The most recent poll I took on this blog asked, "Do you know how to walk through a DCF in an interview?". The results are as follows:13 People or 39% of you responded: YES7 People or 21% of you responded: KIND OF13 People or 39% of you responded: NOT AT ALLIf you are one of the 13 people who DO know how, that's awesome! Keep up the good work! For those of you who responded 'KIND OF' or 'NOT AT

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Investment Banking Reference Guide - Downloadable!

This is a great reference to have when looking for jobs. This document was sent to me by Shaurya. Thanks for sharing this Shaurya! There are a lot of great sample resumes in this document you should take a look at. It also contains sample interview questions, tips on preparing for your interviews. This pdf is downloadable from the Scribd website. The link is found here: Investment Banking

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EBITDA

Another important topic to know and understand is related to EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).Interview Question: 'How do you calculate EBITDA?'First WayEBITDA = Revenue - Expenses (excluding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)orSecond WaySales- CoGs---------Gross Margins- Operating Expenses---------EBIT+ DA (Depreciation & Amortization)------

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Habitat Blitz Week

Habitat Day 1

7:30am arrival to a site with only the foundation and bandboard. Alex and Jose’ Mejia and their crew agreed to take on the task of constructing a house in one day. Even though every time Dave Hargis, Structures Building Company Project Manager would ask if they were going to finish, they wouldn’t commit. A crew of 12 started off and as some had to leave, others received a call and gave up their Saturday to come out and lend a hand for the great cause! All in all, it took them a little over 12 hours to frame up Latoya and Dekaliah’s house!
Things that stick in our mind from Day One.

Dave telling Steve to pick up hot chocolate from Lowes for Alex, when Alex was actually asking for chalk for his chalk line. (It’s a wonder the house got built with Dave interpreting!)

Seeing the determination of Alex and Jose’s crew as we tossed pizza boxes on the roof since they wouldn’t climb down for a dinner break.

The guys finishing up by the head lights of R.P.’s truck.

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Headhunters - Not Helpful For Undergrads

Since I started this blog back in February, I have had a long list of headhunters for your reference on the front page of this blog. It has been determined after a lot of feedback from users, that this list of headhunters and headhunters in general, are more after experienced hires. They typically do not help recent college grads, especially since the credit crunch has forced the the layoffs of

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Habitat Blitz - Construction Challenge

Soon-to-be homeowner Latoya Palmer (front left) and Deborah Way of Structures Building Company pile into a bathtub with (back, from left) Dave Hargis, R.P. Newton and Steven Kendrick, all of Structures, the general contractor for Palmer's home. To read more...

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The Treasury Stock Method

Here is another interview question I was asked in my last interview: 'How do you calculate equity value using the Treasury Stock Method (TSM)?'______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Let's go over the answer to this question.This question relates specifically to one of the first steps of performing a Public Comparable Analysis.

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Investment Banking Interview Case Questions

Here is a sample of case questions I was asked in an interview with a leading middle market full-service investment bank. In these case interviews you are asked to assume the role of an investment banker. What do you advise each client to do?Case 1: A client of yours owns 100% of his own business. It is worth $500M and would like to get some liquidity out of his company, but still wants to

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Incredible Partnership

Here is our incredible list of donors that made Latoya and Dekaliah's house possible!


84 Lumber, A&E Digital Printing, AGM, B&D Heating & Air, Best Buy Blinds, Carolina Tree Brokers, Bird Hardware, Brixx Pizza in Belle Hall, Cahill Contracting, Carolina Lanterns, Carpet Baggers Flooring, Carrabbas Italian Grille, Charleston Bagel, Charleston Closet, Coastal Dentistry, Compliments Tile and Ceramics, Contractor Nail and Tool, Craftsman Services II, Cupcake in Belle Hall, Custom Creations, Daniel Island Real Estate, Domino's Pizza, in Park West, Dunkin Doughnuts on Hwy 17, East Coast Plumbing & Gas, Ferguson Enterprises, First Citizens Bank, Glass Act Production, Hess Gas Station on Hwy 17, HD Supply, Heyward Townsend, ITC Millworks, James Hardi, Jersey Mikes on Coleman Blvd, KFC on Hwy 17 & 41, Lord and Evans, Lowcountry Stone Solutions, McAlisters Deli in Belle Hall, Mejia Brothers Construction, The Muhler Company, New Horizon Shutters, Port City Supply, Premier Lighting Supply, Sharon's Painting, Southern Foam & Coating, Subway at the Pantry on Hwy 17 & 41, Sullivan's Custom Cabinets, Tidelands Bank, Tree Marsh, Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Avinger, Sue Boyer, Anna Genslar, Aly Greer, Melssa Griffin, Rod Groff, Austin Henne, Tony Hlavacek, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Johnston, Craig Jones, Tim Kallgren, Trey Kernaghan, Anne, Sophie and William Kendrick, Sara Koenig, Wynn Kopp, Mandy Newton, Mr. and Mrs. David Thompson, Rebecca Tuck, Alex Twigg and many more. . .

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Networking 101

In this post, I have put together some great articles I found online relating to networking. As you read through these articles focus on taking away one or two ideas to practice or start doing this week. The only way to get better is by practicing, so find ways to practice your networking skills.10 Tips for Successful Business Networkingby Stephanie SpeismanEffective business networking is the

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The X's and O's of Capital Markets: Buy Side vs. Sell Side

A very common question when interviewing for investment banking positions is 'Do you want to be on the Buy Side or Sell Side?' This is a basic question that you should not get wrong. If you want to be an investment banker then you want to be on the Sell Side.Investment Banking Analyst/Associate = Sell SideSell SideIn general, they are not investors, but rather they give advice to the buy side,

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The Phone Interview: Not As Easy As You Think

Another common interview concern comes in the form of the phone interview. Right now I am interviewing for many jobs outside of Salt Lake City, Utah where I currently live. The first interview, after the resume screen, always comes in the form of the phone interview. This gives both the employer and job candidate a chance to "feel each other out" without spending any money to get the candidate in

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