Investment Banking Questions

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• How would your friends describe you?
• Are you entrepreneurial?
• What are the most important things to you in a job?
  
• Give me an example of a situation where you demonstrated leadership.
• Give an example of how you worked on a team.
• How creative are you? Give an example.
• Why are you interested in the industry?
• Why did you choose to interview with us?
  
• Who have you met from our Firm? What did you learn from him/her?
• Describe the ideal position for you within our Firm.
• What qualities do you think make someone successful in business?
• Why do you think you are qualified for this position?
  
• Why did you select your college or business school?
• What courses have you liked most? Least? Why?
• What are you learning that will help you in your work with us?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What would you like me to know most that is not in your resume?
  
• What are the most important things to you in a job?
• Give me an example of a situation where you motivated others.
• Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team.
• What attracts you to a career in this industry?
• Why did you select your university?
• What courses have you liked most? Least? Why?
  
• What are you learning that will help you in your work with us?
• Tell me about a time when you had to develop relationships with others.
• Describe a situation in which it was difficult to obtain information you needed, and how you managed to be successful.
• Describe an instance in which you had a significant impact on a situation.

Tough Interview Questions #52: Describe the most difficult problem you’ve had to deal with

The best way to answer this question would be to say that you follow the five-step format every time you encounter a difficult problem:
1. Stand back and examine the problem.
2. Recognize the problem as the symptom of other, perhaps hidden, factors.
3. draw up a list of possible solutions to the problem.
4. Weigh up both the consequences and cost of each solution and determine the best solution.
5. Go to your CEO/director/manager, outline the problem, make your recommendation and ask for advice and approval.
Conclude your response by giving a real example of a problem you have encountered and your solution.
This question is designed to probe your professional profile, specifically your analytical skills and your ability to identify a creative solution.
It also looks to assess potential based on past behavior. Firms want candidates to demonstrate what they actually did and the choices they made when faced with a difficult problem.

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #51: Describe a time when you have solved a problem with an unconventional solution

This question also allows you to show your logical thinking process, alongside other abilities such as communication and persuasion skills, as well as drive.

The best candidates will relate their answer with an example of their past experience and talk you through what the problem was, what creative solution they came up with, what steps they took to implement the solution, and the outcome.

The interviewer is not just looking for someone who is capable of doing the job, but one who could also think out of the box and bring in new perspective to the team and the firm.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions: #50: The Price of Fruit

There are four groups of Mangoes, Apples and Bananas as follows:
Group I : 1 Mango, 1 Apples and 1 Banana
Group II : 1 Mango, 5 Apples and 7 Bananas
Group III : 1 Mango, 7 Apples and 10 Bananas
Group IV : 9 Mango, 23 Apples and 30 Bananas

Group II costs Rs 300 and Group III costs Rs 390.

Can you tell how much does Group I and Group IV cost?

Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710

Assume that the values of one mango, one apple and one banana are M, A and B respectively.

From Group II : M + 5A + 7B = 300
From Group III : M + 7A + 10B = 390

Subtracting above to equations : 2A + 3B = 90

For Group I :
= M + A + B
= (M + 5A + 7B) - (4A + 6B)
= (M + 5A + 7B) - 2(2A + 3B)
= 300 - 2(90)
= 300 - 180
= 120

Similarly, for Group IV :
= 9M + 23A + 30B
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - (22A + 33B)
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - 11(2A + 3B)
= 9(300) - 11(90)
= 2700 - 990
= 1710

Thus, Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Tough Interview Questions: #50: The Price of Fruit

There are four groups of Mangoes, Apples and Bananas as follows:
Group I : 1 Mango, 1 Apples and 1 Banana
Group II : 1 Mango, 5 Apples and 7 Bananas
Group III : 1 Mango, 7 Apples and 10 Bananas
Group IV : 9 Mango, 23 Apples and 30 Bananas
Group II costs Rs 300 and Group III costs Rs 390.
Can you tell how much does Group I and Group IV cost?

Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710
Assume that the values of one mango, one apple and one banana are M, A and B respectively.
From Group II : M + 5A + 7B = 300
From Group III : M + 7A + 10B = 390
Subtracting above to equations : 2A + 3B = 90
For Group I :
= M + A + B
= (M + 5A + 7B) - (4A + 6B)
= (M + 5A + 7B) - 2(2A + 3B)
= 300 - 2(90)
= 300 - 180
= 120
Similarly, for Group IV :
= 9M + 23A + 30B
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - (22A + 33B)
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - 11(2A + 3B)
= 9(300) - 11(90)
= 2700 - 990
= 1710
Thus, Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #49: The 50m long army platoon

There is a 50m long army platoon marching ahead. The last person in the platoon wants to give a letter to the first person leading the platoon. So while the platoon is marching he runs ahead, reaches the first person and hands over the letter to him and without stopping he runs and comes back to his original position.
In the mean time the whole platoon has moved ahead by 50m.
The question is how much distance did the last person cover in that time. Assuming that he ran the whole distance with uniform speed.

The last person covered 120.71 meters.
It is given that the platoon and the last person moved with uniform speed. Also, they both moved for the identical amount of time. Hence, the ratio of the distance they covered - while person moving forward and backword - are equal.
Let's assume that when the last person reached the first person, the platoon moved X meters forward.
Thus, while moving forward the last person moved (50+X) meters whereas the platoon moved X meters.
Similarly, while moving back the last person moved [50-(50-X)] X meters whereas the platoon moved (50-X) meters.
Now, as the ratios are equal,
(50+X)/X = X/(50-X)
(50+X)*(50-X) = X*X
Solving, X=35.355 meters
Thus, total distance covered by the last person
= (50+X) + X
= 2*X + 50
= 2*(35.355) + 50
= 120.71 meters
Note that at first glance, one might think that the total distance covered by the last person is 100 meters, as he ran the total lenght of the platoon (50 meters) twice. TRUE, but that's the relative distance covered by the last person i.e. assuming that the platoon is stationary.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #48: Move A Safe

To move a Safe, two cylindrical steel bars 7 inches in diameter are used as rollers.
How far will the safe have moved forward when the rollers have made one revolution?


The safe must have moved 22 inches forward.
If the rollers make one revolution, the safe will move the distance equal to the circumference of the roller. Hence, the distance covered by the safe is
= PI * Diameter (or 2 * PI * Radius)
= PI * 7
= 3.14159265 * 7
= 21.99115
= 22 inches approx

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #47: Who Is Married to Cam

Three men - Sam, Cam and Laurie - are married to Carrie, Billy and Tina, but not necessarily in the same order.
Sam's wife and Billy's Husband play Carrie and Tina's husband at bridge. No wife partners her husband and Cam does not play bridge.
Who is married to Cam?

Carrie is married to Cam.
"Sam's wife and Billy's Husband play Carrie and Tina's husband at bridge."
It means that Sam is not married to either Billy or Carrie. Thus, Sam is married to Tina.
As Cam does not play bridge, Billy's husband must be Laurie.
Hence, Carrie is married to Cam.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #46: The Cricket Match

The cricket match between India and Pakistan was over.
• Harbhajan scored more runs than Ganguly.
• Sachin scored more runs than Laxman but less than Dravid
• Badani scored as much runs as Agarkar but less than Dravid and more than Sachin.
• Ganguly scored more runs than either Agarkar or Dravid.
Each batsman scored 10 runs more than his immediate batsman. The lowest score was 10 runs. How much did each one of them score

A simple one. Use the given facts and put down all the players in order. The order is as follow with Harbhajan, the highest scorer and Laxman, the lowest scorer.
1. Harbhajan
2. Ganguly
3. Dravid
4. Badani, Agarkar
5. Sachin
6. Laxman
Also, as the lowest score was 10 runs. Laxman must have scored 10, Sachin 20, Badani & Agarkar 30 and so on.
1. Harbhajan - 60 runs
2. Ganguly - 50 runs
3. Dravid - 40 runs
4. Badani, Agarkar - 30 runs each
5. Sachin - 20 runs
Laxman - 10 runs


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #45: The Orange Glass

An orange colored glass has Orange juice and white colored glass has Apple juice both of equal volumes. 50ml of the orange juice is taken and poured into the white glass. After that similarly, 50ml from the white glass is poured into the orange glass.

Of the two quantities, the amount of apple juice in the orange glass and the amount of orange juice in the white glass, which one is greater and by how much?

Answer:

The two quantities are equal.

Solve it by taking example. Let's assume that both glasses contain 450 ml of juice each.

Now, 50ml of the orange juice is taken and poured into the White glass. Hence, orange colored glass contains 400 ml of Orange juice and white glass contains 450 ml of Apple juice and 50 ml of Orange juice i.e. total of 500 ml from white glass contains 450 ml of Apple juice and 50 ml of Orange juice. It means that every 50 ml from white glass contains 45 ml of Apple juice and 5 ml of Orange juice.

