Superday: Cracking the Final Investment Banking Interviews (2024)

What is a Superday?

The “Superday” is the last stage of the interview process for investment banking analyst and associate roles. After a successful superday, the next step would be receiving an offer letter.

This is the capstone of the entire interview process, which includes:

• A phone screen
• Initial interview
• On-campus mixers & networking
• Follow up interviews

If successful with all this, candidates will be their Superday. Being invited to a Superday is a sign of you being “Almost there”, so prepare yourself and go in to win.

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind for the Superday:

Superday interview process

Superday is held by investment banks typically for the following positions in the organization:

• Summer Analysts
• MBA Summer Associates
• Analysts
• Associates

As we have already discussed, this is the last step in the hiring process after several onsite or online interviews. Only the narrowed-down few make it to the Superday and are taken on for one final interview.

The length of this interview varies from bank to bank; however, most interviews are 30 minutes and you might have 4-6 interviews scheduled for a superday.

This mostly consists of interviews with 1-2 bankers in different domains that can include analysts, associates, and senior bankers.

One thing to be aware of is your superday schedule might be flexible. So, while you might have planned to talk to a certain banker at a certain time, you might be informed that the schedule has changed, and you are now talking to someone else.

All of this is totally fine, and don’t be thrown off. Folks are busy with pressing meetings coming up. Just roll with the punches! It’s no indication of your candidacy and how the firm is treating it.

How to prepare for the Superday

If you are someone who has made it to the Superday, know that you are among the shortlisted few.

You have made it this far by performing well in interviews. This means the company is indeed interested in you and considers you worthy of that position.

Although keep in mind that the people interviewing for the same position on the Superday also have the same set of skills that you do and are equally eligible. At this point, the candidates will be eliminated based on their lacking or just because one was liked more than the other.

So the best approach is to do what you have already done in all your previous interviews. Enter the interview with confidence; know that they are interested in you and have a sense of gratitude that you have made it this far among thousands of applicants.

In addition to this, here are some other tips for your Superday preparation:

Top tips for a successful Superday

• Make sure you prepare for tackling the “Why” questions. The big ones are why investment banking, why this bank, or why should you be hired instead of others?
• Practice financial modeling and technical concepts. The bar is quite varied on what they expect you to know for investment banking interviews (mostly varies by your background), but to do well you want to show you’ve tried to learn as much as possible to dive into finance
• Practice and rehearse the most commonly asked interview questions. Do your research for the questions that are mostly asked in these interviews and prepare your answers.
• Study the bank that you are interviewing for. Know as much about them as possible. Try to grasp their vision and what makes them different.
• Research the culture of the bank. Show you’ve networked with folks at the firm, and you’ve done your homework on how the firm’s culture operates.
• Be cool (and normal). Bankers spend a lot of time with each other. They want to hire someone who is like-able and who they will get along with!

Superday offer rate

There is limited public data available on the exact conversion rate of a Superday.

Further, the conversion rate can vary from bank-to-bank and year-to-year based on hiring philosophy and macro environment.

However, since banks usually compensate candidates for the cost of the superday travel (if required), it stands to reason that banks would only invite candidates with a real shot. And they would try to keep the offer rate as high as possible to minimize expense.

Given this context, most estimate that the offer rate after superday interviews probably lies somewhere between 30-50%.

Of course, offer rate does not equal hire rate. This is because some of the candidates will have offers from several banks and will end up taking one or the other. So the hire rate will come down even further – likely 20 to 30%.

This gives you a good reason to go for multiple banks and apply for multiple interviews. The more Superday you will interview in, the more will be your chances to get hired as it will only go upwards.

Aim for multiple Superdays and increase your chances to multiple folds!

Superday networking events

In some cases, the company will host an evening of networking before a superday interview.

This is a gathering where professionals from the bank and the candidates invited for the interview engage over refreshments. It usually happens the night before your actual interviews.

This a key phase of the superday, and one that you do not want to miss as a candidate. This can have a significant impact on your chances of getting hired if you use this setting productively.

You can look at it as an informal networking opportunity where you can build a very good first impression that would make the job easier for you in the interviews later.

Put the competition for the job aside and engage other candidates, professionals, and other officials while also making sure that you are enjoying yourself. Events like these are arranged with a layer of informality but the intention is to analyze and assess your ability to interact in a social setting.

Remember why you are here at all times, stay focused and sensible and carry yourself with a professional demeanor.

Firms are on the lookout for candidates who cannot handle themselves appropriately in these situations! So be on your best behavior!

Superday Interview Questions

The interview questions for your superday will vary depending on many factors, but most importantly on the person interviewing you.

Each interviewer tends to have “favorite” question areas, which can vary widely.

One surprising angle is that often times the most technically challenging questions will be asked by first and second-year analysts who are interviewing you. You might not expect this, since they are the most junior employees.

However, they want to assess your technical capabilities as there is a high possibility that you would be working directly under them on deals.

Meanwhile, other more senior interviewers tend to focus more on your story, behavioral questions, and assessing your fit into the culture of the bank or specific team you are applying for. This is why you need to research the bank’s culture in your preparation and align your answers with it. The chances of them asking you any sort of technical question is relatively very low.

Be prepared from all angles and stay on your toes at all times to tackle any unorthodox question.

The Superday Interview in Short

Superday is an enormous opportunity and one that can put your career on the path into investment banking. It’s an incredibly exciting time.

If you haven’t been on Wall Street before, be sure to notice and appreciate how cool it is to be in a Wall Street firm’s office.

Take it all in, enjoy the process, and do your best!