There are two general types of questions that you will likely be asked in interviews: (1) fit or qualitative questions and (2) technical questions. Sometimes you may be asked both types of questions in the same interview. In other instances, you might have multiple interviews, with one or more being purely qualitative/fit and one or more being purely technical.
The primary use of fit questions is for the interviewer to make an assessment of whether you have the right attitude and skill-set to be a successful investment banker. Most importantly, interviewers will want to understand why you want to be a banker and whether you are someone they would want working FOR them. The secondary purpose of fit questions is to assess whether you are someone they would want to work WITH. Some refer to this is the airport test. How would they feel if they were stuck in an airport with you for 4 hours? See Interviewing – Qualitative (Fit) Questions for examples of some commonly asked fit questions.
Technical questions test your knowledge of subjects relevant to investment banking such as accounting, finance and valuation. The types of technical questions will likely vary based on your background and the role for which you are interviewing. For example, students with finance or accounting degrees that are interviewing for Analyst jobs will likely get asked a greater number of technical questions than students that do not have finance/accounting degrees. Likewise, MBA students interviewing for Associate positions can expect technical questions with greater complexity and real-world application than Analyst applicants. Interviewees with banking experience should expect questions about their deal experience, which may come in addition to, or in lieu of, traditional “textbook” technical questions. See Interviewing – Technical Questions for examples of common technical questions.