Similary, 50 ml of juice from white glass is poured into orange glass. Now this 50 ml is not a pure apple juice. It contains 45 ml of Apple juice and 5 ml of Orange juice.

Hence, Orange glass contains 405 ml of Orange juice and 45 ml of Apple juice. Similary, white glass contains 405 ml of Apple juice and 45 ml of Orange juice.

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Investment Banking Questions to Prepare For

* Why investment banking versus sales and trading? What is the difference?

* In what area of investment banking do you want to work? Can you tell us 3 differences between a generalist and someone in a sponsor group?

* Tell me about the time you worked the hardest in your life.

* On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the hard working and 10 being smart, which one are you? (hint: they want you to, ideally, say 1. They want people who are hard working given the long nights involved).

* Tell me about a time you had to develop relationships with others.

* Do you follow the market? For how long? Do you invest?

* Describe a situation in which it was difficult to obtain information you needed, and how you managed to be successful.

* Do you follow any stocks? Which ones and why?

* What was our firm's stock price yesterday?

* Describe an instance in which you've had a significant impact on a situation, either inside or outside your job.

Give concise answers.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #44: Do Your Socks Match?

Q: Let’s say you need to get up very early for an interview - in fact, before sunrise. You don’t want to wake your spouse, so you need to select your socks in the dark. In your drawer you have 8 red socks and 11 blue socks that are otherwise identical. What is the minimum number of socks you will need to take out of your drawer and carry into the other room to ensure you have a matching pair?


A: An oldie but goodie, this question is commonly asked and the solution is quite simple. The answer is you need to take three socks, that’s it. Two socks can be different, but a third must match one of the first two.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Tough Interview Question #43: The Macro Cube

Q: Picture a 10×10x10 “macro-cube” on the table. This big cube is made up of 1×1x1 “micro-cubes”. Your dog walks by and knocks the macro cube off with his tail, causing it to crash to the ground. When it hits, the impact causes the entire outer layer of micro-cubes to fall off. How many micro-cubes are on the floor?


A: First, don’t beat the dog, he was just happy to see you. This is a popular question and you should be ready for it. There are a couple ways to solve this. The first (not the best), is to count the number of cubes on each face and add them up. This math is confusing for most people.
The better solution is to focus on the structure of the problem. The original macro-cube and new smaller macro-cube hold the answer. The difference between their volumes is how many micro-cubes fell off. The volume of a cube is n cubed. The answer is, therefore, 10 cubed - 8 cubed. So, 1,000 - 512 = 488.

Note: A common mistake is for people to think because only one layer fell off, the solution is 10 cubed - 9 cubed.



Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Tough Interview Question #42: Hats and a Blind Man

Let's hear it for hedge finds to ask fun questions.

Q: Inside of a dark closet are five hats: three blue and two red. Three smart men go into the closet, and each selects a hat in the dark and places it unseen upon his head. Each man knows both that the closet contains three blue hats and two red and that the other two men have the same knowledge.

Once outside the closet, no man can see his own hat. The first man looks at the other two, thinks, and says, “I cannot tell what color my hat is.” The second man hears this, looks at the other two and says, “I too cannot tell the color of my hat.” The third man is blind. The blind man says, “Well, I know what color my hat is!”

What color is the blind man’s hat and how do you know?

A: If the first man saw the other two both wearing red hats, he would know his own hat was blue. Since he says he does not know its color, the second and third both know that between them, they are wearing both blue, or else one red and one blue.

Therefore if the second man could see a red hat on the first or third, he would know his own hat was blue.

So, when the second announces that he cannot determine his own hat color, he effectively tells the third that his hat is blue.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #41: Give Me An Example of a Time Where You Failed.

The rest of the question is, "Were you disturbed by this? What actions did you take?"

I often think of questions like this coming in sales jobs--I failed to make quota for a quarter. Sometimes, it I asked in an operations job--I was given certain performance objectives and failed to meet them.

I think of the answer to this question as requiring an actor to really deliver the answer. The theme to it is the same no matter what the failure is you decide to reference. I'll use sales as an example.

"Frankly, I wasn't disturbed by it (pause) . . . I was angry with myself! Look, failing to meet targets has never happened to me before and has never happened since. Part of it involved not having sufficient time to ramp up . . . but that's an excuse, I needed to manage my tie and effort better and deliver what I was responsible for.

