Free resource

77 coffee chat questions for IB recruiting

Organized by who you're talking to, not just dumped in one long list — skim to the section that matches your call, pick a few, and go in prepared without sounding scripted.

Every coffee chat is different, but the questions that actually get a real answer tend to depend more on who you're talking to — an analyst three years in versus an MD — than on some universal "best questions" list. This bank is organized that way: find your section, pick 5-8 questions that fit the specific conversation, and skip the rest.

How many questions to prepare

For a 20-30 minute call, prepare 6-8 questions, not all of them will get asked — plan for 3-4 to come up naturally and have the rest as backup if the conversation stalls. Preparing more than that usually backfires: you end up rushing through a list instead of following up on what they actually say, which is where the more interesting answers come from anyway.

How to choose which to ask

  • Match questions to their actual seniority and role — a VP question asked of a first-year analyst (or the reverse) usually gets a thinner answer.
  • Pick 1-2 from the group-specific or firm-specific sections and fill in the brackets with real research — these signal preparation more than any generic question can.
  • Save at least one open-ended question ("what surprised you most about this job") for later in the call, once they're warmed up — it tends to get a more honest answer than it would as the opener.
  • Let the conversation reorder your list. If they bring up something interesting unprompted, follow that thread before moving to your next prepared question.

How to avoid sounding scripted

The questions below are starting points, not a script to read verbatim. Two things make the difference: asking a natural follow-up based on what they actually said instead of moving straight to your next prepared question, and dropping any question your research already half-answers — asking something you could have found on LinkedIn signals you didn't look.

A short prep checklist before any call: read their LinkedIn profile and recent posts, note one specific deal or piece of background to reference, pick 6-8 questions matched to their seniority, and write down two things about yourself you want them to walk away knowing. That's it — over-preparing tends to make calls feel more rehearsed, not less.

Analyst / junior banker

Closest to the actual work and to recruiting — the most useful group to ask day-to-day, tactical questions.

  • What does a typical week actually look like for you right now?
  • What's been the most useful thing to learn on the job that school didn't teach you?
  • What surprised you most in your first few months on the desk?
  • How much of your time is modeling versus formatting slides versus other work?
  • What made you choose this group specifically over others you could have joined?
  • What's the hardest part of the job that people don't talk about before they start?
  • If you were recruiting again, what would you do differently?

Associate

Closer to managing analysts and client work — good source on what changes between analyst and associate life.

  • What changed most in your day-to-day between analyst and associate?
  • How do you split your time between managing analysts' work and doing your own?
  • What do you look for when you're staffing or reviewing an analyst's work?
  • What's a mistake junior bankers commonly make that's easy to avoid once you know about it?
  • How did your relationship with clients evolve as you moved up?
  • What's one skill you had to build quickly once you became an associate?
  • How do you decide whether to stay in banking long-term or move to the buy side?

VP / senior banker

Better for strategic, career-trajectory questions than granular day-to-day ones — respect that their time is limited.

  • What's changed most about this business since you started?
  • What separates the analysts and associates you'd advocate for versus the ones you wouldn't?
  • How do you think about which deals or clients to prioritize when everything feels urgent?
  • What's a piece of advice you'd give someone just starting out that you didn't get yourself?
  • How has your definition of doing good work changed as you've moved up?
  • What do you look for in the junior bankers you choose to mentor?
  • Looking back, what's one decision early in your career that mattered more than it seemed to at the time?

Group-specific

Fill in the bracket with the actual group you're discussing — generic versions of these read as if you haven't done any research.

  • What kinds of deals does the [Group] team typically work on that people outside the group might not expect?
  • How is [Group] different from [Adjacent Group] in terms of day-to-day work?
  • What technical skills matter most specifically in [Group] that might not apply elsewhere?
  • What's a recent deal in [Group] you found genuinely interesting, and why?
  • How cyclical is deal flow in [Group] compared to other groups at the firm?
  • What kind of client relationships are typical in [Group] — repeat clients, one-off deals, or a mix?
  • What would make someone a strong fit for [Group] specifically, versus banking in general?

Firm-specific

Use these to show you've researched the specific firm, not just banking in general.

  • What made you choose [Bank] over other firms when you were recruiting?
  • How would you describe [Bank]'s culture to someone who's only heard about it secondhand?
  • What does [Bank] do differently from its closest competitors, in your experience?
  • How has [Bank] changed since you joined?
  • What's something about working at [Bank] that isn't obvious from the outside?
  • How does staffing work at [Bank] — do you request groups or deals, or is it assigned?
  • What would you tell someone considering [Bank] that you wish someone had told you?

Career path / recruiting

Useful across seniority levels — these focus on how they got in and what they'd change about their own recruiting process.

