What are some common themes in investment banking stories?

Overwork is a very common theme. Investment bankers often have to sacrifice their personal lives for the job. Another theme is the high - pressure environment. There's always the risk of making a costly mistake in deals.

One horror story could be being given an impossible task with a very short deadline. For example, an intern was asked to create a complex financial model for a major deal in just a day. The intern had to work all night, with little guidance, and still got scolded for minor mistakes. Another could be dealing with extremely long hours. An intern was expected to be in the office from 7 am until midnight every day, which led to burnout very quickly. And then there's the case of being bullied by senior colleagues. An intern was constantly criticized and made to feel small by a senior banker who took out their own stress on the newbie.

Sure. There was a story about a small investment bank that took a big risk on a startup. Everyone thought they were crazy, but the startup ended up being a huge success and made the bank a fortune.

Sure. One story is about a small investment bank that took a chance on a startup in the tech industry. Everyone thought the startup was too risky, but the investment bank believed in its potential. They provided the necessary funds for research and development. Years later, that startup became a huge success and the investment bank reaped great rewards.

There was a case where a deal went horribly wrong. The investment bank had misjudged the market conditions for a big IPO. They priced it too high. As a result, the shares tanked on the first day of trading. The bank faced huge losses and a damaged reputation. Their clients were furious, and the bankers involved were under intense scrutiny and pressure.

There was this story of an investment banker who was presenting to a very important client. He accidentally spilled coffee all over his presentation papers right in front of the client. But instead of panicking, he just laughed it off and improvised the rest of the presentation without the papers, and still managed to close the deal.

I heard about an investment banker who went to a meeting in a different city. He got lost on his way to the meeting venue and ended up arriving an hour late. To make it worse, he had his tie on backwards. But the client was so amused by his disheveled state that they actually listened more intently to his pitch.

One horror story is when a candidate was asked extremely complex financial math questions on the spot without any warning. They froze and couldn't answer, feeling completely embarrassed. It was a high - pressure situation and they hadn't prepared for such in - depth math during the interview.

The glamour and high - stakes nature of investment banking. These novels often show huge sums of money being made or lost, which is exciting to read about.

Well, I started in investment banking right after college. I was attracted by the high - paced environment and the potential for big earnings. I joined a small firm at first. I was mainly involved in helping small - to - medium - sized companies with their IPOs. It was a wild ride. There were long hours, lots of research, and countless meetings with clients. But seeing a company go public successfully that we had worked so hard on was really rewarding.