Tough Interview Questions and Answers from Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter: April 2008

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Interview Questions for Paralegals

1. What are your long and short range career goals and objectives?
2. When and how did you establish those goals?
3. How are you preparing yourself to achieve them?
4. What goals, other than those related to your legal career, have you established for yourself for the next 10 years?
5. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
6. Why did choose to go to Northeastern State University?
7. What kind of life do you want?
8. How would you describe yourself?
9. How has your college degree prepared you to work in this firm?
10. Why should I hire you?
11. What are the most important qualities of a successful legal assistant?
12. How can you contribute to our agency/firm/company?
13. What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?
14. What was your most rewarding collegiate experience?
15. What legal courses did you like the best? Least?
16. Are your grades a good indication of your academic achievement?
17. What area of law appeals to you?
18. Describe your ideal working environment.
19. Why are you interested in this firm/company/agency?
20. What do you know about this firm/company/agency?
21. What two or three things are most important to you in a job?
22. What do you know about (the city in which the firm is located) ?
23. Do you have other job offers?
24. What have you learned from the other attorneys/paralegals you've spoken with today?
25. Do you have any questions I can answer?
26. Why do you want to be a paralegal?
27. Tell me about your legal experience. (Or why haven't you acquired any legal experience?)

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 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).

Interview Questions for Librarians

1. Describe your strengths and weaknesses.

2. Considering your education and work experience, why do you feel you are qualified for this job?

3. What do you see as the value of belonging to professional organizations?

4. Why did you apply for this job?

5. What is your philosophy of collection development?

6. Do you like working with people?

7. Do you have any experience with audio-visual materials?

8. Do you have any experience in setting up displays?

9. How do you feel that your education has prepared you for this job?

10. Where do you expect to be professionally in five years?

11. How would you handle a person who objects to a sex education book on the shelf?

12. How would you handle a question over the phone that you canít answer immediately?

13. Is there any time that you would refuse to answer a patronís request?

14. If we ask your present supervisor what your present strengths are, what would he/she say?

15. Why should we hire you?

16. Name two books you have read within the past two months and describe one of them as though you were recommending it to a patron to read. Why would they want to read it?

17. What qualities do you think we should look for in a prospective reference librarian?

18. Considering your working career, tell about the most stressful event you ever faced, and how you coped with it.

19. Picture this: It is 5:00 PM and you are relieving the day shift. You are the only reference librarian on the desk and the following are waiting for help. In what order would you answer them and why?

a. A young child with a homework assignment

b. A trivia question; the contest is on now. c. A woman who has just read Jannette Daileyís latest book and wants a recommendation for a similar book. d. An elderly couple wanting advice on how to do their genealogy.

e. The city managerís office is on the telephone.

20. What did you do to prepare for this interview?

21. What is your style of leadership?

22. Describe your ideal job.

23. What was your most challenging supervisory experience?

24. What do you like most about archival work?

25. Describe differences among patrons in a public library, an academic library, and a special library.

26. If you were assisting a person at the reference desk and the telephone rang, what would you do?

27. After you have eliminated the backlog, how do you see this job as challenging to you? What will motivate you to come to work?

28. Why did you elect to attend the University of South Carolina?

29. Why did you choose librarianship as a career?

30. Can you tell us about a particularly tense or chaotic situation at the reference desk and how you handled the incident?

31. What would you do if you heard a staff member provide a patron with an incorrect answer?

32. Tell us about a team or group project you have worked on and how you have contributed to it.

33. Tell us about your experience with information technology.

34. Why are you interested in this particular career?

35. What strengths do you bring to a reference position and what areas would you like to improve?

36. What are the things you particularly like about your present job?

37. What was your most important work-related accomplishment in the past year?

38. What contributions could you make to our library?

39. How would you describe your management philosophy?

40. What type of management style do you prefer?

41. What sorts of people do you enjoy working with most?

42. What kinds of situations do you find stressful?

43. What would you do if you were at the desk and both the phones were ringing and there were three or four patrons already waiting and a demanding professor interrupted?

44. Outline your science background, including: science coursework, library school coursework in science reference, and science library experience.

45. What is your public service experience, including bibliographic instruction, reference desk, and collection development?

46. What is your knowledge and/or experience of library technology?

47. How does this position fit into the career path you have set for yourself?

48. Give us an example of a time in which you felt you were able to build motivation in your coworkers or fellow students in school.

49. Describe the most significant achievement or written project/presentation/report which you have had to complete.

50. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a librarian?

51. Give us an example you did in a former job that contributed to a teamwork environment.

52. What would you do if you were unsure of how to answer a reference question?

53. What are your current research interests?

54. The role of the reference librarian and the reference department has changed a lot in the past five years and will probably continue to change. How do you see reference service changing in the next five years?

