What to ask in a coffee chat with an investment banker
Ask about the person's own path, how their group actually works, what separated the summer analysts who got return offers, and who else you should talk to. Prepare three questions, lead with the one only this person can answer, and end every call by asking for another name. Skip anything you could read on the bank's website.
Updated November 6, 2026. Live data checked against each firm's own careers site 1m ago.
How should a fifteen minute call run?
The banker gave you fifteen minutes, so plan for twelve and let them run over if they want. Open with a thank-you and one line about yourself, ask your questions, and close on time without being reminded.
Come with three questions written down and five more in reserve. Listen more than you talk. The best calls go wherever the banker gets animated, so follow up on what they say instead of reading the next question off the list.
- Minute 0 to 1: thank them and give a thirty second version of who you are and why banking.
- Minutes 1 to 4: ask about their own path into the bank and the group.
- Minutes 4 to 10: ask your two best questions about the group and the summer.
- Minutes 10 to 12: ask what they would do in your seat, and who else you should speak with.
- Minute 12: thank them, confirm their email, and end on time.
What should you ask about their own path?
Start here because people like telling their own story, and it warms the call up. Listen for the turning points: why this bank, why this group, what surprised them. Those details are what you will reference in the thank-you note.
- How did you end up choosing banking over the other paths you looked at?
- Why this bank over the others you were talking to when you recruited?
- How did you land in your group, and was it your first choice?
- What surprised you most in your first six months?
- What do you know now that you wish you had known as a sophomore?
What should you ask about the group and the work?
These questions show you know what the job is and want the detail behind it. They also give you real material for why this bank and why this group in interviews, which generic research never does.
- What does a normal week look like for you on a live deal versus between deals?
- Is your group more sell side, buy side, or financing work right now?
- How is work staffed: by a central staffer, or do seniors pull analysts directly?
- How much client contact do analysts get here compared with what you expected?
- What kind of deal has the group been busiest with this year?
- What separates a good analyst from a great one in your group?
What should you ask about recruiting and the summer?
This is the part where you learn what the bank values, from someone who went through it. Ask it plainly; bankers expect it. Avoid asking them to predict whether you will get an interview.
- How are summer analysts placed in groups, and can they ask for one?
- What separated the summer analysts who got return offers from those who did not?
- What did your interviews focus on: technicals, fit, or deal discussion?
- Is there anything students from our school tend to get wrong in the process?
- How much does a diversity or sophomore program here feed into the junior summer?
What should you ask at the end?
The last two minutes matter most. Ask for advice and ask for a name. A referral to a colleague turns one call into two, and a banker who recommends you to a friend is now invested in how it goes.
- If you were in my position today, what would you do in the next two months?
- Is there anyone else at the bank you think I should speak with?
- Would it be alright if I reached out again when applications open?
- Is there anything on my background you would push me to strengthen?
What should you never ask?
Some questions waste the call or cost you. Anything answered on the bank's careers page says you did not prepare. Questions about pay, hours as a complaint, or exit plans in the first call read badly in a job built on hours and loyalty to the team.
Do not ask for a referral outright on a first call. If it went well and you ask whether you can reach out when the bank opens, most people offer what they can. Before any call, check where the bank stands in the table below so you know whether you are early or the window is open.
- What does your bank do? Or what groups do you have? (Read the website.)
- How much do analysts make?
- How many hours do you really work? (Ask what a normal week looks like instead.)
- Where do analysts exit to, and when are you leaving?
- Can you refer me? (On a first call, ask to stay in touch instead.)
Questions students ask
- How many questions should I prepare?
- Three you will definitely ask and five in reserve. You will rarely use more than four in fifteen minutes, but a reserve keeps the call going if an answer is short.
- Should I talk about myself on the call?
- Briefly. Thirty seconds at the start: year, school, major, why banking, and one line of background. If they ask more, answer, but keep the call about them and the bank.
- Is it fine to take notes during the call?
- Yes, on paper or quietly in a doc. Write down the one thing you did not know and any name they give you. Those go straight into the thank-you note.
- Should I ask technical questions?
- Not to test them. Asking how they think about a deal type their group does is fine. Asking them to explain an LBO is not: learn that on your own.
- What if the call goes silent?
- Pull from your reserve, or ask them to say more about something they mentioned. A follow-up on their own words is always better than a new question.