Tell me about yourself.

This is the first question in 80% of banking interviews and it sets the entire tone. Most candidates either ramble for three minutes or deliver a robotic resume walkthrough. The strong answer is a 90-second narrative arc that frames who you are, what you've done, and where you're going — and gives the interviewer 3–4 hooks they'll want to dig into.

**The structure: Past → Present → Future.**

**Past (15–20 seconds):** Where you're from and the formative thing about your background that's relevant. Not your hometown out of habit — pick the angle that explains your trajectory. "I grew up in a family that ran a small specialty chemicals distributor, so I was exposed early to the fundamentals of running a business."

**Present (45–60 seconds):** Your major and academic interests, then the work experience that's most relevant to banking — explained in terms of what you did, what you learned, and why it pulled you toward the work. Two or three experiences max.

**Future (10–15 seconds):** A clean tie-back to why you're interviewing.

**A complete worked example.** "I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where my father runs a regional industrial distribution business. From middle school on, I was around dinner-table conversations about pricing pressure, customer concentration, and the eventual question of whether to sell or pass the business to the next generation. That seeded my interest in how businesses are valued and bought.

I'm a senior at Michigan studying finance and economics, with a 3.8 GPA. The two experiences most relevant to today are: First, I spent last summer at Lincoln International on the industrials team, where I worked on a $350M sell-side process for a family-owned packaging company. I built the operating model, drafted sections of the CIM, and ran initial diligence with five strategic and financial buyers. The deal closed in October at a 9.2x multiple. Second, this past semester I led the M&A practice within Michigan's investment banking club — we ran a stock-pitch competition with 60 students and brought in three Goldman MDs to judge.

What clicked for me last summer is that the work combines technical depth with proximity to high-stakes decisions. The owner was about to sell a 40-year business, and our work was in the room when he made the call. That's why I'm focused on starting my career in M&A advisory, and your firm specifically because of the industrials group's track record on family-owned businesses."

**What the answer accomplishes.** Opens with a hook (the family business). Two substantive chapters with quantified outcomes ($350M deal at 9.2x; club with 60 students, three GS MDs). Ends with a clear future tie. Total runtime: about 90 seconds. The interviewer now has at least four follow-up directions they could dig into: the family business, the Lincoln deal, the model build, the GS MD interaction.

**Calibrating for different audiences.** Junior interviewer: lean technical. Senior interviewer (VP/Director/MD): lean narrative. Senior bankers care less about whether you can model and more about whether you have judgment, communication skills, and a clean story.

**Common pitfalls.** The chronological resume walkthrough. Burying the lede. Vague language about extracurriculars. No metrics. Running long. Apologizing or hedging.

**The 'follow up on what you set up' principle.** Every hook you plant — the family business, a club leadership role, a deal — should have a 60-second deeper answer ready. Interviewers will pull on whichever hook interests them most.