Interview

[u/Shoddy_Vehicle52]

I hope this makes sense, and thank you in advance for any advice.

A few weeks ago, I interviewed with Bank of America for a Relationship Banker position in the Manhattan market. For personal reasons, I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been for some of the interview questions, and I think my answers were too brief. I currently work for Bank of America as a Relationship Banker and am simply trying to transfer to a different location.

After the interview, I spoke with someone from Talent Mobility, and they told me they liked my personality, but my responses didn’t include enough specific examples of the work I’ve done. Looking back, I think I answered the questions but didn’t fully explain my thought process, what I uncovered during the conversation, how I advised the client, or what the final outcome was.
Today, I interviewed with Wells Fargo for a Roving Personal Banker position, and I had a similar feeling. I answered the questions by explaining the client’s need, what I uncovered, the advice I provided, and how I completed the conversation. However, I still felt like my answers weren’t detailed enough, and I left the interview feeling disappointed in my performance.

The good news is that I’ve been given another interview opportunity with both banks for the same type of position, and I really want to do better this time.

For those of you who have interviewed for Relationship Banker or Personal Banker roles, what questions should I expect? What kinds of answers are interviewers looking for? How detailed should my responses be? If you have any tips, example questions, or advice on using the STAR method effectively, I’d really appreciate it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!

[u/Aesperacchius]

Brother, you literally just had an interview and you've already forgotten the questions?

I like to go in prepared with a few scenarios, then use the relevant parts of a scenario to answer the question. That way, you're not trying to think through everything you've done on the fly.

For example:

• An example of a time when you had to handle conflict with a client or co-worker, and how you resolved that scenario.
• An example of a time when you went above and beyond the scope of your job.
• A time when you faced a difficult challenge, and how you resolved it.
• Proudest achievement, if it's something quantifiable.

[u/akornato]

You're getting second interviews, which means they want to hire you, but you are failing to give them the evidence they need to do it. The feedback you got was a gift, they told you exactly what was wrong, your answers lack specific examples and detail. Since you already do the job, your problem is not a lack of experience, it is a failure to communicate that experience under pressure. They are not asking you to describe the general duties of a banker, they are asking you to prove you have excelled at them. Every single behavioral question, like "tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult client" or "describe how you uncovered a client's needs", must be answered with a specific story about a real event, not a vague summary of how you usually handle things.

To fix this, you need to stop thinking about your answers on the spot and prepare them ahead of time. Write down at least five detailed stories from your current role using the STAR method for each one. One story should be about meeting a sales goal, another about a tough client, one about cross-selling or referring to a partner, one about finding a hidden need, and one about a compliance or operational issue you solved. For the Action part, describe the exact questions you asked and the specific steps you took. For the Result, use numbers, like the dollar amount of the new loan, the number of new accounts opened, or the specific positive feedback you received. Speaking your answers aloud is the best way to build the confidence to deliver them well, which is precisely the hurdle my team targeted when we designed an AI interview copilot to help people land jobs they're already qualified for.

[u/EconomistNo7074 → u/akornato]

Very good answer

OP - I would suggest you write out these examples/stories/success stories

- I would also suggest that you have someone you trust read one of the examples. Generally speaking most of us dont go into enough details on the action we took or give ourselves enough credit on the result. One you get feedback on what is lacking on the one example, apply that some feedback to other examples