Behavioral questions are easier to make up on the spot than technical questions, but they can still get you into trouble if you are not prepared. You need to know your story, have examples ready, and practice speaking clearly under pressure.
Behavioral questions are harder to bucket, but they generally fall into a few broad categories: background and resume questions, story questions such as "tell me about a time...", hypothetical or situational questions, and motivation or fit questions. It is easier to make up answers to these on the spot compared with technical questions, but they can still get you into trouble if you are not prepared.
There are a few key points to know when dealing with behavioral questions. First, almost every interview starts with some version of "tell me about yourself." If there is one question you prepare for, it should be this one. An entire article could be dedicated to answering it well.
Next, you should generally write down some sort of story bank. This means having a list of 1 to 10 stories or events from your life that taught you valuable lessons or showed leadership, courage, teamwork, resilience, attention to detail, or ownership.
The goal is not to memorize 20 separate answers. The goal is to have stories that you can adapt to answer almost any kind of behavioral question.
You should use some version of the STAR framework: Situation, Task, Action, and Results.
The STAR framework is not rocket science. Just walk the interviewer through the situation, task, action, and result with a sentence or two dedicated to each letter. Some people like to include another sentence after the result where they explain why the story is relevant or important for the role. For example, one story may display your independent thinking, which is important because analysts are expected to solve problems without constant hand-holding.
The framework is useful because it keeps your answer from rambling. Briefly explain the situation, describe your responsibility, walk through the action you took, and end with the result.
Lastly, try not to be boring. Interviewers hear the same stories about the group project with the bad teammate, or that one particularly hard class, over and over again. Try to add some personality into your answers and, importantly, smile during the interview.
Just like technicals, practice goes a long way when answering behaviorals. It is very easy to start rambling, stuttering, or making up parts of your answers when pressured on the spot. I would recommend either recording yourself or doing mock interviews to practice these aspects.
This will also help you prepare for HireVues because you get used to answering clearly without immediate feedback from another person.
This question is extremely common and can trip up well-prepared students if they have not done their research.
If you are interviewing for a specific team, such as Tech M&A, Industrials, or Equity Capital Markets, you must look into a recent deal the team has completed. You can find this information online, and it is often posted on bank websites in the form of tombstones.
For instance, if you are interviewing for Goldman Sachs' Equity Capital Markets team, an easy answer would be SpaceX. Mention key metrics and explain why the deal was notable or why it made sense. A sample answer for SpaceX could be something like:
A recent deal I found interesting was SpaceX’s June 2026 IPO. The company priced the offering at $135 per share, selling roughly 555.6mm shares and raising about $75bn, or roughly $86bn including the full greenshoe. The pricing implied an equity valuation of around $1.75tn. The deal was notable because demand was extremely strong, with the book reportedly around 3.5x to 4.0x oversubscribed. It also stood out from a valuation perspective, as SpaceX generated about $18.7bn of 2025 revenue, implying roughly a 94x trailing price-to-revenue multiple at pricing.
Brain teasers are questions designed to test your intuition and critical thinking under pressure.
One of the most common types is the market sizing question, where you have to make assumptions and reach a conclusion using very limited information. Brain teasers can also include quick mental math questions, such as the square root of 1,000. Hint: it is not 100.
Often, the approach is more important than the final answer.
At the end of almost every interview, the interviewer will ask what questions you have for them.
You should prepare 3 to 4 unique questions before the interview. The best questions are specific enough to show that you actually thought about the firm, group, or interviewer, but open-ended enough to lead to an interesting conversation.
Do not ask questions just to check the box. A good question can turn the last few minutes into a real discussion and leave the interviewer with a better impression of you.
You should never say you have no questions. Even if the interview went long or the conversation already covered a lot, have at least one question ready.
Use the full guide path and question database to keep moving through recruiting prep.