Broking Interview At A Global Brokerage

Now, I will talk about my telephone interview for a global brokerage firm. The position is highly coveted and each telephone interview is done in blocks of 15 minutes. I was a bit nervous and did not prepare well enough for some questions that were asked of me. However, I am gonna let you have the benefit of asymmetric information by telling you what are the various questions that will be asked of you:

• What do you know about us and why are you interested in becoming a broker?
• Can you tell me what is inter-dealer broking?
• What happens to bond prices when interest rates increase?
• How do you know about our firm?
• Can you tell me the difference between voice broking and electronic broking?
• Who are our competitors?

There were several times I was unable to get the accent and asked for clarification. However, overall, the interview was a great experience and I think that it has helped me build myself even more. For this current recruiting season, I have already done 2 interviews for next summer, and even though both are unsuccessful, I am really happy that I went through them as I was able to gain even more experience.

Prestigious Government Statutory Board Interview

Even though I always aspire towards a fund management career, I recently went for a government statutory board interview. The functions of the statutory board are vital for the correct running of all economies. Throughout the interview, I was able to have some amazing conversations with truly amazing people. However, near the end of the interview, I realized that I was not really a good fit for the program and they realized it as well, sending me a rejection two weeks later.

For those who are interested, I will post the series of questions that I was asked here. The questions listed here are just to start things off. There will usually be follow on questions.

• Tell me about yourself, your interests and why you are here.
• Is there a reason for a poor performance in a particular subject?
• What did you do in this particular co-curricular exercise?
• Did you do any internship last summer and what did you do?
• What are you studying this semester?
• Why do you think about this or that?
• How do you feel about the property market in Singapore?
• What current affairs are you following and why?

The interview was really fun, and I highly enjoyed it, walking out with a memorable experience. 

5 Interview Questions You Should Ask

I have gone to countless interviews and through these experiences, have my ups and downs. During one of my most embarrassing interview last year at a bulge bracket bank, I made a commitment to excel in all future interviews and to become a worthy candidate that will never be so unprepared again. Today, I would just like to touch on some of the questions I always ask at the end of the interview. 

What do you think make a great (insert title you are applying for) at this firm?

This gives the interviewer the impression that you really want to excel in the job. Take note that I specifically said "great" instead of just "good". This will no doubt form some subliminal message in the interviewer's eyes that you are suitable to be a great candidate, provided that you did not screw up the front part of the interview.

What do you most enjoy about working here?

This gives me a perspective into the firm as well as let me know what kind of colleagues I am going to have. You can even see if they are passionate as well when they are dealing with your questions, using it to gauge how enthusiastic they are about their jobs, as well as how you will feel about the job.

What is your favourite moment at this firm?

By favourite moment, what I mean is performance related moment. As I usually go to interviews for the financial and investment industry, I will ask questions pertaining to market deals, investments made, portfolio companies etc. This can be anything. If you are going for a FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) interview, you can ask them about their favourite brand marketing experience and things like that.

Where do you see as the next area of growth in the company?

This question has to be relevant to the interview that you had. You do not want to suddenly throw a curve ball at the interviewer. I usually ask this question to find out what is the interviewer's perspectives on growth in the company. For example, I tend to ask where does the interviewer think the company is going to expand operations in / which region offers the most growth potential and things like that.

Ask them something they are passionate about.

The last question is something really simple. Pay attention to them when they are introducing themselves to you and at the end of everything, wrap things up and ask them something they are passionate about. Give them leeway to talk and immerse themselves in the conversation. This will make them feel you are incredibly interesting and possibly get them to like you. After all, interviewing is just about making the person opposite you like you and want to work with you.

With that said, all the best for your interviews preparation. With the summer coming, I hope everyone reading this blog is gainfully employed or preparing for their internship. Do feel free to comment if you have more questions that you think will really set you apart from the pack of dull, monotonous as well as robotic candidates. Thank you.  

Venture Capital Firm Second Round Interview

Today, I will post the second round interview for the venture capital firm. This interview was with another team member of the South East Asia office. During this interview, I felt very comfortable with myself relative to the first time I interviewed for a position at the bulge bracket office. I was able to phrase my thoughts and answer the questions thrown at me in a calm and collected manner. To be honest, I felt that it was one of the best interview I had ever done. Thus, I was really glad when I was offered the chance to proceed into the last round interview.

Some of the questions that were asked include:

1. Tell me about your start up experience (something along this line)
2. Which of our portfolio companies do you like and why?
3. What do you think about the SEA market for venture capital?
4. What do you think about the SEA market for start ups?
5. What do you think the next trend in tech is going to be?
6. I see that you have done personal investing, what have you invested in and what is your favourite?
7. Any questions for me?