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Friday, April 18, 2008

Interview Questions for a Job in Journalism

Why do you want to work for [news organization name]?
Tell me about a story you covered that went very well.
Have you ever failed? What did you learn from the experience?
How well do you handle deadline pressure?
What publications do you read? What news shows do you watch? Why?
What is your philosophy of journalism?
What do you think of our paper/magazine/show/station? How would you make it better?
How do you feel about the state of journalism today?
Please give me a short critique of our paper/broadcast/magazine.
What stories would you like to cover? (You should have at least 5 ideas).
Why will you make a successful journalist?
What is your news philosophy?
What is the most recent book you’ve read?
You have five minutes to describe the most relevant and specific items in your background that show that you are uniquely qualified for this job.
Are you tough? Are you aggressive? Provide examples.
Do you think your extracurricular activities were worth the time you devoted to them?
Give me an example of a story you think you handled very well.
Give me an example of a story you wish you had covered differently. How would you cover it now?
Tell me about your work habits. Would you describe yourself as a hard worker?
Do you work well under pressure? Do you mind working overtime?
In light of recent world events, do you feel that the media has placed themselves in positive light with regard to public support? Why or why not?
How do you feel about the state of journalism today?
Please give me a short critique of our paper, broadcast, etc.
What stories would you like to cover?
(You should always have at least five story ideas.)
Which story over the last 12 months would you most like to have covered and why?
Why will you make a successful journalist?
What publications do you read?
What news programs do you watch? Why? What are they doing right? Wrong?
What is your news philosophy?
You have five minutes to describe the most relevant and specific items in your background that show that you are uniquely qualified for this job. (Prepare several important points you want the interviewer to remember after you have left; be able to stress them in a short, concise statement.)
Are you tough? Are you aggressive? (Be prepared to back up your answers)
Was the time you spent traveling worth the time you devoted to it?
Do you think your extracurricular activities were worth the time you devoted to them?
Are you willing to relocate?
What do you have, that others may not, that is right for this organization?
Give me an example of a story you think you handled very well.
Give me an example of a story you wished you had covered differently? How would you cover it now?
Walk me through a situation in which you had to get information by asking a lot of questions of a number of people. What were their reactions to the questions? When did you have to go back and rephrase your questions?
Describe a recent time that you were unexpectedly in a position of orally promoting or defending something. How convincing were you?
What arguments did you spontaneously think of during the discussion? How did it turn out?
Getting through college requires a lot of writing. Tell me about some of the writing you?ve done: topics, length, format, etc. What difficulties did you have with any of the written assignments or projects?
What are some of the most difficult writing assignments you have been given or have taken on yourself? Please explain.
Tell me about a time in which you had to use your written communication skills in order to get an important point across.
Describe for me a time when you effectively utilized your editing skills in a written project.
Can you describe a situation in which your written work was criticized?
What classroom experiences do you feel have best prepared you for a career in writing/editing/research?
In the areas where your experience falls short for this job, what steps will you take to make up for this shortfall?
What have you done in the last year to improve your writing/editing/researching skills?
Tell me about your work habits. Would you describe yourself as a hard worker?
Do you work well under pressure?/Do you mind working overtime?
In light of recent world events, do you feel that the media has placed themselves in positive light with regard to public support? Why or why not?

Interview Questions for Nursing Interviews

Describe a challenging problem you faced on one of your clinical rotations. How did you solve the problem?
Give a specific example of a time when you knew you did a good job as a nurse.
How would you respond if a doctor in a rude and haughty tone questioned your work, which you knew to be top-notch and absolutely accurate?
Why did you decide to become a nurse rather than a doctor?
Describe a situation where you found yourself working with someone who was very sensitive or thin-skinned.
If you were told that the nursing field was closed and you could not be a nurse, what would you do?
What types of nursing tasks are most objectionable to you?
Describe a situation you experienced in the past year, connected with nursing that made you angry.
Why did you choose (ER, OR, ICU, LTC, FNP or other specialty area) of nursing?
What do you know about our hospital? About our community?
Tell me about a time when you had to handle an irate physician, co-worker or patient. How did you handle the situation and what was the result?

Interview Questions for Park Management Jobs

What is your management philosophy?
Tell me about a time when you found it necessary to tactfully but forcefully say things that others did not want to hear.
Describe for me a situation that would demonstrate the level of confidence that you have in yourself.
Provide me with an example of how you?ve asserted yourself in an emergency or high-pressure situation.
What management style would you use today, and why?
Thinking back on your previous experience (internship/co-op), pick your finest hour. Describe the assignment or project that you feel best demonstrated your management skills.
Obviously as a manager, you must interact successfully with people, clients, upper management, subordinates, etc. in order to make a positive impact. Can you sketch out two or three key strengths you feel you have in dealing with people?
Describe the process and procedures you would put into place to improve the quality and timeliness of customer service.
Describe a time when you took action to provide quick and thorough service in response to a patron?s request or problem.
What type of ideas do you have for providing patron satisfaction and bringing patrons back on a repeat basis?
If you have done this, give me an example.
How can a supervisor establish effective communication with staff?
Tell me how you have attempted to build trust with your employees, peers and customers.
Would you want your subordinates to like you or respect you as a manager?
What can a supervisor do to enhance an employee?s job and the employee?s motivation?
Tell me about a time when you were able to build team spirit in a time of low morale.
As a manager, you will need to explain policies and procedures to trainees. Think of the most recent time you had to tell other people about an upcoming change.
It is sometimes desirable to lead other people by setting a positive example. Describe a work situation when your example served as a model for others.
Individuals vary in their abilities to influence others. Give me a specific example of a time you were successful in guiding another person to a worthwhile objective.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, subordinates remain confused about their objectives on a project or assignment we have given. How would you help to clarify these items for one of your workers?
What do you know about our park?
Aside from classroom texts, what journals or professional articles are you currently reading for professional development?
What are your expectations regarding your workload as a first year employee with this organization?
What have you done in the last year to improve your management skills?
If your career demands it, would you be willing to relocate in order to advance?
What are some of the hot topics that park managers are talking about?

