The 6-Week Investment Banking Interview Prep Plan (Week by Week)

Six weeks is enough time to go from "I kind of know what a DCF is" to walking into a superday feeling ready. It's not enough time to wing it, though.

This post gives you a week-by-week plan covering fit questions, accounting, valuation, M&A, LBOs, and mock interviews. You'll get daily time targets, worked examples you can practice out loud, and a checklist for the final days.

Why 6 Weeks Works

Cramming technicals in a weekend doesn't stick. You might memorize answers, but the moment an interviewer asks a follow-up, it falls apart.

Six weeks gives you room to:

• Learn concepts in a logical order, since valuation makes no sense until accounting clicks
• Repeat material so answers come out naturally, not recited
• Practice out loud with real people before the real thing

How much time you need

Plan on roughly 1.5 to 2 hours on weekdays and 3 to 4 hours on one weekend day. Keep the other weekend day light so you don't burn out.

If you're juggling classes or a full-time job, that's realistic. Consistency beats marathon sessions every time.

The Plan at a Glance

Now let's break each week down.

Week 1: Build Your Story and Start Accounting

Most candidates obsess over technicals and treat fit questions as an afterthought. That's backwards. Your story is asked in almost every interview, and a weak one hurts you before you get to a single technical.

Nail the big three fit questions

1. "Walk me through your resume." Aim for about 2 minutes. Tell it as a story with a clear thread that ends at "and that's why I want to do investment banking."
2. "Why investment banking?" Be specific. "I want to learn a lot" is what everyone says. Talk about deal exposure, the pace, the skills you want, and a real moment that sparked your interest.
3. "Why this firm?" You'll refine this later in Week 5, but start a doc now for each bank you're targeting.

Tip: Record yourself on your phone. You'll instantly hear the filler words and rambling you didn't notice in your head.

Start the accounting foundation

Spend the second half of your daily time on the basics:

• What goes on the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
• How net income flows from the income statement into the cash flow statement and retained earnings
• Common items: depreciation, working capital, capex, deferred revenue

You're not going deep yet. You just want the vocabulary to feel familiar.

Week 2: Accounting Deep Dive

This is the week where things click or don't. Accounting is the foundation for everything else, so don't rush it.

The question you must master

"If depreciation goes up by $10, walk me through the three statements." Assume a 25% tax rate.

• Income statement: Operating income falls by $10. Taxes fall by $2.50 (25% of $10). Net income falls by $7.50.
• Cash flow statement: Net income is down $7.50, but you add back the $10 of depreciation since it's non-cash. Cash is up $2.50.
• Balance sheet: Cash up $2.50, PP&E down $10, so total assets are down $7.50. On the other side, retained earnings fall by $7.50 because net income fell. It balances.

Once you can do this one smoothly, practice variations:

• Inventory increases by $10
• The company issues $50 of debt
• An asset is written down by $20
• Accounts receivable increases by $15

How to practice

Say every answer out loud, in order: income statement, then cash flow statement, then balance sheet. Then check that the balance sheet balances.

If it doesn't, you've found the gap in your understanding. That's the whole point.

Week 3: Valuation

Now you can build on top of accounting. Interviewers love valuation because it shows whether you understand what a company is actually worth and why.

Enterprise value vs. equity value

Know the difference cold. Equity value is what belongs to shareholders. Enterprise value is the value of the core business to all capital providers.

A simplified bridge: EV = Equity value + Debt + Preferred stock + Noncontrolling interest − Cash

Example: Equity value of $800M, debt of $300M, cash of $100M, preferred stock of $50M, no noncontrolling interest.

EV = 800 + 300 + 50 − 100 = $1,050M

Be ready for the follow-up: "Why do we subtract cash?" A clean answer is that EV reflects the operating business, and cash isn't part of operations. An acquirer effectively gets that cash back, so it reduces the net cost.

The three main methods

• Comparable companies: Value the business using multiples (like EV/EBITDA) of similar public companies
• Precedent transactions: Use multiples paid in past acquisitions, which usually include a control premium
• DCF: Project free cash flow, discount it back at the cost of capital, and add a discounted terminal value

A quick DCF number to practice

Terminal value using the perpetuity growth method:

TV = Final year FCF × (1 + g) / (WACC − g)

If final-year FCF is $100M, growth is 2%, and WACC is 10%:

TV = 100 × 1.02 / 0.08 = $1,275M

Remember, that's the value at the end of the projection period. You still need to discount it back to today.

