Banking / Economics / Finance II Interview Questions

• Why are you interested in a career in (investment banking/stock brokerage/sales assistant/trader/equities supervisor/banker)?
• Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?
• Can you detail your financial modelling experience?
• What shares would you recommend at the moment, and why?
• Can you fully detail your involvement in some of the transactions listed on your resume?
• Can you tell me what the FTSE’s at today?
• What is your biggest achievement to date?
• What impact have you had in previous roles, both in relation to your team and processes that were in place?
• Walk me through the highlights of your resume. I’m interested in the decisions you’ve made.
• What are the qualities required for an (investment banker, stock broker, sales assistant, trader, equities supervisor, banker)? Which of these qualities do you possess?
• Describe a current event in the market?
• What are your proudest accomplishments? What is your most challenging professional experience?
• Are you a leader or a follower? Give me leadership and quantitative skill examples. Tell me about a time when you took responsibility for a project.
• How do you work in teams? How do you handle a non-contributing team member?
• What do you add to a group when you take on a team assignment or group task?
• When was the last time you lost your temper?
• Say you are at a meeting with a client and your managing director is giving a presentation. You suddenly notice a mistake in some of the calculations, which you have done for the presentation. Do you tell him? When? What do you say?
• How would your group mates characterize you? How would you characterize yourself in the group dynamic? If I spoke with those in your group and asked them what you need to improve, what would they say?
• What is the most ethical decision you had to make?
• Why would two companies merge? What major factors drive mergers and acquisitions?
• What are some common anti-takeover tactics?
• What is a LBO? Why leverage up a firm?
• Why might a company choose to issue debt vs. equity?
• What could a company do with excess cash on the balance sheet?
• What major factors affect the yield on a corporate bond?
• How would you evaluate the creditworthiness of a light bulb manufacturer with three factories in the US?
• Suppose you are buying a new fixed asset – part cash and part debt. Take me through how it affects all the financial statements.
• What did our firm’s stock close at yesterday?
• Where is the market going? What do you think interest rates will be in the next 12 months?
• What happened on the markets in the last three months?
• Do you follow an industry or a stock? Which ones?
• Walk me through thte major line items of a Cash Flow Statement.
• Say you knew a company’s net income. How would you figure out its cash flows?
• What is the difference between a balance sheet and an income statement?
• What is the difference between purchases vs. pooling?
• What are deferred taxes? How do they arise?
• What is working capital?
• How do your past experiences qualify you for a position in (investment banking/stock brokerage/sales assistant/trader/equities supervisor/banker)?
• Suppose I was going to evaluate you and twenty of your classmates on one quality with the winner receiving one million dollars and you were allowed to determine the quality. What would it be?
• What is the riskiest thing you’ve ever done?
• Are you prepared to work the long hours required to be successful in this field?
• If a company has a consistent negative earning record and wanted to raise capital and could only do so by issuing debt, what type of debt should they issue? Why?
• On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your knowledge of (investment banking/stock brokerage/sales assistant/trader/equities supervisor/banker)?
• What is your one fatal weakness that you are always trying to conceal?
• Give me three stock recommendations.
• What is the 30 year bond treasury at?
• What would your previous employer say about you? What would they recommend for improvement?
• Do you have strong quantitative skills?
• Tell me something about yourself that is not on your resume.
• If I had two minutes to defend you in front of the selection committee, what would I say?
• Which company would have a higher p/e multiple – a food company or a technology company?
• Are you entrepreneurial?
• Tell me about the time you worked hardest in your life.
• Tell me about a time when you had to develop relationships with others.
• Describe an instance in which you’ve had a significant impact on a situation, inside or outside your job.
• How would you value a company?