Interview Questions for School Counseling Positions

What is your philosophy of school counseling?
Tell us about your experience in school counseling.
Describe your ideal school counseling program.
Name and describe three different roles of the school counselor.
What does the phrase developmental guidance program mean to you? Is it really possible to have a developmental guidance program?
Describe the program or activity you developed for which you are most proud. Why did you select this particular program?
Describe your view of an excellent working relationship between the school counselor and teachers. How would you go about achieving this relationship?
What are the limits of confidentiality?
What do you know about our school district?
What would you do if a teacher referred a student to you and then stops you to ask for information?
In your first days in a new school counseling position, what things/activities would you do to establish a positive working relationship with teachers?
A student comes to you and says her friend Jennifer is talking about killing herself. What do you do?
In a small support group 12-year-old John tells everyone he is tired of being picked on and is planning to shoot a boy who is bullying him. What do you do?
A student comes to you and begins to cry, telling you she is being picked on by two girls who used to be her friends. She shares with you that the problem has been going on for over two months and now it is getting worse. What do you do?
In a counseling session thirteen-year-old Sara tells you that her father has touched her inappropriately. What do you do?
When we get emotionally involved in a problem situation, it is often very difficult to be objective. Tell me about a time when you were proud of your ability to be objective even though you were emotional about a situation.
You hear a rumor from a student that two boys took some ki

Interview Questions for Social Workers

Why have you selected a career in social work?
What do you hope to accomplish as a social worker?
Have you had the experience of working with people of a race or sexual orientation different from yours?
Do you feel you can be objective in counseling a teen about abortion?
What do you think of the welfare system?
What is your philosophy of social work?
What techniques do you use in crisis intervention work?
What kinds of things go into a psychological assessment?
How do you describe your personal boundaries?
What do you think of the recent welfare changes?
What do you think is going to happen in the field in the next five years?
What are your thoughts on managed care?
Are you a member of any professional organizations?
How would you handle a psychotic outburst in the clinic waiting room?
In terms of family therapy, what is your theoretical orientation?
How do you handle termination?
Do you believe in short term or long-term treatment?
Think of a client you have liked/disliked and tell me how you dealt with the counter transference issues.
Are you sensitive? Are you intuitive?
Are you an active listener? Are you able to engage clients?
This position requires a lot of independent thinking and initiative. There is minimal supervision. Could you handle that?
What kinds of problems do you like to handle? Can you give me an example?
What kinds of problems are you good at solving? Give me one example.
How would your weaknesses interfere with your ability to do this job?
Would you rather draw up plans and design a program or be responsible for implementing a program? Why?
Knowing what you know now, is there something you would do differently in the management of one of your fieldwork cases?
What do you judge to be your major successes or accomplishments in your fieldwork? How did you achieve these?
What major disappointments/failures have you had in fieldwork?
Are you prepared to make home visits?
How is your previous experience applicable to the work we do here?
Why have you selected a career in social work?
What do you hope to accomplish as a social worker?
Have you had the experience of working with people of a race or sexual orientation different from yours?
Do you feel you can be objective in counseling a teen about abortion?
What do you think of the welfare system?
What is your philosophy of social work?
What techniques do you use in crisis intervention work?
What kinds of things go into a psychological assessment?
How do you describe your personal boundaries?
What do you think of the recent welfare changes?
What do you think is going to happen in the field in the next five years?
What are your thoughts on managed care?
Are you a member of any professional organizations?
How would you handle a psychotic outburst in the clinic waiting room?
In terms of family therapy, what is your theoretical orientation?
How do you handle termination?
Do you believe in short term or long-term treatment?
Think of a client you have liked/disliked and tell me how you dealt with the counter transference issues.
Are you sensitive? Are you intuitive?
Are you an active listener? Are you able to engage clients?
This position requires a lot of independent thinking and initiative. There is minimal supervision. Could you handle that?
What kinds of problems do you like to handle? Can you give me an example?
What kinds of problems are you good at solving? Give me one example.
How would your weaknesses interfere with your ability to do this job?
Would you rather draw up plans and design a program or be responsible for implementing a program? Why?
Knowing what you know now, is there something you would do differently in the management of one of your fieldwork cases?
What do you judge to be your major successes or accomplishments in your fieldwork? How did you achieve these?
What major disappointments/failures have you had in fieldwork?
Are you prepared to make home visits?
How is your previous experience applicable to the work we do here?

To also prepare

1. Know risk assessment/signs of abuse,neglect inside and out.

2. Know how to work with a family to develop a plan.

3. Be able to articulate what interviewilng skills are necessary when working with families we serve.

4. Know how to prioritize multiple tasks that include crisis, telephone msgs, immediates tasks assigned by your boss, personal dr appts, etc.

5. Be able to articulate your understanding of how culture impacts our work with families re abuse/neglect/prevention/intervention/reunification, etc.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Accounting Supervisor Test Questions

ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please read through this material and prepare a written response using a computerized word processing system. Please send a copy of the questions and your responses along with your other application materials.

