Investment banking recruitment follows a long, standardized process that's eliminatory at every stage. Understanding precisely how it unfolds - from resume screening to the famous "superday" - allows candidates to prepare each phase methodically rather than enduring a process that seems opaque from the outside.
The steps of the investment banking recruitment process
Nearly all major investment banks follow a similar framework, with naming variations depending on the institution: online application, resume screening, online tests (numerical reasoning, situational judgment), phone or video interviews, then an assessment center or "superday" in person, before a final decision.
According to Société Générale's official document describing its recruitment process 🔗, this process is applied identically worldwide, regardless of the candidate's profile (student, recent graduate, or experienced professional), and can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the position.
This standardization has a direct consequence for candidates: each stage is calibrated to eliminate a specific percentage of applications, and evaluation criteria remain broadly stable year to year. Understanding this logic allows candidates to approach each phase as an independent filter to optimize, rather than as a single big final exam.
Resume screening and initial selection
This first stage eliminates the majority of applications before any human contact. The resume is often run through an ATS before being read, which makes structure and keywords at least as important as the content itself. Recruiters look for precise, quickly identifiable signals: school, honors, relevant internships, technical skills (Excel, modeling, Bloomberg).
💡 To learn more: check out our complete guide to optimizing your resume for investment banking ATS and avoid being filtered out at this first stage.
Psychometric and reasoning tests
Once the resume is shortlisted, most banks administer standardized online tests: numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and increasingly, situational judgment tests that assess how a candidate reacts to typical professional scenarios.
At Société Générale, for example, these psychometric tests specifically evaluate logic, mathematics, and command of French, in addition to any phone interview. These tests aren't something to cram for at the last minute: regular practice over several weeks significantly improves scores, especially on timed exercises.
The assessment center and the superday
This is the most intense stage of the process, and often the one that finally separates candidates. The most common format, particularly at Anglo-Saxon banks, is called a "superday": a full day on-site, with several consecutive individual interviews, group exercises, and sometimes a case study to solve under time pressure.
On its careers site, BNP Paribas's graduate program dedicated to financing and investment roles 🔗 illustrates this format well: candidates shortlisted through an online test meet, during an assessment day, their future managers and colleagues, through individual interviews and group exercises designed to evaluate leadership and the ability to collaborate under pressure.
📊 Go further in your technical preparation: interviews at this stage almost always include technical valuation questions - master them with our guide on financial valuation interview questions (DCF, LBO, Comps).
Technical and behavioral interviews
Two types of questions systematically structure these interviews: technical questions (valuation, accounting, market news) and behavioral questions ("why this bank," "describe a failure," "do you work well under pressure"). The best-prepared candidates know how to tie their behavioral answers to concrete, quantified examples drawn from their past experiences, rather than staying in generalities.
⚠️ Warning: a technically strong candidate who can't articulate credible motivation for the bank or team targeted is very often eliminated at the assessment center stage, even with excellent written test results.
The real weight of group exercises
Group exercises, often seen as secondary by candidates focused on technical preparation, are actually scrutinized closely by evaluators present at the assessment center. The goal isn't to "win" the group debate, but to demonstrate listening skills, clarity of expression, and an ability to move a discussion forward collectively under time pressure - skills directly transferable to the deal-team teamwork that characterizes day-to-day life in investment banking. A candidate who monopolizes the conversation or stays passive throughout the exercise sends a negative signal to evaluators either way.
How to prepare effectively
- Review technical fundamentals: DCF, LBO, comps, recent market news
- Practice online tests: many platforms offer simulations of banking psychometric tests
- Prepare 5 to 6 personal stories that can be adapted depending on the type of behavioral question asked
- Research the bank and team you're targeting precisely: recent deals, sector specialization, recent news at the institution
- Simulate the assessment center under real conditions: timed mock interviews, group exercises with peers
Conclusion
The investment banking recruitment process remains demanding, but perfectly decipherable once its stages are understood: resume screening, psychometric tests, then assessment center or superday. Each stage eliminates a significant share of candidates - methodical, phase-by-phase preparation remains the only truly effective lever.
Before even reaching the superday, you still have to clear the resume filter. FinanceCV was designed for exactly that: you don't have to worry about layout or format, the tool guarantees a clear resume compatible with the automated sorting systems used by major banks from the very first stage of the process.
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