Questions to drill this week

• Walk me through a DCF.
• Which method usually gives the highest valuation, and why?
• How do you calculate WACC?
• Why would you use EV/EBITDA instead of P/E?

Week 4: M&A and LBOs

This is the "advanced" week. Not every interview goes here, but you'll stand out if you handle these comfortably.

Accretion/dilution logic

The core question: does the deal increase or decrease the buyer's EPS?

A useful shortcut for an all-stock deal (ignoring synergies and other adjustments): compare the acquirer's P/E to the P/E being paid for the target.

• Acquirer trades at 20x earnings
• It buys the target at 15x earnings

The buyer is "paying" with expensive stock to buy cheaper earnings, so the deal is accretive. If the buyer's P/E were lower than the price paid, it would be dilutive.

For deals using cash or debt, compare the target's earnings yield (1 / P/E) to the after-tax cost of cash or debt.

The paper LBO

You might be asked to do one in your head. Practice this:

• Buy a company with $100M EBITDA at 5x, so the purchase price is $500M
• Fund it with 60% debt ($300M) and 40% equity ($200M)
• Over 5 years, EBITDA grows to $130M and debt is paid down to $150M
• Exit at 5x: 130 × 5 = $650M
• Equity value at exit: 650 − 150 = $500M

Return: $500M / $200M = 2.5x money. Over 5 years, that's roughly a 20% IRR.

Memorize a few anchors: 2x over 5 years is about 15% IRR, 2.5x is about 20%, and 3x is about 25%. They make mental math way faster.

Week 5: Behavioral Stories, Markets, and Firm Research

Your technicals are in place. Now fill in everything that makes you sound like a real candidate, not a textbook.

Build your story bank

Write out 6 to 8 stories covering:

• Leadership
• Teamwork
• A failure or mistake
• A conflict
• A time you worked under pressure
• Something you're proud of

Use a simple structure: situation, what you did, result, what you learned. Keep each one to about 90 seconds.

One good story can often answer several questions, so you don't need dozens.

Know the markets

You should be able to talk about:

• Roughly where major indices and interest rates are right now (check the week of your interview)
• Two deals you've followed closely, including the rationale and how they were financed
• A general sense of what's happening in M&A and capital markets

Read financial news for 15 to 20 minutes daily. Pick deals in the sector or group you're interviewing for when possible.

Research each firm

For each bank, note:

• Its strengths (sectors, products, deal types)
• A recent deal it advised on
• People you've spoken with and what stood out

That last one matters. Mentioning a real conversation makes "why this firm?" sound genuine.

Week 6: Mock Interviews and Final Review

This week is about performance. Knowing the answer and delivering it calmly under pressure are two different skills.

Do at least 3 to 4 mock interviews

Ask friends in finance, alumni, upperclassmen, or your career center. Ask them to:

• Mix fit and technical questions randomly
• Push back with follow-ups
• Give blunt feedback on your delivery

Review, don't relearn

Don't start new topics this week. Instead:

• Re-drill your weakest area from Weeks 2 to 4
• Run your resume walkthrough and "why IB" answer daily
• Prepare 2 to 3 thoughtful questions to ask each interviewer

The final 48 hours

• Reread your firm notes and deal summaries
• Do one light run-through of your stories
• Get real sleep. A rested brain beats one more hour of flashcards.

Mistakes That Derail a 6-Week Plan

• Memorizing without understanding. Follow-up questions expose this fast.
• Skipping out-loud practice. Reading answers silently feels productive but doesn't prepare you to speak.
• Neglecting fit. Plenty of technically strong candidates lose out because they couldn't explain why they want the job.
• Falling behind and quitting. If you miss a few days, shift the schedule and keep going. Don't abandon the plan.

Your 6-Week Checklist

By interview day, you should be able to:

• Deliver a smooth 2-minute resume walkthrough
• Explain why IB and why this specific firm
• Walk any change through the three statements
• Calculate EV from equity value and explain each piece
• Walk through a DCF and the main valuation methods
• Explain accretion/dilution and run a paper LBO
• Tell 6 to 8 behavioral stories confidently
• Discuss two recent deals and current market conditions
• Ask each interviewer smart, specific questions

Six weeks goes by fast, so start today. Block the time on your calendar, record your first resume walkthrough tonight, and let the plan do the heavy lifting. You've got this.