SECTION I

Based on your past knowledge and experience you see a better way to do a process. You explain your proposed process to the finance manager. Upon discussion and review the finance manager explains several constraints that you were unaware of which would prevent your suggestion from replacing the current processing standard. This has happened several different times with different processes. How would you handle this situation and what would you do next?

You are now working for the City of Walla Walla. You have too much to do and not enough time to do it. How would you handle this situation?

One joy in working for a city is that there are a lot of different kinds of work to be done. You are given a choice of two projects to work on. Both projects are equally important, both need to be done and both will be assigned to somebody. Other workload requirements will be shifted around to reflect the new project assignment. Project one is well understood by a co-worker but she doesn’t have time to do it. She would be available to point you in the right direction, however, and answer questions as they arise. Project two is something brand new to the city but is required and so the city will have to figure out what the new requirements are; how it affects existing computer systems and define a new way forward. This project will require research and creation of new institutional knowledge. It will require the efforts of multiple departments to both implement and maintain the new process. Work load affects being equal, would you request project one or project two and why?

You are now working for the City of Walla Walla. It is the third week of the month and you find yourself having completed all of your monthly tasks. You ask your supervisor for additional work and she gives you the following options. Which task would you request and why?

i. Review the current purchasing policy and the purchasing processing manual and come up with recommendations to update or improve policy/procedures.

ii. Cover for an accounts payable clerk (work is related to your normal duties) who is on vacation that week.

iii. Cover for a utility billing clerk (work that is dissimilar from your normal duties) who is on vacation that week.

iv. Cover for another accountant (work is dissimilar from your normal duties) who is on vacation that week.

v. Test a new upgrade to the existing accounting system using a clone of the accounting software system to find out if there are any “bugs” in the new upgrade. This testing is done on a separate system from the “real” accounting system so that there is no risk in conducting the testing process.

vi. Come up with a training plan and meet with a department that has been making a lot of errors recently in processing that is causing your part of Finance to have to undo and redo work.

vii. Join a task force to coordinate the information flow of infrastructure between Finance, engineering and GIS departments and come up with processes to ensure all the correct data goes to all the correct departments at all the correct times.

Please compare and contrast governmental accounting and private sector accounting.

The city expects to invest in the training, support and professional growth of the selected candidate. Please out line a learning and training plan including the areas, timelines, resources, etc. that you would like in order to grow into a successful, productive, governmental accounting supervisor responsible for accounts payable processing, ambulance billings and collections, governmental bid and purchasing rules, audit and compliance and assisting in the preparation of the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report according to the Governmental Finance Officer’s Association award standards.

SECTION II

SCENARIO #1:

You are working in an accounting environment where: revenue information is posted in the general ledger when the cashier balances her cash drawer at the end of the day and when billings system information is posted throughout the day; disbursement information is posted to the general ledger when vendor checks are printed each day; information for fixed the fixed asset subsidiary system is created when the accounts payable system prints vendor checks; employees are paid once a month when payroll paychecks are posted the third business day of the following month. Departments can pull financial statements at any time and those statements include all information that has been posted at the time the statements are run, but typically departments print the statements about the 5^th of the following month. Full GAAP financial statements are published annually for bonding and audit purposes.

Banking activity (individual deposits, check clearing, transfers, interest revenue and bank fee information) for all accounts are available on-line as it occurs throughout the day. Transfers are made automatically at midnight, from the main account to cover checks that are redeemed in a separate check account. Banking activity reports can be run for any starting and ending range for up to two years. There is no cost to access this information or print these reports.

QUESTION:

On what interval (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) would you recommend reconciling banking activity to the financial system and why did you choose that interval?

SCENARIO #2:

The cash receipting process works as follows. When checks come in the mail, the cashier batches all the checks for accounts receivable together. The cashier runs a ten-key tape of all those checks and then she enters all A/R payments into a special screen that updates the billing system. This screen provides her with a summary list by general ledger account number for her to enter a summary payment into her normal cash receipting screen. When the cashier posts her payment batch at the end of the day the billing system (subsidiary) customer balances screen reflects the payments as well as the general ledger accounts receivable balances. When a customer comes in to the counter to make an A/R payment, the cashier processes the payments in her cash receipt screen that updates the general ledger balances, but not the billing subsidiary customer balances. She then enters into an excel log the customer’s account and payment information. The day the billing clerk prepares the monthly bills, she reads the walk-in customer payment log and enters the payments into the billing system (this entry does not update the general ledger).

QUESTION:

What changes, (getting a new computer system is not an option), if any, would you recommend to the above processing flow and what were your considerations in making the recommendation?

SCENARIO #3:

Interest is earned on cash and investments. The bank posts the interest to our bank account on the last business day of the month. Our cash in the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) post our interest on the last business day of the month, faxes us a statement the first day of the next month and mails us a hard copy 10 business days later. Our other investments have a fixed earnings rate and pay out interest earnings on April 30, and October 31 each year. General ledger cash balances for each fund change daily.

QUESTIONS:

When would you record each type of interest revenue?
What method would you use to allocate revenue between funds?

Please explain your reasoning.