"And that's what I did. I came in $4 million below my $13 million quota and I was determined to make up what I missed and then some and made sure my boss knew. And that is what I did--$18.5 million the next quarter, $22 million the quarter after that and I haven;t looked back since."


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter Concepts in Staffing thebiggamehunter@cisny.com © 2008 all rights reserved. Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guide to Resume Writing. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
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Tough Interview Question #40: What Motivates You To Go The Extra Mile (on a Project or A Job)

In my thinking, there is a suggestion in this question . . . mjost people do average work and need motivation or crisis to extend themselves. I believe the way to answer this is to acknowledge the suggestion and flip it.

You need to look the interview square in the eye and speak with sincerity.


"It's unfortunate that so many people are unwilling to go the extra mile all the time as part of their job. That they do see the the value of caring enough about their job or their employer to be busting a gut to do excellent work, to see problems, offer solutions or ideas to management . . .Its unfortunate that you have to ask questions like this because so many people most face crisis or be motivated to go the extra mile."

"That problem is not a part of my make up."


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us
And then you sit quietly and wait for the next question.



© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Quetion #39: How Have You Improved Your Knowledge Over The Past Year or So?

Few employers will care if you have read Tolstoy or Dostoevsky over the past year or became involved with chanting.

What they care about is work related knowledge you have obtained. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't mention reading "War and Peace," but contextualize it.

For example, "I returned to school and have been attending a graduate program in literature because I have always been fascinated by great works. So, this semester, I needed to read 'War and Peace' and 'The Brothers Karamazov' in 4 weeks. Keeping to a schedule like that has helped me with time management techniques, managing resources and asking for help that I found difficult to do before."

Now your answer is always easiest if you reference a professional class you attended or certification training you obtained.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #38: What Do You Worry About?

Worrying is for losers. Admit to worrying and you are seen as a "Nervous Nelly".

Instead, redefine the word and change the perception.

Re-define it as being achievement-oriented and that you mull things over from different angles.

For example, "
I am a goal-oriented person. What I tend to do to keep turning things over in my mind that keeps me from achieving those goals until I find a solution. That’s part of my tenacity,”

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #37: Behavioral Interviewing: Ambition

1. How many hours a day do you put in at work (or what were your study habits like in school)?

2. Who is the greatest influence in your self-development?

3. Describe the ideal organization that you would like to work for.

4. Describe a project that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role and what was the outcome?

5. How do you feel about working for a company of this size? What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks?

6. Why should we hire you?

7. Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to get something done professionally.

8. Tell me about a time where you made a suggestion that went beyond the call of duty.

9. Who is or was the greatest influence in your self-development?

10. Describe a time that you pushed through something you believed in.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #36: Behavioral Interviewing: Attention to Detail

Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new style of interviewing that was developed in the 1970's by industrial psychologists. Behavioral interviewing asserts that "the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation."

It is one of the current fashions in human resource and management interviewing because it is designed to focus on behaviors and attributes that would allow a new employee to be successful in a new position.

Although I believe that it is often misused, because it is part of the current fashion (much like some of the other questions I have been coaching you for that reflects a previous style of interviewing), it must be paid attention to and prepared for.

In this section, we focus on offering you attention to detail questions that will allow you to be prepared when this line of inquiry begins.

Please give me some examples of things you have done on previous jobs that have demonstrated your ability to pay attention to detail. What resulted from your actions?

Please give me an example of where you may have found an error in some aspect of work that others may have overlooked. What was the error, how did you find out, what actions did you take, and what resulted from your actions?
Do you notice the quality of detailed thought they are looking for in the questioning? it goes beyond that to seeing how you interact with others. Do you create conflict or solutions? Are you cooperative or argumentative?

Here are a few more:

Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?

How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Please answer in depth or detail such as “What were you thinking at that point?” or “Tell me more about meeting with that person”, or “Lead me through your decision process”.
Please describe your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.

Some people consider themselves to be “big picture people” and others are “detail oriented”. Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
This has danger associate with it because you need to understand the nature of the job and the corporate culture to answer it to the interviewer's satisfaction.
Here are a few more to prepare for:
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.

Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.

These are all questions that require you to dig a little deeper and reveal facets of your personality as it pertains to attention to detail.

REMEMBER: What does your potential answer tell them about you in the context of the job being discussed?

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.