To be honest, I felt that the interview was more fit based. However, I do foresee the huge amount of opportunities that will be opened to me should I enter the firm. I went on to ask the interviewer more questions about the tech industry, start ups, some of the companies the firm has actually invested in and things like that. It was a really fun experience for me overall. I was then asked to proceed to the last round of interview...

I have recently finished my last round of interview but did not perform so well as I memorised some facts wrongly. Even though I acknowledged that there was mistake in my recollection after being highlighted by the interviewer, I do not know if I still stand a chance with the firm. I really hope that lady luck will smile on me once more. I will definitely give it my best and make my time at the firm one of the most productive period in my life. Until then, I can only hope and pray.

Venture Capital Firm First Round Interview

Today, I will write about my experience passing the first round interview of a venture capital firm. This venture capital firm predominantly invests in technological companies. A huge reason why I was able to get the first round interview was due to the fact that I had some start up experience that they felt were relatively interesting. The first round interview was done by phone and was fairly informal, with several exchanges of ideas of the tech industry in general towards the end of the interview.

Without further ado, I will list some questions that I was asked. The questions were fairly usual, and more based on "fit" rather than technical expertise or advanced financial modelling skills like using comparables to value a private firm.

Questions:

1. Tell me more about yourself
2. Tell me more about your start up experience
3. What was the biggest challenge and success of your start up experience
4. Which of our portfolio companies do you think are viable and why

The questions asked were short and sweet, but usually involved several interactions with the interviewer digging more into most of the things that I said. At the end of the interview, I asked some questions and it lasted for another 10 minutes. The questions I asked were mainly based on things that I wanted to know like the general trend in the industry, how the tech industry is evolving and professional views on the tech sphere.

At the end of the interview, I was told that I have passed and proceeded to a 2nd round interview with another analyst earlier this week. I am still waiting for the response on my 2nd round interview but I personally felt that I did alright, and was glad that I did not felt the nervousness that I first experienced during my disastrous bulge bracket interview. I really hope that I will get an offer from this firm.

I just have a simple tip for my readers and that is to always send a thank you note to the interviewer after the interview. Do root for me in getting a solid internship during summer this year!

Interview At A Government Statutory Board

In June this year, I went to a government statutory board for a scholarship interview. I did not actually complete the application process for the scholarship, as I thought that I did not meet the minimum requirements due to my relatively poor high school results. Miraculously though, I received a call from the HR that I was shortlisted for an interview with one of the directors in the stat board.

I was over the moon when I receive this piece news, but foolishly, I did not actually prepare for the actual interview (though I could have easily googled for some tips). This could be mainly due to my own complacency and over-confidence in my own abilities.

As I stepped into the interview room, there was a female director seated right in front of me. It began relatively well, as I was asked to describe more of myself. However, the first stumbling block came when she asked me: “So, what do you think is the biggest challenge is your life so far?” This is actually a standard question that anyone who prepped for the interview should be able to answer, but due to my lack of preparation, I was thoroughly exposed as I gave a rather sloppy answer to a question which can explain a lot about my own life and my abilities to handle difficulties. Realising my own mistakes, I tried to salvage, but in my opinion, I did not even manage to convince myself, and definitely, not the lady seated opposite me either.

Some other questions that were posed to me included:

• How much do you know about our organization?
• What are some of the experiences you had in your past work experiences? (I actually gave a decent answer -  I had experience in the HR field, but the interviewer did not look too impressed by my experience)
• Do you have any experience in learning another language, and what are you planning to learn? (From this question, I realize how important a third language is in setting you apart from the rest of your peers, and being bilingual is no longer sufficient in this highly competitive workplace now)
• If you are given US$10m to invest, how would you consider investing this amount of money and what will you do to ensure that this amount of money is properly invested? (I actually gave a relatively concise answer, but the response from the interviewer was simply “That’s all?”, which prompted me to re-evaluate my own answers after leaving the interview)
• What do you think is the biggest challenge is your life so far? (As mentioned above)
• Do you see yourself as someone who can adapt fast to different environment and culture?
• Do you have any questions for me?

As it has been half a year since my interview, these are some of the questions that have really stuck to my head. The stat board I went to actually offers lucrative job advancements and placements, but eventually, from the way I have described my experience, it ended up as a failure. This was actually the first major interview I had in my life (as it can be considered a career-defining interview due to the nature and scope of the interview). Although I flopped it really badly, I managed to take away some important life-skills, which are:

• Never be over-confident of yourself, no matter how good you think you are. There are always more room for self-improvements.
• Always prepare well for an interview. Google the company, understand what kind of employees the company is looking for, how you can contribute to the growth of the company, do a mock interview with a friend if possible
• Understand my own flaws better.
• There will always be more opportunities ahead, do not be afraid of failures.
• Learn a new language. (This has been something on the top of my agenda which I hope to achieve in the upcoming year)

I cannot say that I am someone with a lot of experience in interviews, but I thought it is always nice to share. Hopefully, this post can be a help to the readers of this blog, as it is from my own personal experience.