SCENARIO #4:

Fixed asset information is created as a pending record in the fixed asset system as accounts payable is processed. More information is required to be added to the pending fixed asset record to make it complete. Once it is complete, the fixed asset information is posted to the general ledger. The capitalization policy for fixed assets is $5,000 per item and there are approximately 15 items a month that meet this capitalization policy.

QUESTIONS:

When would you recommend:

Completing the pending fixed asset records and posting them to the general ledger?
Running the automatic depreciation expense process and posting depreciation expense/accumulated depreciation?

Please explain your reasons for your recommendation.

Generic Questions for Entry Level Jobs

Tell me about yourself.

Why have you chosen this particular field?

What courses did you like best? Least? Why?

Why did you choose your major and other academic pursuits?

I would like to begin by having you outline for me any practical experience you have had on previous jobs or others that is related to the profession of _______________.

Being able to learn quickly on the job is important. Tell me about a situation when you had to pick up an essential skill quickly.

What was the skill that you had to learn?
What led to this situation?
What did you do that helped you learn quickly?
What was the outcome of this situation?
When was the next time you used this skill? Tell me about it.

Sometimes, demands are placed on new employees that stretch their current knowledge. There are always times when we wish we knew more than we do. Describe an experience when you were most frustrated with your knowledge in _____________. (Tell me about the time that you most needed to know more).

What did you need to know?
How did you try to find it out?
How long was it before the problem was solved?
What did your supervisor say about this event?
What did you do to avoid this problem in the future?
When was the next time this type of situation came up?
What did you do then?

When you are assigned a difficult task, organization is important. Can you think of a time when you organized your work effectively in order to meet a deadline?

What was the task?
Who assigned it?
Who was working on it with you?
What steps did you take to organize the task?
How did the organization help get the work done?
Was the task completed on schedule?
Did you ever receive a comment on your organization? What?
How often did you follow the steps mentioned when organizing your work?

Give me an example of a problem you encountered either in school or at work and explain how you solved it.

We are interested in how you show initiative to go beyond everyday requirements. Give me an example of when you showed initiative on the job

What did you do that was beyond the call of duty?

What led you to take this initiative?
What was the outcome of your actions?
Did your senior say anything about your action? What?
How often in the past year did you show this kind of initiative?
Tell me about another time.

There are always times when things are so busy that your job can be quite hectic. There are also times when you have little to do. Tell me about the slowest period in your recent experience.

When did this occur?
What caused the slowdown?
What did you do during this period?
What were your co-workers doing during this time?
Did your senior comment on your efforts? What was said?
How often did this kind of slow period come up?
Did you ever handle it differently? What did you do differently that time?

How do you spend your spare time?

What are your major strengths / weaknesses?

Sometimes, we all run into frustrating customers or clients. Tell me about the most frustrating person that you had to deal with recently.

What specifically did the person do that was frustrating?
What did you do to resolve the difficulties this created?
How did the person react to what you did?

Tell me about a time when you were able to help improve a work procedure by making good suggestions to your supervisor or co-worker.

Where did you get the idea for the suggestion?
What suggestions did you make?
What help did you get from your supervisor on this suggestion?
How often were you able to offer this kind of help last year?
What comments did you receive?

Even the best of us have disagreements with co-workers from time to time. Describe the most serious disagreement you've had with a co-worker.

When did this happen?
What led to the disagreement?
How did you first approach solving the disagreement?
How did the co-worker respond?
What was the outcome of this disagreement?

Describe an experience in which you worked as part of a team.

Describe your best / worst boss.

In general, what do you consider to be your strengths in ___________?

What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

What have been your most satisfying and most disappointing experiences?

Explain how your past work experiences will aid you in the profession of ________?

There are many qualified individuals applying for a limited number of positions. What can you tell me that would make you stand out among the rest?

Why do you feel you would be successful in _______________?

Where do you see yourself in three years?

What are your long-term goals? Where do you hope to be in ten years?

If you were stranded on an island, what three items would you take with you and why?

If you could be an animal, which would it be and why?

What was the last book you read?

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Interview Questions--Legal Intern

1. Why are you interested in this firm?

Ans: Your firm handled (insert name of case I read on their website) which I found to be exciting because it was just like another case I was reading in this class I got an A in. I've also asked some upper class-men about your office and they said it's a great work environment.

2. Why did you go to law school?

Ans: I went to law school because I want to be able to make a difference. Legal work allows me to be competitive and to work for justice, both of which are important things in my life.

3. Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of the kind of work you will do as an attorney?

Ans: Law school has been a challenge, and I think my grades reflect that. More important than my grades, which by the way have steadily improved over my academic career, is my dedication to the work I do. My performance during my summer jobs is the best indicator of how I will work, and you will find that my previous employers were all pleased with me (or at least forgot who I am and so will not remember the fuck ups). .

4. What would you say is your greatest weakness?
Ans: My greatest weakness is that I get too personally involved with my work. For instance, when I am working on trial prep, and then the case settles favorably, I feel as though it should have gone to trial anyway, despite knowing that the settlement is what's best for our firm and our client.

5. Tell us about a recent mistake that you have made.

Ans: I accidentally misfiled a case at work that was set to go to trial the next week. As soon as I realized this, I alerted my supervisor and disaster was averted.

6. What do you do for fun?

Ans. I enjoy jogging, skydiving, and traveling to exotic countries.

