Vault Guide to Finance Interviews.docx

Vault Guide to Finance Interviews.docx

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VaultGuidetoFinanceInterviews

我今天刚知道这个吓人的词Investmentbanking是美国对证券公司的别称，我不知道我是不是唯一孤陋寡闻的，但是我觉得在国内说自己在投行干和说自己在证券公司干说不定能得到不同的表情。

不过看看下面这篇文章，估计就会发现这种区别不止是名称上的。

Investmentbankingandotherfinancepositionsareamongthemoststressful

anddemandingpositionsontheplanetandinterviewsinfinanceoftentest

anapplicant'stoleranceforsuchanenvironment.Totestanapplicant's

stamina,interviewsinfinancetraditionallyinvolvethreeorfourroundsata

minimum,andeachroundmayhaveuptosixinterviews,withthenumber

ofinterviewsgenerallyincreasingineachround.Totestanapplicant's

abilitytohandlestress,interviewersmayadoptaversiveorstressful

interviewingtactics.Insiderssaythatoccasionallyabankorfinance

interviewerwillgosofarastousetechniquesfromrapid-firequantitative

questionssuchas“HowmanyplanesarecurrentlyflyingovertheUnited

Statesrightnow?

”toconfrontationalquestionssuchas,“WhyshouldIgive

youthisjob?

Yourresumedoesn'tfitourprofile.”Firmsmayaskyou

specificanddetailedquestionsaboutyourgradesincollegeorbusiness

school,evenifyourschoolpolicyprohibitssuchquestions.Atotherfirms,

interviewroundsmaybeinterspersedwithseeminglycasualandfriendly

dinners.Don’tletdownyourguard!

Whilethesedinnersareagood

opportunitytomeetyourprospectiveco-workers,yourseeminglygenial

hostsarescrutinizingyouaswell.（Read:

Don’tdrinktoomuch.）

Therearegenerallytwopartstothefinancehiringprocess:

the“fitpart”and

the“technicalpart.”The“fitpart”iswherethehiringfirmdeciphers

whetherornotyoufitintotheirgroup’sculture.The“technicalpart”is

wheretheinterviewerjudgesyouranalyticalandtechnicalskills.Ifyou

don’tknowthebasicconceptsoffinanceandaccounting,yourinterviewers

willbelieve（rightly）thatyouareeither1）notinterestedinthepositionor

2）notcompetentenoughtohandlethejob.Whileagooddealofthisbook

isdevotedtohelpingyouacethetechnicalpartoffinanceinterviews,itis

arguablymoreimportantthatyounailthefitinterview,provingthatyouare

someonethepeopleinthegroupwouldliketoworkwith.Asyougo

throughrecruitinginfinanceinterviews,understandthatyoucompetewith

yourself.Mostfirmsareflexibleenoughtohirepeoplethatareagoodfit.

Thefitinterview

TheycallittheO’Hareairporttest,theAtlantaairporttest,orthewhatevercity-

you-happen-to-be-applying-inairporttest.Theyalsocallitthefit

intervieworthebehavioralinterview.Itmeans:

“Couldyoustandtobe

strandedinanairportforeighthourswiththisperson?

”

Generally,whileyourperformanceinthefitinterviewpartlydepends–as

theairporttestsuggests–onyourpersonalityfit,italsodependsonyour

“careerfit,”oryourabilitytoportrayyourselfasagoodfitasaninvestment

banker,assetmanager,andsoon.Inotherwords,interviewerswilltryto

figureoutwhatyourattitudetowardsworkislike,howinterestedyouarein

acareerintheindustry,andhowinterestedyouareinthejobforwhichyou

areapplying.

I’mahardworker

Asageneralrule,youshouldemphasizehowhardyouhaveworkedinthe

past,givingevidenceofyourabilitytotakeonalotofworkandpain.You

don’thavetomakethingsuporpretendthatthere’snothingyou’dwant

morethantowork100-hourweeks.Infact,interviewersaresuretosee

throughsuchblatantlying.SaysoneI-bankinginterviewer,“Ifsomebody

actedtooenthusiasticaboutthehours,that’dbeweird.”Ifyouask

investmentbankersandothersinfinancewhattheydislikemostabouttheir

jobs,theywillmostlikelytalkaboutthelonghours.Behonestaboutthis

unpleasantpartofthejob,andconvinceyourinterviewerthatyoucan

handleitwell.Forexample,ifyouwereincrewandhadtowakeupatfive

everymorninginthefreezingcold,byallmeans,talkaboutit.Ifyouput

yourselfthroughschoolbyworkingtwojobs,mentionthat,too.Andifno

experienceapplies,atleastacknowledgethehoursasanecessarypartofa

careerpathyouarechoosing.

Gotsafehands?

Aswithalljobinterviews,financeinterviewswillbefocusedonfiguringout

whetheryoucanhandletheresponsibilityrequiredoftheposition,

understandableconsideringthatinmanycaseswithfinancepositions,that

responsibilitymaymeanmakingdecisionswithmillionsorbillionsof

dollars.

Aninterviewerwilltryandfigureoutifyou’vegotsafehandsandwon’tbe

droppingtheball.“ThisisacriticalI-bankingconcept,”saysonebanker

aboutsafehands.“Theideais:

‘CanIgivethispersonthisanalysistodo

andfeelcomfortablethattheywillexecuteitpromptlyandcorrectly?

