deliver at a natural pace. It follows the framework while including specific, memorable details that differentiate the candidate.

Key Takeaways

Conclusion

"Tell me about yourself" is more than a casual icebreaker. It is your opportunity to frame the narrative, establish credibility, and create positive momentum for the rest of the interview. Candidates who prepare thoughtful, structured responses distinguish themselves from the many who attempt to wing this seemingly simple question.

Invest the time to craft and practice your answer until it feels natural. The 60 to 90 seconds you spend responding to this question shape how the interviewer perceives everything that follows. Master this opening and you will start every interview from a position of confidence.

Once you have polished your personal pitch, continue preparing for the technical questions that follow. Our guide on linking the three financial statements covers one of the most common technical screening questions that often comes immediately after the opening behavioral discussion.