7. Tell us about your style of leadership.

Ans: I lead by taking the initiative and working proactively with my peers to come up with solutions.

8. If you don't get hired by this firm, what will you do?

I will analyze what I could have done better during the interview and take that knowledge with me into my next interview with [rival firm name].

9. Do you have any questions for us?

Ans: Will I have a key so that I can come in and work on the weekends?

10. We value creativity among our associates. With that in mind, what kind of plant would you be, and why? Ans. I would be a tree, because they are tall, strong, and live a long life.

Sample Interview Questions--Lawyers

Why do you want to be a lawyer?
Why did you decide to attend law school?
Why did you choose this particular law firm?
In what school activities have you participated? Why?
Which did you enjoy most?
How do you spend your spare time?
What jobs have you held? How were they obtained, and why did you leave?
What courses have you liked best in law school? Least? Why?
Is your GPA an accurate reflection of your abilities? Why or why not?
Why did you apply to our firm (or respond to our desire to interview you)?
What do you know about our firm?
Do you feel your legal education has been good?
What qualifications do you have that will make you successful in this field?
What makes you think you're a good lawyer?
How interested are you in sports?
If you were starting law school all over, would you still attend?
What is your rank in school? Is your GPA a good indicator of your abilities?
Was your involvement in school activities worth the time you devoted to them? Why?
What characteristics do you think a person needs to be a successful attorney?
Why do you think you would like practicing law?
What do you think you'll be doing during your first year with our firm?
Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?
Who are your best friends? Why?
What areas of law interest you?
Can you take instructions without feeling upset?
How did previous employers treat you?
What have you learned from other jobs you have held?
Can we get recommendations from your previous employers?
What interests you about our firm? Why would you want to represent our clients?
Have you ever had to withdraw from a class?
Have you ever had any difficulty getting along with fellow students or faculty?
What is the source of your spending money?
Do you like routine work?
Define cooperation.
What interests you about the legal system?
Are you willing to fight to get ahead?
What area of law interests you? Why?
What job with the firm would you choose if you were given the choice?
Which of our practice areas interest you and why?
What types of people seem to rub you the wrong way?
What are your special abilities?
What do you think the disadvantages of practicing law are?
What have you done that shows initiative and a willingness to work?
How many hours a day do you think a person should work?
What are your goals?
Do you have any questions for us?
Tell me about a professional failure and how you handled it.
Why should we hire you over our other applicants?
Tell me about a time when you had to accomplish a task under a tight deadline while working with someone who was difficult to get along with.
What are the three most important things that you contribute to an organization? What are the three most important things that you could contribute to our firm?
What are some of the most imaginative and creative things that you have done in a job?How do you deal with stress or conflict? What clues have you come to recognize as signals that you may be under too much stress?
How would a good friend describe you?
What kind of people do you find most difficult to work with?
What do you think are the most important characteristics and abilities for any person’s success?
How do you rate yourself in these areas?
When have you failed?
Describe the circumstances and how you dealt with, and learned from, the experience.
Describe the work environment that you consider optimal for your personal satisfaction and best performance.
Scenario: You are an attorney working at our firm on a day when you are the only person in the office. An elderly woman comes into the office asking to see a lawyer right away. She does not have an appointment but says that she needs to sign some papers. She has no papers with her. What do you do?
Scenario: You are meeting with a 65-year-old gentleman to take will instructions. He tells you that he has three adult children who are financially well off. He advises that he is divorced, pays spousal support to his ex-wife, and is currently living common law with another woman. Although he has no problems sharing most of his personal information, he refuses to answer any questions about his assets and tells you to write down $1 as his net worth. How do you proceed?
Tell me about what you would consider a major accomplishment.
How do you manage your day?
What motivates you?
If offered this position, how long do you plan to stay with us?

Interview Questions with a Technology Law Practice

How does your experience and education qualify you for the position in our Technology Law Group?
Focus on the aspects of your experience that apply to this position. Include any information technology experience, knowledge or training.
Tell me about a challenging situation in which you had to apply both your legal skills and technical knowledge.
Would you say that your strength is in drafting or in the substantive review of documents? Why?
Regardless of where your strength is, provide examples of why drafting or substantive review is a strength. Can you tie it to technology or some aspect of this position?
How would your current law firm assess your drafting ability?
What the biggest mistake that you've made in your legal career? What did you learn from that mistake?
You've supervised project teams before, what steps do you take to insure that project teams work effectively and efficiently?
What experience do you have in negotiating technology contracts?
Give me an example of your ability to work under pressure and deal with deadlines in the legal environment.
Based on your knowledge of technology, what technological changes do you see in the next five years that will have the greatest legal impact?
What salary are you seeking?
How does your experience and qualifications match up to the job? Do you know how much other companies are paying? Check Salary.com for complete salary information.
Do you have anything to add?

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Sample Questions for Quantitative Roles

Statistics
How do you test whether a data sample is normal or not?

Math
Show that a set is convex if and only if its intersection with any line is convex. Show that a set is affine if and only if its intersection with any line is affine.

Bond Pricing
I don't know anything about bond pricing, but I've heard people use something called the discount rate when they price bonds. Can you explain what this "discount rate" is? Why is it important? Where do I get its value? What is the current discount rate (as of today)? When I price a 30-year bond, should I use today's discount rate or should I use a different discount rate for each of the next 30 years?

