How to Answer 'Tell Me About Yourself' in IB Interviews (With Scripts)

"Tell me about yourself" is typically the first question in an investment banking interview and sets the tone for the entire conversation. Your answer should be a 60-second structured pitch that covers your background, your key experiences, and why you're sitting in this interview — ending with a clear "why investment banking" statement.

What Is the 60-Second Pitch Framework?

Structure your answer in 4 parts, spending roughly 15 seconds on each:

1. Opening — Your name, school, major, and one defining trait
2. Key experience #1 — Most relevant finance/analytical experience
3. Key experience #2 — Second experience that adds a different dimension
4. The "why" — Why investment banking, why this firm, why now

What Mistakes Kill Your Answer?

| Mistake | Impact | |---|---| | Going over 90 seconds | Interviewer tunes out | | Starting with "I was born in..." | Wastes time, not relevant | | No mention of finance or deals | Doesn't connect to the role | | Reading your resume line by line | Boring, shows no narrative skill | | Not ending with "why IB" | Misses the whole point |

Example Script #1: Finance Major at a Target School

"I'm Sarah, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying finance and statistics. I first got interested in deals during my sophomore year when I led a student fund investment in a healthcare SPAC — we built a full DCF and presented to a board of alumni investors.

Last summer, I interned at Jefferies in their healthcare coverage group, where I worked on two live M&A transactions totaling $1.2 billion. I built the merger model for one of them and sat in on management presentations.

Those experiences confirmed that investment banking is where I want to build my career. I'm particularly excited about Goldman Sachs because of your market-leading healthcare franchise — I followed your advisory work on the $8 billion Horizon Therapeutics acquisition."

Why it works: Specific numbers ($1.2B, $8B), real firm names, clear narrative arc, under 60 seconds.

Example Script #2: Career Changer from Engineering

"I'm James, and I spent the last two years as a process engineer at Chevron, where I managed a $15 million capital project and led a team of 8 contractors. That experience taught me project management and quantitative analysis under real constraints.

I pivoted toward finance when I began studying for the CFA and started doing equity research in my free time — I wrote 12 deep-dive reports on energy companies, including a long thesis on an E&P company that returned 40% over 6 months.

I'm now pursuing investment banking because I want to apply my analytical and quantitative skills to advising companies on their most important strategic decisions. I'm drawn to Evercore's energy practice, which advised on 3 of the 10 largest upstream deals last year."

Why it works: Bridges engineering to finance naturally, quantifies everything, names a specific firm and practice group.

How Do You Practice This Answer?

1. Write it out — Script it word for word first
2. Time yourself — Must be 45-65 seconds
3. Record yourself — Watch for filler words ("um," "like," "you know")
4. Practice with peers — Get feedback on clarity and tone
5. Adapt per firm — Swap the final "why this firm" sentence for each interview

Your "tell me about yourself" answer is your first impression — it should feel polished but natural, not robotic. For more behavioral prep, see our behavioral interview questions guide and our guide on walking through your resume. IB Flash includes timed behavioral drills in our Question Bank that help you practice delivering your pitch with confidence.