Last but not least, wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!

Internship Interview At A Bulge Bracket Bank

Recently, I went for an interview at one of the world's largest bank in the world. It is a bulge bracket bank. I will put down some of the questions that were asked of me here. I did incredibly bad during the interview as I was not prepared. I was stammering at times and I was simply not composed enough. This post is to remind myself never to make the same mistakes again and always be aware of your own personal resume. Also, it might be good to go for some public speaking courses and interview workshops if you feel you need help. I will now move on to the questions.

Questions:

1. Tell me about yourself (killer question).
2. Why are you interested in the specific division by the bank?
3. Tell me about your experience (interest related).
4. Tell me about your working experience.
5. Why are you interested in the markets?
6. Why would coming from a specific background disadvantaged you?
7. Tell me about your analysis experience (resume - student club related).
8. So you see yourself working in sales? Why?
9. Sell him something (there were 2 interviewers).
10. Why this thing instead of the other? How is this different?
11. Are there any questions for us?

I was not very sure about some of the items on my own resume and there were times I tried to bullshit my way across. I felt very bad as the interviewers, being the seasonsed professionals they are were able to catch hold of my smoke and questioned me even further.

There were major screw ups that I made, and they include not asking enough questions to sell a person something which resulted in me defending my flawed sales pitch, being too aggressive, talking about my own personal background story, rambling on and on without answering specific questions, being unaware of the items in my resume.

The funny thing is that when the interview ended, they did not even mention that they will get in touch with me. I was surprised and felt that I have really fared badly. There are no excuses and I have to fix some parts of myself.

Some New Year Resolutions:

1. Take part in public speaking courses
2. Take part in interview workshops
3. Practice speaking slowly, confidently and clearly
4. Brush up on my technical knowledge
5. Follow the markets closely and find my own personal story
6. Invest actively and meet more new people
7. Being brave enough to take a step forward, out of my own comfort zone
8. Being hardworking and finishing all my tutorials on time
9. Keeping my body fit and healthy
10. Cutting the habit of an afternoon nap

This interview was a wake up call to me. I have grown too complacent with myself after achieving the things I did. I now need to stay consistent and always keep on being aware and hardworking. If not, I will be like the hare who sleeps during a race. Wake up!

Trainee Trader Interview At Prop Trading Firm

Today, I went for an interview with a prop trading firm dealing in futures contract. To be precise, their main sources of revenue generation is split into 2 components: trading and investing. Their trading gains are used to invest in stocks and shares of companies. At the end of the day, I was offered a trainee trader position at their firm for less than $1,000 per month plus a certain percentage of the profits once I start raking in trading profits.

To begin with, I will run through the interview process with my readers and hopefully, you guys will be able to benefit from this post.

The main interview revolves whether with my limited schedule (as I am still a full time undergraduate student), will be able to cope with the rigour of the program. They are after all, looking for long term traders and not one who just stay with them for a few months, learn from them and walk off.

These are the few major questions that I remembered from the interview and they are listed in no order as I will just type whatever I remembered from the interview.

Managing Director: Do you know what our company deals with?

Me: (Attempted to persuade the MD that I knew even though I really have no idea)

MD: Do you know what makes a good trader? (went on to explain key characteristics of a trader)

MD: How do you know you want to be a trader?

MD: What do you know about trading?

MD: Do you know that trading can be a very boring job?

There were some more questions but some response made by me I think, struck a chord with the MD.

Me: I understand that there is many things I do not yet know about trading, but after trying out so many jobs, I know trading is for me. I mean, I can stay up until 2-3am day after day just looking at charts and seeing how all the dots connect and how the market moves.

Me: I am just amazed at how markets are completely random. Traders are constantly trying to predict movements of the market, but there are times when it just will not play out the way they want it to. And for me, I want to be a trader that wins most of the time.

MD: Are you sure you want to be a trader?

Me: Yes (without hesitation).

To be very clear here, there were close to zero technical questions that tested my knowledge of the financial markets. Rather, they were looking for someone with passion and I just exuded passion. I mean, before that, I was cold calling them for 3 times before they accepted to see me. Once there, I told them how badly I wanted to be a trader. I also told them how trading is my career aspiration and how I see myself doing it for the rest of my life. I meant every word I said, which should be evident right now as I started this blog for the exact same reasons. They set stringent requirements before giving you a life account to trade as well.

My only concerns with this job is that I might not be able to handle the schedule very well. I did not want to make empty promises and find myself in a hole and aggravating the MD and maybe forever sealing my path to financial greatness yet at the same time, it is simply too good an opportunity to pass up. The thing is, my university curriculum is not yet fixed and hence, as a hedge against this issue, I have actually set up an appointment with my school counsellor tomorrow. She is the one most knowledgeable about class schedules and all that.

I really hope that I will be able to commit to this job well. Watch me grow my readers.