Probability Theory
Say you are on a game show [historical side note: this question was first played on the 60s American game show Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Monty Hall], and there are three closed doors. Behind one door is a car, the prize you dream of, and behind the other two are goats. You pick a door. The host, who knows what's behind each door, opens another which reveals a goat. Now, the host lets you make another choice: should you stick with you first door choice, or should you switch and pick a different door, in order to win the car?

Applied MathWhat's a Hermitian matrix? What important property does a Hermitian matrix's eigenvalues possess? What's the practical implication of this property in applications?Econometrics - Time Series
Is an AR(p) process stationary? Why or why not?
Tough question: in practice, how do you determine the order of an MA or AR model?

Statistics
Random variable X is distributed as N(a, b), and random variable Y is distributed as N(c, d). What is the distribution of (1) X+Y, (2) X-Y, (3) X*Y, (4) X/Y?
(Comment: another very popular quant interview question, regardless of whether the position itself involves statistical modeling)

Econometrics
What are some of the causes of heteroskedasticity? How do you test for the presence of heteroskedasticity? (Please name at least two tests.) Finally, what are some of the techniques for dealing with heteroskedasticity?

Options
What's put-call parity in option pricing? How does one derive this relationship? What crucial assumptions are necessary?

Tough case question: if you observe put-call parity not currently holding in the market, how do you make money off this observation? As you trade, what do you need to watch out for and what risks must you be aware of?

Math - Stochastics
Show that exp{-t/2 + W(t)} is a martingale.

Portfolio Theory
Consider the utility function U(W) = W-1/2 . What are the characteristics of this function with respect to absolute and relative risk aversion?
Explain the difference between absolute and relative risk aversion.
[First question taken from chapter 10 of Elton, et al. Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis]

C++
Is the following valid C++ code? If so, what does it print?
cout << (int *) "Home of the jolly bytes"; Taken from chapter 4 of Prata, C++ Primer Plus (5th ed.) Financial Economics-Related Case Question
When you trade stocks, what are some of the different types of cost associated with your trading? How would you mitigate each type of cost?
(Hint: a cost need not be explicit...)

Econometrics - Time Series
What's a GARCH model? Why is it an important/useful model? When would you use the GARCH model?
Can you write down its general formulation? What does the GARCH model say in plain English? What does it "try" to achieve?
How do you determine the order of the model? How do you estimate the model in practice?
Tough follow-up question: how do you implement a GARCH model in Excel?

Econometrics - Time Series
People use the GARCH model to study volatility. Can you tell me if we can use the GARCH framework to study the correlation between two assets/time series? If so, what additional assumptions and/or adjustments must we make to the original GARCH model?

Brainteaser
With an ordinary tape measure and a watch, how would you measure the exact height of the Empire State Building (or the Sears Tower, or the Big Ben Clock Tower, or the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, or any famous tall building)?

Brainteaser - Logic - Deduction
(There are many versions of this type of question. Here are some examples.)
1. How many pizzas are consumed every day in the U.S.?
2. How many gas stations are there in the U.S.?
3. How many cars are stolen every month in the U.S.?
4. How many prostitutes do you think work the streets in New York (or London, or L.A., or Shanghai, or Tokyo, or Singapore, ...)?
5. How many quants are there in the world?
6. How many people make their livings on Wall Street?
7. How many university graduates try to find a job on Wall Street each year?
8. How many tennis balls can you fit in a Boeing 747 (or Airbus A320)?
9. How many Yankees fans go to every home game each season?
10. How many people in China can speak English?

Case Question
You work for an arbitrage desk. Your model shows that if you bought stock A and simultaneously sold stock B, you have a 51.3% chance of making a profit by today's close. Should you make this trade?

Control Theory
The latest "hot" topic in financial research is using the Kalman filter in various applications. Can you explain the basic idea behind the Kalman filter (i.e., what does the filter try to do with the data)? Can you write the basic Kalman filter model? What are some of the applications of the Kalman filter?
Tough question: How do you estimate (or implement) the Kalman filter? For example, to study stock price movement.

Asset pricing
Tell me the intuition behind CAPM. Can you write down the model? What does each of the variables stand for?

Two tough advanced questions: How do you test CAPM using real data? What are the major points of criticism against CAPM?

Econometrics
When modeling binary-choice problems, what are the advantages of using logit over probit? What are the disadvantages of logit vs. probit?

What about multiple-choice models: is logit or probit better?

Finance
What does VaR (value at risk) measure? What are some of the assumptions behind the VaR concept? Given two portfolios A and B, does the following relationship hold: VaR(A+B) = VaR(A) + VaR(B)? Why or why not (i.e., prove your previous answer)?

Stochastic Calculus
What is Ito's Lemma? What is its significance in studying stochastic processes? How is it used in finance? Can you write out the equation?

When used to model financial derivatives, what assumptions must be made of the properties of the derivatives for Ito's Lemma to be applied correctly?

Programming
I give you a text file, x.txt, which has millions of records with three columns in each record:
ID, age, income

The records are sorted by ID, and no two IDs are the same.