’The

peoplewithsafehandsaretheoneswhoadvanceinthecompany.Theyare

notnecessarilythehardestworkersbuttheyarethemostcompetent.”Make

sureyoubringupexamplesoftakingresponsibilityandgettingcomplex,

detail-orientedjobsdoneright.

Amindtopickthingsapart

Theworldoffinanceinvolvesalotofnumbercrunchingandanalytical

ability.Andwhileyoudon’thavetobeaworld-classmathematician,you

dohavetohaveananalyticmindifyouaregoingtosucceed.Explainsone

insideratanumbers-heavyWallStreetfirm,“youcan’tbeanyoldEnglish

major.You’vegottohaveareallylogical,mathematicalhead.”Makesure

youhaveexamplesofyourproblem-solvingandanalyticstrengths,

particularlythoseinvolvingquantitativeanalysis.

T-E-A-M!

Goteam!

Teamworkisapopularbuzzwordforemployersofallindustries.Every

financeposition（except,perhaps,forresearch）requiresthatanemployee

workcloselywithothers–whetherininvestmentbankingdealteamsorin

cross-fuctionalcorporateteamssuchasthefinanceofficialsworkingwith

marketersatalargecorporation.Interviewerswillaskquestionstomake

surethatyouhaveexperienceandhaveexcelledinteamsituations.Sure,

youcanbreakoutthoseglorydaysstoriesaboutthewinningtouchdown

pass,buthopefullytherearemorepoignantsituationswhichcanalsohelp

describeyourteamworkability–previousworkexperience,volunteer

activities,orschoolworkinteams,tonameafew.

Preparingforfinanceinterviews

Whenyoureviewcareeroptions,don’tdiscounttheamountoftimeittakes

toprepareforfinanceinterviews.Firstofall,youshouldevaluatewhether

youactuallywanttobeinfinance.Inshort,youshouldknowwhatyou’re

gettinginto.Notonlyshouldyouknowthisforyourownsake（thisisyour

future,afterall）,butyourinterviewerswanttoknowthatyouunderstandthe

positionandindustry.

Youshouldusetheopportunityofnon-evaluativesettings（i.e.,notan

interview）toascertainiffinanceisforyou.Thesearequestionstowhichwe

stronglysuggestyouhaveanswerstobeforeinterviewing.Makeapointto

attendrecruitingpresentationsbyfirms.Informationalinterviewswith

alumniand（forthoseinbusinessschool）second-yearsarealsogoodways

togetanswerstosomeofyourquestions.

Asforwrittenmaterials,youcanstartwithgeneralbusinesspublications

likeTheWallStreetJournal,TheEconomist,BusinessWeek,andthe

FinancialTimes.Fromthere,youcanmoveontotradepublicationsthatwill

givemoreindustry-specificnewsandanalysis.AmericanBanker,InstitutionalInvestor,InvestmentDealers’DigestandTheDailyDealare

someexamples.

Yourinteractionwithalumnicanhavedirectresults.Theresultscanbe

goodifyouprepareproperlybeforecontactingthem,aresufficiently

informed,askgoodandsincerequestions,andshowproperrespect.Youcan

alsoassureyourselfadingifyoudon’thandleameetingorphone

conversationcorrectly.

Herearesomequestionsaboutfinancepositionsyoushouldaskbeforeyou

haveyourfirstinterview:

•Whatisatypicaldaylike?

•Whatarethehoursintheindustryreallylike?

Arethey100hoursevery

weekoreveryotherweek?

Isitthesameforeveryfirm?

•Howdopeoplecopewiththelifestyleissuesintheindustry?

•Whatkindofmoneydopeoplemakeintheindustry?

•WhatarethethingsI-bankers（orcommercialbankers,venturecapitalists,

etc.）likeabouttheirjobs?

Whatwouldtheyliketochange?

•Whatisthefutureoftheindustryforthenextfewyears?

Howwillthe

industrychange?

Howwillthemarginschange?

Thereturnonequity?

•Whatisthecareertrackintheindustry?

Whatskillsarerequiredatwhatstage?

•Whatissoexcitingaboutthisjob?

•WhatisthecultureofanI-bankingfirmascomparedtoaFortune500

company?

Comparedtoastartup?

•Whataretheexitopportunitiesafter10yearsintheindustry?

Aftertwoyears?

Researchindividualfirms

Onceyou’veansweredquestionsabouttheindustry,youshouldbeginto

narrowyourresearchtospecificfirms–bothtoknowwhichfirmstotarget,

andtobeknowledgeableforyourinterviews.Goodsourcesforresearchare

easilyaccessiblepublicationslikeTheWallStreetJournal,BusinessWeek

andFortune.Ifyouhavetheresources（perhapsataschoollibrary）,youcan

alsoreadthroughrecentissuesoftradepublicationslikeInvestment

Dealers’Digest.Andofcourse,togettheinsidescooponculture,pay,and

hiringattopfirms,readthecompanyprofileson,aswellas

guideslikeTheVaultGuidetotheTop50BankingEmployersandTheVault

GuidetotheTopFinancialServicesFirms.

Insidersatbusinessschoolwhohavegonethroughtherecruitingprocess

suggestthatyouformresearchandinterviewpracticeteams.Thereisalot

ofmaterialtocover,anditisnotpossibletodoitallbyyourself.Formteams

forresearchingindustriesandfirms.Later,youcanusethesameteamsto

practiceinterviews.Ifyouar