Why Your Story Matters
Telling your story is arguably the most important part of the interview process. While weak technicals can get you cut, a compelling personal narrative is what ultimately gets you the job.
Your story creates the human connection that makes you memorable and hireable. Energy is contagious – when you bring authentic enthusiasm, the interviewer mirrors it back.
Authenticity & Enthusiasm
First and foremost, you must be genuinely enthusiastic about your story. Never sound like you're reciting a memorized script - it needs to feel like an actual conversation. If you're not excited about you, why should the interviewer be excited about you? Energy is contagious. When you bring authentic enthusiasm, the interviewer is more likely to mirror that energy back to you.
Smile! It sounds simple, but a genuine smile immediately makes you more approachable and helps create that human connection.
Speak naturally. Use normal, conversational language. Say “I became interested in” instead of “piqued my interest.”
Tell Me About Yourself vs Walk Me Through Your Resume
Whether you're asked to “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume,” these are essentially the same question. The interviewer is trying to get to know you as an opening introduction to the investment banking or private equity interview.
While you should absolutely know what's on your resume and be ready to discuss any item in detail, don't think “walk me through your resume” means you should robotically list every bullet point. You're still introducing yourself as a person and telling your story – just using your resume as a loose guide.
What Makes a Story Truly Yours
The Name Test
If you could delete your name and substitute someone else's, and the story would still be true, it's not really your story – it's just a generic “breaking into finance” narrative. Make your story YOUR story.
Use Specific Imagery
Paint pictures with your words. Don't just say you “worked in retail” – say “worked at Target for two summers, where I learned to handle difficult customers during the back-to-school rush.” Specific details help interviewers visualize and connect with your experiences.
Avoid Common Pitfalls
Follow Your Natural Energy
Reflect on what experiences genuinely excited you – the ones you couldn't wait to tell family and friends about. These are likely the stories you'll tell with the most authentic enthusiasm in interviews. Don't default to what you think “should” be in your story if it doesn't energize you.
Avoid the Finance Robot Trap
Never lead with the generic pathway: “I got interested in finance because I studied econ in high school… joined two finance clubs in college… now I want to work in finance.” This sounds like everyone else.
You absolutely should include finance in your story – interviewers need to understand your genuine interest. But weave it into your unique narrative organically.
Don't Undervalue “Non-Prestigious” Experiences
Include impactful experiences even if they're not professional finance roles. Working at Chick-fil-A for two years shows dedication, customer service skills, and business awareness. These real-world experiences often demonstrate the work ethic and people skills that employers highly value.
Timing & Delivery
Aim for ~1.5 minutes, but don't rush
Aim for about 1.5 minutes, but do not rush through your story to hit a time target. It's better to cut content and speak at a natural pace than to cram everything into the timeframe. Remember, you're just trying to give the interviewer some threads to pull on – interesting breadcrumbs that make them want to ask follow-up questions.
They're not supposed to know every detail of your life in two minutes. If your story is running long, look for more concise ways to convey the same information, and don't hesitate to cut a few experiences. Speak naturally and engagingly, not in a rushed or robotic way.
Use Bullets, Not Scripts
Once you've figured out your story, write down 6-8 bullet points using just 1-3 words each. For example, if you're talking about your school, just write “NYU” as one bullet point.
Do not EVER write out a full script. These short bullets serve as mental triggers for the stories you want to tell, taking the mental burden off trying to remember everything while keeping your delivery natural and conversational.
Structure & Landing
Experiment with Structure
Your story doesn't need to be chronological. It also doesn't all need to weave from one point to the next – don't overplay the “and therefore, and therefore.” You don't need to force artificial connections between every part of your story with “and so then.” It's perfectly fine to have clean breaks and move to a completely different topic. Don't string things together in unnatural ways just to create false narrative threads. Simple transitions like “In terms of work experience…” work just fine.
Play around with different organizational approaches: non-chronological (start with your current school and major, maybe whatever is most important to you at school, then flashback to high school experiences), thematic buckets (group by activities/involvement, work experience, academic interests), or impact-based (lead with your most compelling experience regardless of when it happened).
Try telling your story in different ways to see which feels most natural. The structure that flows best for you is likely the one that will come across most authentically in interviews.
Another good test: you only have a short time (30 seconds?) to capture someone's interest. Think about what you want them to remember about you. If that's buried at the end of your story, consider bringing it forward.
Stick the Landing
End your story with 1-2 sentences: why you're excited about the specific role (investment banking, private equity, etc.) and something specific about that particular team or firm.
This shouldn't turn into your full “why this company” answer, but shows you've done your homework and aren't giving a generic pitch to every interviewer.
Workshopping Your Story
Start by creating a comprehensive Google Doc with bullet points about your life experiences. Don't filter anything out prematurely - include everything: where you grew up and what your childhood was like, high school experiences, college activities and clubs, jobs (paid or unpaid), things you're passionate about, and any other meaningful experiences.
Then try running through your story with mentors and advisors. It's helpful if the advisor can then also go through your Google Doc to help you identify whether the most interesting things have made it into your story. Please keep in mind there is a lot of bad advice out there which causes most people's stories to come across as overly robotic and unnatural.
At the end of the day, think: enthusiasm, authenticity, specific imagery, threads for your interviewer to pull on, and enough about your finance experiences or interest to be relevant but not be one-dimensional.