Here are some dos and don’ts that will reduce your chance of messing
up unnecessarily.
Don’t be late.
Don’t be early; this annoys the interviewer. Get there early, go to a cafe and have a lemonade and turn up dead on time.
Do eat a good meal beforehand; sugar lows destroy thinking power.
Don’t argue with the interviewer about why they’ve asked you something.
They’ve asked you it because they want to know whether
you can do it.
Do appear enthusiastic.
Do wear a suit.
Do be eager to please. They want someone who’ll do what they want, you must give the appearance of being obliging rather than difficult.
Don’t be too relaxed; they may well conclude that you aren’t hungry enough for success to work hard.
Don’t tell them they shouldn’t use C++ because my niche language is better.
Do demonstrate an interest in financial news.
Do be able to talk about everything on your cv (resume in American).Have a prepared 2 minute response on every phrase on it.
Do bring copies of your CV.
Don’t expect the interviewer to be familiar with your CV.
Don’t say you’ve read a book unless you can discuss its contents; particularly, if they’ve written it.Do be polite.
Do ask for feedback and don’t argue about it. Even if it’s wrong try to understand what made the interviewer think that.
Don’t say you want to work in banking for the money; of course, you do but it’s bad form to say so.
Do say you want to work closely with other people rather than solo.
Don’t say that you think that bankers are reasonable people – they aren’t.
Do take a break from interviewing and do more prep if more than a couple of interviews go badly.
Don’t use a mobile for a phone interview.
Do be able to explain your thesis – work out explanations for different sorts of people in advance.
Don’t expect banks in the UK to pay for interview expenses. If they do agree to pay, make sure they are willing to pay what your ticket will cost. eg don’t get an expensive ticket if they say they’ll pay for a cheap airline.
Do ask about the group, you’ll be working in. e.g. turnover, where people go when they leave, how many, when can you meet the rest of the group (only if an offer appears imminent), how old the group is, what’s the team’s raison d’etre, is it expanding or contracting. What would a typical working day be?
Don’t get on to the topic of money early in the process. A general comment is that quant has the reputation of being a hard
area to get into, but if you talk to any hiring manager they’ll tell you that they interview lots of candidates and most are terrible. It’s rare to be forced to choose between two good candidates; it’s much more common
to be relieved that you’ve finally found one who’s good enough. The moral is that most candidates are failing to reach the required level. If you are good at maths and do your preparation, you can be at that level and get a job. Good at maths and do your preparation, you can be at that level and get a job.
up unnecessarily.
Don’t be late.
Don’t be early; this annoys the interviewer. Get there early, go to a cafe and have a lemonade and turn up dead on time.
Do eat a good meal beforehand; sugar lows destroy thinking power.
Don’t argue with the interviewer about why they’ve asked you something.
They’ve asked you it because they want to know whether
you can do it.
Do appear enthusiastic.
Do wear a suit.
Do be eager to please. They want someone who’ll do what they want, you must give the appearance of being obliging rather than difficult.
Don’t be too relaxed; they may well conclude that you aren’t hungry enough for success to work hard.
Don’t tell them they shouldn’t use C++ because my niche language is better.
Do demonstrate an interest in financial news.
Do be able to talk about everything on your cv (resume in American).Have a prepared 2 minute response on every phrase on it.
Do bring copies of your CV.
Don’t expect the interviewer to be familiar with your CV.
Don’t say you’ve read a book unless you can discuss its contents; particularly, if they’ve written it.Do be polite.
Do ask for feedback and don’t argue about it. Even if it’s wrong try to understand what made the interviewer think that.
Don’t say you want to work in banking for the money; of course, you do but it’s bad form to say so.
Do say you want to work closely with other people rather than solo.
Don’t say that you think that bankers are reasonable people – they aren’t.
Do take a break from interviewing and do more prep if more than a couple of interviews go badly.
Don’t use a mobile for a phone interview.
Do be able to explain your thesis – work out explanations for different sorts of people in advance.
Don’t expect banks in the UK to pay for interview expenses. If they do agree to pay, make sure they are willing to pay what your ticket will cost. eg don’t get an expensive ticket if they say they’ll pay for a cheap airline.
Do ask about the group, you’ll be working in. e.g. turnover, where people go when they leave, how many, when can you meet the rest of the group (only if an offer appears imminent), how old the group is, what’s the team’s raison d’etre, is it expanding or contracting. What would a typical working day be?
Don’t get on to the topic of money early in the process. A general comment is that quant has the reputation of being a hard
area to get into, but if you talk to any hiring manager they’ll tell you that they interview lots of candidates and most are terrible. It’s rare to be forced to choose between two good candidates; it’s much more common
to be relieved that you’ve finally found one who’s good enough. The moral is that most candidates are failing to reach the required level. If you are good at maths and do your preparation, you can be at that level and get a job. Good at maths and do your preparation, you can be at that level and get a job.
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