Can you share some real investment banking stories?

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.

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.

Sure. There was a candidate who showed up to the interview in what they thought was appropriate business attire, but the interviewers clearly had different expectations. They were judged from the start based on their appearance, and it set a negative tone for the whole interview. They didn't get the job, and they felt it was unfair as they were qualified but the first impression was ruined.

Well, there's the story of an investment bank that spotted a niche market in emerging economies. They started investing in small - scale infrastructure projects there. Initially, it was met with a lot of skepticism, but as time passed, those projects grew and became very profitable. It shows how having foresight can pay off in investment banking.

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.

One common theme is high - risk, high - reward situations. Investment banks often take big risks on deals that could either make them a lot of money or cost them dearly.

One great investment banking fiction novel is 'Liar's Poker' by Michael Lewis. It gives a vivid and often humorous look into the world of investment banking in the 1980s.

Sure. There was an intern who was given so many projects at once that it was physically impossible to complete them all on time. They had to skip meals and sleep just to try and keep up. Another intern was constantly given urgent tasks that piled up on top of their regular workload. They worked weekends and holidays but still couldn't get everything done to the satisfaction of their superiors.

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.