Now, write a short program in each of the following languages to pull out 10,000 randomly selected records from x.txt. Put these 10,000 randomly pulled records in an output file called y.txt.
C++
Visual Basic
Matlab
Perl
Python
SAS
R or S-Plus
UNIX shell script

Programming
You get the same input file x.txt with millions of records sorted by ID. However, some records are missing either age or income.

Now, your task is to write a program to pull out a random sample of 10,000 records, but only those with neither age nor income missing.

(Comment: both questions #21 and #22 test your ability to both write a working program and to produce an efficient program - but foremost you must write a program that works correctly)

Linear Algebra
In linear algebra, why are we interested in matrix decompositions? Explain each of the following:
LU decomposition

Singular value decomposition (SVD)

Cholesky decomposition

QR decomposition

When and how is each of these decomposition techniques applied?

(Comment: matrix operations, including decompositions, are extremely important in applied quantitative finance - they are often the clue between modeling and implementation)

Mathematical Brainteaser
Answer this as fast as you can, without writing anything down:

The perimeter of a right triangle is 5 inches. The two legs are each 2 inches long. What's the length of the hypotenuse?

Finance - Asset Pricing
Can you show me how the APT model is derived? What's the intuition behind APT? How does it compare to CAPM? What are some of the criticisms of APT?

Mathematics
What is Jensen's Inequality? What are some of its applications? Can you write out the inequality and provide a sketch of a proof?

(Hint: Jensen's Inequality is an important concept in probability theory; other important inequalities include Hölder's Inequality and Minkowski's Inequality)

Economics - Game Theory
What's a Nash equilibrium? Can you write down its formal definition? Can you provide an example?

SQL
In SQL, what's an inner join and what's an outer join? What's the difference between a left join and a right join?

Statistics
How do you calculate sample variance? Show me the formula and implement it in C or C++.

Finance Case Question
There are two stocks A and B. I already own A, but I'm thinking of buying B to replace A. (I can only own either A or B at the same time.) I'm a U.S.-based investor subject to all U.S. taxes. How will my tax situation affect my decision whether to keep A, or to sell A and buy B? Please explain in detail.

Probability Theory
There are 30 people in my group. What are the odds that at least two people share the same birth month and day (e.g., July 25). What are the odds that exactly two people share the same birth month and day? Finally, what are the odds that everybody was born in the same decade (where a decade is defined as any ten-year span, not necessarily "50s" or "60s" or "70s" etc.)?

Statistics
What's the difference between the t-stat and R2 in a regression? What does each measure? When you get a very large value in one but a very small value in the other, what does that tell you about the regression?

Options
Can you plot an option's delta as a function of the underlying stock's price? What does this plot tell you?

Perl
In Perl, given a hash %bonus where the key is employee ID and the value represents the employee's expected year-end bonus, sort this hash by value from highest bonus to lowest.
Bonus question: how would you do this whole ID-->bonus mapping and sorting in C++ or C#?

Brainteaser
(The interviewer writes down the following equation on the whiteboard...)
XI + I = X

This is an equation expressed in Roman numerals. Imagine this equation is actually written out using sticks.

Without touching or adding any stick, how can you make this equation true?

Financial Time Series
What is Principal Component Analysis? Please explain in plain English as well as write down the model.
How does PCA differ from factor analysis?(Comment: PCA is used heavily in studying asset returns; it is, for instance, a backbone of statistical arbitrage models)

Probability Theory
You are offered to play a game of chance. A fair coin is tossed repeatedly until you get the first tails, at which point the game ends and you get the prize. The prize "pot" starts at $1 and doubles each time you get heads. So for instance, if you get heads the first toss, the pot becomes $2. If you get heads again the second toss, the pot becomes $4. If you get heads the third time, the pot becomes $8. If the fourth toss gives you the tail of the coin, you win and take home the $8 prize.

Before you play, you must pay a fee to enter this game. The question is, what's the maximum amount you're willing to pay in order to play this game? Explain your answer carefully.

Probability Theory
What's the expectation of a uniform(a, b) distribution? What's its variance? Please derive your answers in mathematical terms, starting with the pdf.

Derivatives
Explain the difference between a futures contract and a forward contract. How are they priced differently?

Statistics
Given a dataset, how do you determine its sample distribution? Please provide at least two methods.

Algebra
Let n be a natural number. Give the reduced expression for the following:
(1) 1+2+3+...+n
(2) 1+22+32+...+n2
(3) 1+23+33+...+n3
(4) 1+2k+3k+...+nk, where k is another natural number.

C++
What are virtual functions in C++? What are they used for? Please write down an example of a virtual function to illustrate its usage.

Stochastics
A random walk process starts at the point 0. What is the probability that this random walk hits -2 before it hits 3? What if the process is a Brownian motion instead?

Options
What is the lower bound for the price of a European call option on a non-dividend-paying stock? Can you derive this lower bound in a formal fashion?
Now, what if the call option is American? What if the stock pays a dividend every quarter?

Excel
There are at least two ways in Excel to perform an OLS regression. What are they? What are some of the limitations of doing OLS in Excel (as opposed to using a real statistical package like EViews, Stata, R, S-Plus, or SAS)?

Capital Markets
Why do price spreads exist in asset-trading markets? Can spreads ever be negative? If so, under what conditions?
Tougher: what are some examples of markets where price spreads do not necessarily exist?

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us