CIBC Investment Banker / M&A Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

This was just the first round interview for an off-cycle position, and I wasn't very prepared a couple years ago. The interview was quite strange, getting an email at 10 am asking for a phone call at noon. The interviewer was impersonal and barely asked about my resume, education, or experience, then quickly moved to some basic technical questions. The whole call lasted only 15-20 minutes, and while most technicals were easy, I did stumble on a couple of harder ones.

The interview process was completely disorganized and unprofessional. There were three video interview rounds. The first was with an associate who asked mostly technical questions and giggled with his girlfriend on camera during my answers. The second round featured a director who was late, unprepared, and unclear, also asking primarily technical questions. In the third round, two directors, both late, and one not even on camera, focused on very specific technical and industry questions. I was surprised I advanced given how difficult each interviewer was to connect with, their lack of professionalism, and disregard for the schedule. They showed almost no interest in my background, and my frustration was likely evident.

The process had 3 rounds: first an HR chat, then interviews with 2 Analysts, and finally a Superday. The HR round was purely behavioral. The Analyst interviews were a mix of technical and behavioral. The Superday focused on behavioral questions and some market-related ones. While none of the individual interviews were particularly hard, the intensity picked up significantly after the initial HR screening.