Ok guys, I am kind of freaking out right now. I got a call from a contact at a very large bank in NY (think; MS, GS, BoAML, CS). I have a phone interview tomorrow at 10AM with the Capital Markets group. Pending how that goes I have a 2nd round interview in NYC at the end of the week. So, how do I convince my interviewer that they should choose me over someone else? While I was one the phone with my HR contact she said that “they had not identified a suitable internal candidate yet…they were kind of nervous about considering a candidate who is not in NY already, yet decided they wanted to consider me.” Here is what I plan on doing in prep: -Read all major topics in the 10K -Read-Reread-REREread the job desc. -Find out what exactly this group does and decide what skill set/attributes I possess that align themselves with that. -Rehearse those attirbutes. -I think this will be mostly a “fit” interview, the techinical will be in NYC if I make it. What are your thoughts? Questions? I am so excited nervous that I am sure I missed something. Also, I have my interviewer’s name. Do I email him/her expressing my excitement?
(1) Why are you reading all the major topics in the 10-K? It’s more important to understand the job you’re interviewing for and having a good story for why you want to do it. You’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re “studying” the 10-K… (2) Know your story cold. 95% of people I’ve ever interviewed, whom I also thought were competent, were people I passed on because they didn’t come across as being personable and having a good story. This is the case for just about every interview you’ll ever have, be it jobs, graduate school, MBA, or whatever. Because you have a behavioral interview, here are some things you should do: - Know your resume and be able to explain it in a compelling order that shows a sequence of events. What NOT to do: “I worked in marketing, then accounting, and now I want to do capital markets.” What to do: “I worked in marketing for a year, where I gained skills X, Y, and Z. However, I realized eventually that I wanted to develop a more quantitative and analytically rigorous skill set, which drove me to pursue a job in accounting. Now, I’ve realized I want to apply those quantitative skills in a more dynamic setting and combine it with my passion for the markets, which is what interests me most about the position for which you’re currently hiring.” - Tell a good story. Again as I said earlier, most people don’t brand themselves properly so they get put in the reject pile. What NOT to do: “My greatest strengths are performing under pressure and discipline, which will help me greatly at doing this job.” What to do: “My greatest strengths are performing under pressure and my mental discipline. My background as a college football player taught me there are no shortcuts in life, and after thousands of hours of practice and competing alongside my teammates under the most intense environments such as the 2007 Rose Bowl, I’ve realized that I excel best in a team-oriented setting and where I’m completely engaged in what I do. I can bring those types of skills to your job.” You don’t have much work experience, so really the most valuable thing you can offer right now are really your perseverance, story, and an image of someone that they would want to work with. You have to BRAND yourself. I don’t know all the details of your background, but you want people to look at your resume and be like, “Wow, this is the ex-NCAA football guy who has qualitative skills and quantitative knowledge. Yeah, I don’t even remember his name but let’s hire him.” Hope this helps…
True about the 10k, I just dont want to get caught with a question out of left field like, how many employees does XX have? Numi, once again running sh!t.
Congratulations, first of all. Obviously, you should brush up on your knowledge pertaining to this position. However, don’t be pretentious - that is, try not to spout out too many of the things that you read during the interview. Trust me; people like to hire humble people to be their juniors. You should come across as well-informed, but not a show off. The phone interview is normally about presentation, anyway. Be polite and use grammatically correct sentences. If you have speech habits like slangs, make some effort to drop them. Don’t interrupt the person, etc. Remember, for this round, all you need to do is get them to like you as a person. Good luck. (See people, if even nuppal can get an interview, things must be looking up!)
Hello Mister Walrus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > (See people, if even nuppal can get an interview, > things must be looking up!) Thanks for that. lol
I was joking about that last part, in case there is any ambiguity.
Keep me posted on how everything goes. As I said, I don’t know that much about your background but you’ll find that a lot of times it’s not even what you say, but how you say it. You want to come across as someone that’s high-energy, dynamic, and loaded with great stories to tell. Oh, and one final point – try to build a rapport with your interviewer. Find opportunities to ask them questions. For example, if they ask you why you want to work there, one example that you MUST mention is the culture. Even if the culture totally stinks, you want to say something about how you have friends in the industry that have spoken about the collaborative nature of your institution, and how you really thrive in team-settings. Then, ask them if they feel like that was one of the main reasons that drove them to pursuing their career there. Of course, even if the department you’re interviewing for is a total dump, nobody will ever say, “Nah, we’re not collaborative here. It’s all anarchy.” You’ll get them talking about themselves, and whenever you have people talking about themselves, you’re in good shape. Remember – the QUALITY of the interaction is just as important as the CONTENT, especially when you have tons of other people out there with the proper technical skills. Best of luck and keep us posted…
Good luck, if you get in, get me a job in investment operations…
I have a buddy in Asian IB, I think he might have been locked up for insider trading though ha ha ha.
numi has provided some great recommendations. Thank you very much.
And remember: DON’T ask for pics even if the interviewer sounds attractive! Lol. Good luck man. Tell us how it went.
Some things I’ve done in the past for phone interviews: - Don’t drink/eat dairy products (They tend to give you that bubbly throat feeling, it’s awkward to clear your throat several times throughout a call) - Be up to date on the markets (Perusing the Wall Street journal for an hour will help, 2 people last week told me that Warren Buffet bought Norfolk Southern and I just went along with it) - Wear a suit (Sounds stupid but it puts you in the right mindset) Deion Sanders once said “If I look good, I feel good. If I feel good, I play good. If I play good, I get paid good” Ignoring the bad grammar he has a good point. Good luck
Sounds like a basic interview for I guess role like DCM in their capital markets group. Just pick up the vault guide as numi mentioned know your story cold, make sure you have your pitch down and make sure you research somewhat on the firm/deals/wuteva they do ask good questions. Now go grab that Vault guide. Lastly stop freaking out, no need to. Make sure you calm and confident tommorow.
Make us proud, good luck!
Good Luck, brah.
Congrats on the interview! My 2 cents: If you can, turn your call waiting off, so neither party misses something said on the other end. Relax. My voice tends to shake when I’m nervous; guy’s voices tend to crack. Also, make sure you enunciate, especially if you have a deep voice. While your current job may not relate to this position whatsoever, try to come up with some ways in which your skills/experience will transfer over and make you successful in the CM position. Come up with specific examples of how you fit the ideal candidate description (as far as traits go). It may not be much of a bahavioral interview, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for those types of questions. Best of luck!
Good luck Nuppie!! I’m sure you’ll do great! I’ll hit you up on g. chat to find out more …
All good advice above. One methodology I used when I was entry level/very junior was to make a note of items on your resume that reflect the same charactistics listed in the job description. I didn’t just think about them, I actually bulleted out what items on the resume went with what items from the job description and had a couple of anecdotes ready. Obviously, you don’t want it to read like a script, but it helped to organize my thoughts. And, as numi made clear, be cool and likeable, have a couple good questions ready for the end of the call/interview (in case they ask if you have any), make certain you are in an area with excellent reception if you are using a cell phone. Just prepare, and luck won’t be such a big part of the equation.
Be charming if it’s a woman
Oh, and have a couple drinks to loosen up.