  • What did your own recruiting process look like, and what would you change about it looking back?
  • Did you always know you wanted to do banking, or did you find it later?
  • What's a common misconception people have about breaking into this industry?
  • How much did networking actually factor into how you got your offer?
  • What's the biggest difference between candidates who get offers and those who don't, beyond just technical skills?
  • Is there a type of prior experience or background that tends to do especially well in this recruiting process?
  • What would you have focused on more if you were recruiting again today?

Deal experience

Best once you've built some rapport — these ask someone to go deeper than a surface-level answer.

  • What's a deal you worked on that taught you the most, even if it wasn't the biggest one?
  • What does the actual workflow look like from pitch to closing on a typical deal?
  • What's the most difficult part of a deal that clients usually don't see?
  • How involved are junior bankers in client-facing conversations during a live deal?
  • What's a deal that fell apart, and what did you learn from watching it happen?
  • How do you handle it when a deal timeline compresses unexpectedly?
  • What part of deal work do you find most interesting, versus the part that's just necessary?

Culture

Good for understanding fit — these get past the recruiting-brochure version of culture.

  • How would you describe the actual working relationships on your team, not the official version?
  • What's the unwritten rule at your firm that new hires usually learn the hard way?
  • How does the firm handle it when someone's struggling — is there real support, or is it sink-or-swim?
  • What's something about the culture here that surprised you, good or bad?
  • How much does team culture vary group to group within the firm?
  • What do people actually do to unwind or stay sane during a busy stretch?
  • How would you describe the balance between competitive and collaborative on your team?

Questions for alumni

Lean into the shared background — these work better with alumni than with a fully cold contact.

  • What was recruiting like from our school specifically when you went through it?
  • Are there professors, clubs, or resources at our school you'd point current students toward?
  • How did you first get on this path — was it something you were pointed to, or did you find it yourself?
  • What do you wish someone from our school had told you before you started recruiting?
  • Is there a network of alumni from our school at your firm, and how connected is it?
  • What made you stay in touch with our school's recruiting pipeline, if you have?
  • What's different about recruiting now compared to when you went through it?

Follow-up / second conversation

For a second call with someone you've already spoken to — these build on the first conversation instead of repeating it.

  • Last time you mentioned [something they said] — has anything changed with that since we spoke?
  • I looked into [something they recommended] like you suggested — here's what I found. Does that track with what you were thinking?
  • Since we last talked I've [update, e.g. 'started prepping technicals' or 'talked to two other people on your team'] — what would you focus on next?
  • How has your own thinking on [topic from last call] evolved since we spoke?
  • Is there anyone else on your team you'd suggest I talk to, given what we've already covered?
  • What's changed on your end — new deals, new staffing — since our last conversation?
  • Given everything we've talked about, is there anything you think I should be doing differently as I get closer to applying?

Post-offer conversations

Once you have an offer, the conversation shifts from 'convince them' to genuinely evaluating fit — these reflect that.

  • Now that I have an offer, is there anything about the role or team you think I should know before deciding?
  • What would make someone thrive on this specific team versus just surviving it?
  • If you were choosing between offers at my stage, what would you weigh most heavily?
  • What's the trajectory looked like for people who started on this team a few years ago?
  • Is there anything about the day-to-day that's hard to evaluate from the interview process alone?
  • What questions should I be asking that I probably haven't thought to ask yet?
  • Once I start, is there anything you'd recommend doing in the first few months to set myself up well?

Questions to avoid

  • Anything answered directly on the firm's website or the person's LinkedIn — it signals you didn't look before the call.
  • Directly asking for a referral on a first call, especially before you've built any real rapport.
  • Compensation questions on an early call — save these, if at all, for once you're much further along, ideally post-offer.
  • Yes/no questions that don't leave room for a real answer ("do you like your job?" versus "what do you like most about your job?").
  • Anything that could be read as testing them rather than genuinely learning from them.

Coffee chat prep checklist

  1. Research the person: LinkedIn background, recent posts, and one specific detail (a deal, a talk, a shared background) to reference.
  2. Pick 6-8 questions from the sections above that match their seniority and your goals for the call.
  3. Prepare a 30-second answer for "tell me about yourself" — you'll almost always need it.
  4. Write down what you want them to remember about you by the end of the call.
  5. Block 5-10 minutes right after the call to write down what they said while it's fresh.

Use these questions on your next call.

After the call, log what you learned somewhere you'll actually find it again. MarketIQ can tie notes and follow-ups to each contact, so nothing sits stranded in a notes app you forget to check.

See how MarketIQ tracks coffee chats

Frequently asked questions

Are these questions specific to investment banking, or do they work for other finance roles?

They're written with IB recruiting in mind, but most translate directly to adjacent roles — private equity, corporate development, or consulting — with minor rewording.

Should I ask the same questions to everyone I talk to?

No — match questions to the person's seniority and your relationship with them. A first coffee chat with a cold contact and a second call with someone you already know should look different.

Is it okay to write questions down and glance at them during the call?

Yes, most people expect some notes. Keep it to a short list you glance at rather than reading questions verbatim off a page — the goal is a conversation, not an interview.

Related