Behavioral
"Tell me about yourself."
- Keep it brief (1-2 minutes)
- Who you are, where you go to school (major), where you're from, etc.
- Your ‘spark’ - What initially got you interested
- Your current/past experience (internship, extracurricular, coursework, etc.) that indicates your growing interest + work toward career goals
- Why you're here today + where you want to be in the future
Walk me through an investment idea you have (i.e stock pitch)
- You MUST be the most prepared for this question
- The company you pick should reflect your macro view of the market
- First sentence should be a detailed yet brief overview of the company + actual stock price
- Need to emphasize what you think will happen (go down/up) and why
Where do you see the market going over the next x months?
- This is your opportunity to display your opinion on the markets
- Frame your answer within the framework of a ‘broader macro thesis’ → Discuss the causes and subsequent effects of your thesis
- Discuss how your thesis will effect various asset classes (equities, fixed income, specific sectors, etc.)
- Discuss the risks to your thesis, and why you might be wrong.
Should you have questions for the interviewer?
- Yes! You should definitely have some questions ready to ask at the end of the interview
- Keep them short and concise, but effective in learning more about the company
What should you wear to an interview?
- Always businesswear (Suits, dress shoes, dress shirts, etc.)
- Better to be overdressed than underdressed
Describe a time when you had to work closely with someone whose style was very different than yours. Please describe the situation, your actions, and the outcome.
- Want to see how you are in a team
- Looking to see how your solution affected the outcome
- Do not get so caught up in little details. Emphasize those big-picture ideas!
What are the biggest risks/competitors this company faces?
- This can be found on the 10k, need to have a handful or risks and competitors
- Competitors should have around the same market cap
Should I incorporate my opinion into markets-based questions?
- Absolutely! Interviewers don’t want to hear you regurgitate headlines. They want to understand how you think about the markets and interpret current events. Having an opinion (even if its wrong) shows them how you think
Should you ask the interviewer how much he/she makes?
- ABSOLUTELY NOT, not circumstance is this acceptable
What is “on time” for an interview
At least 15 minutes before the scheduled time
Never wait until the last minute to plan directions for getting to an office or what you are going to wear
Always good to buffer time just in case
What would you say your main strengths are? What are your biggest weaknesses?
- Remember the position you are applying for, your strength should match the role
- Need to have a “solution” for your weakness
- Not a question too much time should be spent on
Tell me about your entry / exit strategy?
- Focus on key catalysts. These can be technical, macro, price action, company specific
- Discuss your profit-taking strategy (exit)
- Discuss your risk mitigation strategy (stop loss, etc.)
Is there a cheat code to answering market-based questions?
- No, you have to be actively following the markets.
- This means reading BBG, the FT, WSJ, or daily email newsletters
- You can’t just understand whats going on, you need to be able to articulate it. This means also listening to markets-based podcasts, or watching BBG or CNBC.
- You can’t just cram the night before an interview. Start doing this now.
What advantage do you have if given the interviewer's name?
- You are able to look them up before hand on LinkedIn
- Get a feel for their "journey"
- Might see an interest you both share
Are facial expressions/gestures important?
- Absolutely! You should be excited to be there and reflect that!
- You should try to maintain eye contact, never look down while answering a question, and keep a smile on your face
- You want to represent the best version of yourself
Why Sales and Trading over another field?
- All finance is fast paced, this SHOULD NOT be your main answer
- Have a story and a reason
- Relate back to your strengths
If the FED were to raise rates, how would this affect your investment?
- Need to know what is happening with rates and inflation
- Would rates increasing be a good or bad thing for your investment? Stuff you should start to think about
What are the 3 biggest factors affecting the markets?
- This question or a variation will get asked on every interview you have in S&T
- No set answer because the market is always changing
- That said, have to be caught up on whats going on
- Respond with the 3 biggest effects RIGHT NOW
Should you ask "technical" questions to your interviewer?
- Stay away for the most part
- The rule is you should always be able to answer the question you are asking
- The more technical you try to sound, the worse the interview can backfire.
Should you send a follow-up email after an interview?
- Yes! Wait a few hours before you send it or wait until the next day if the interview was in the afternoon.
- Be sure to thank them as they are taking time out of their busy day!
Walk me through your resume
- In order to walk someone through your resume you must know it!
- Be ready to get asked about prior work experiences or projects you participated in
- Be able to say how those experiences helped shape you and make you the best candidate for the job
Walk me through the 3 financial statements and how they are connected
- Review the contents of the 3 financial statements
- Discuss how they ‘flow into’ each other| Cash flow statement → Balance sheet → Income statement
Walk me through what happened to SVB
- Poor Management
- Not enough money in reserves practically zero liquidity
- All money was invested in long term securities (No swaps done at all)
- Big VCs started pulling money out and led to a bank run
What is the "million dollar" question?
- Being able to expound upon a point brought up b y the interviewer is the best question you can ask
- It shows you were listening to them and did your research (if given interviewer's name)
How do you respond to a question you do not know the answer to?
- BE HONEST, if you genuinely do not know an answer do not make up a random answer
- That said, go through how you figure out problems you do not know
- Stay calm and keep going, do not let one question affect your whole interview