Coffee Chat Questions: Practice the Follow-Up
Prepare investment banking informational interview questions, listen for useful follow-ups and write a specific thank-you without expecting a referral.
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Useful investment banking coffee chat questions connect your preparation to the banker's actual experience. Ask a focused question, listen to the answer and follow the part you want to understand better. An informational interview can help you learn about the work. It does not promise a referral or replace the official application process.
This guide starts once a conversation is agreed. Use the cold-email guide for the earlier outreach step.
TL;DR
- Prepare questions that the person's experience can help answer.
- Agree the available time instead of assuming a universal duration.
- Ask follow-ups based on what you hear.
- Respect confidential and personal boundaries.
- Thank the person specifically and act on useful advice honestly.
What is an investment banking coffee chat?
A coffee chat, also called an informational interview, is a conversation about someone's work or career experience. Treat it as a chance to improve your understanding rather than a hidden interview with a guaranteed recruiting outcome.
Harvard Law School's general networking guidance describes requests for time and advice, and its thank-you examples refer to specific learning and subsequent actions. That is useful career guidance, not evidence about banking referral rates. Harvard networking and thank-you guidance.
Before the conversation, identify what you already know and what remains unclear. A banker can describe their own experience; they may not speak for every team or decide whether your application progresses. The networking guide covers the wider process.
What are the best coffee chat questions to ask bankers?
Choose a question with a clear reason behind it. The original examples below focus on decisions and learning rather than asking the person to summarise their entire career.
| Topic | Original opening question | Possible follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| Learning | Which task took longer to learn than you expected? | What helped you improve at it? |
| Review | How do you know an analysis is ready for review? | Which checks do you now make earlier? |
| Teamwork | How does your team divide work when priorities change? | What makes those handoffs work well? |
| Career choice | What did you want to learn when you chose this role? | Has the work changed that priority? |
| Preparation | Which skill would you practise before starting again? | What would a useful practice exercise look like? |
A follow-up is an invitation, not the next item in a script. If the banker has already answered it, move on. If an answer raises an unfamiliar term, ask for a brief explanation rather than pretending to understand.
How do you turn an answer into a better follow-up?
Original conversation exercise: You ask what surprised an analyst about the work. They say that checking and revising analyses takes more time than building the first version.
A weak response jumps straight to “What are the hours like?” A more useful follow-up explores the learning: “What changed in your first-draft process once you understood what reviewers needed?” That question shows you heard the answer and helps you understand the work.
Suppose they explain that documenting assumptions made review easier. You can ask what distinguishes a useful assumption note from unnecessary detail. You should not ask them to send a confidential model as an example.
After practising, check whether your follow-up refers to something actually said. A sophisticated-sounding question unrelated to the answer is still poor listening.
Practice inside this guide
Coffee chat follow-up practice
Question 1 of 3
An analyst says reviewing assumptions took longer to learn than building models. Ask a useful follow-up.
These three local exercises cover a conversational follow-up, a thank-you and a later update. They reveal authored structures for self-review. They do not send messages or predict recruiting outcomes.
What questions should you avoid in a coffee chat?
Avoid requests for confidential deal details, private client information or workplace gossip. Do not pressure someone to discuss personal compensation or relationships. If the person sets a boundary, respect it and change the subject.
Check basic public facts before the call. Asking which business the person works in when it is clearly stated in their profile can waste the limited time you agreed. But asking how that business works in practice may be useful if you explain your current understanding.
Do not treat “open-ended” as a rule that makes every question good. “Tell me everything about investment banking” is open-ended but too broad. A focused question makes it easier for the other person to choose a useful example.
For questions during a formal selection interview, use the interviewer-question guide. The setting and the purpose are different.
How long should a coffee chat last, and how do you run it?
Use the time agreed with the person. At the start, briefly introduce your context and confirm the available window. Select a few priorities rather than attempting every question you prepared.
Leave room to close. If the conversation reaches the agreed end, acknowledge the time and let the other person decide whether to continue. Do not assume an engaged answer removes their next commitment.
A practical structure is an introduction, a focused topic, a follow-up and a close. If you have learned what you needed, you do not need to extend the call to meet a target duration.
How do you follow up after a coffee chat?
Write a concise thank-you while the details are fresh. Name a point that helped you and an action you intend to take. If you have not taken the action yet, use the future tense. Do not claim you have already acted on advice merely to sound diligent.
Original example: “Thank you for explaining how your team reviews assumptions. I realised that my company comparison shows the outputs but does not explain several inputs clearly. I will revise those notes before my next practice presentation.”
That message is specific without asking for another favour. A later update can explain what you changed or learned, if it is relevant. Avoid sending repetitive messages solely to remain visible.
Keep factual notes so you do not confuse one conversation with another. Record the topic and any commitment you made, rather than speculative scores about whether the person likes you.
What if the conversation does not lead to a referral?
Evaluate it by what you learned. Perhaps the role involves more review work than you expected, or you discovered a skill gap to address. Those outcomes can improve your decisions even without an introduction.
A referral is a separate judgement by the person making it. Do not describe their agreement to speak as an endorsement. Continue to follow the official application process and use genuine learning when preparing your firm-fit answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many coffee chats should I complete?
There is no universal quota in this guide. Identify the questions you need to resolve and seek relevant conversations. More calls do not automatically mean better preparation.
Can I ask about a deal?
You can ask about public work while leaving room for the person to decline details. Do not request confidential information or assume they personally worked on a transaction.
Should I send a thank-you if there was no referral?
A thank-you acknowledges the time and advice you received. It need not depend on a recruiting outcome.
What if I run out of questions?
Summarise one thing you learned and close respectfully. You do not need filler questions to make the conversation longer.
Sources
- Harvard Law School: networking emails and thank-you notes (checked 5 September 2026).