Vault Guide to Finance InterviewsWord格式文档下载.docx

Vault Guide to Finance InterviewsWord格式文档下载.docx

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”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