Finance Interview Questions

§ What do you know about our company? (CEO, Stock Price / Ticker Symbol, Recent Deals, Strategy–International/Equity Powers/Client Base, Strengths/Weaknesses, Competition?

§ Why do you want to work in this industry?

§ Why do you want to work for our company?

§ Why did you decide to go to b-school? Why a good time in your career?

§ Why did you choose Kenan-Flagler? What other schools did you consider and why?

§ What led you to choose your field or major study?

§ What jobs have you enjoyed the most? The least? Why?

§ What qualifications do you have that make you feel that you will be successful in your field?

§ What have you done which shows initiative and willingness to work?

§ Demonstrate a time you’ve showed initiative?

§ Do you have an analytical mind? Show me.

§ How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies? Why do you enjoy them?

§ What are your long range and short range goals? Why?

§ Where do see yourself five years from now? Ten years from now?

§ What are your priorities in life? Money, career, family, friendship, etc?

§ How do you define success?

§ How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

§ What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

§ How would your peers describe you? Subordinates? Bosses? Friends?

§ How would you describe yourself?

§ Why should I hire you?

§ What qualifications do you have that make you think that you will be successful in this business?

§ Why should I hire you?

§ What skills/qualities separate you from the other candidates we’re talking to?

§ Name an accomplishment you’re most proud of? Why?

§ What’s the most important decision you’ve made, other than deciding coming to b-school?

§ Tell me about a failure in your life? What did you learn?

§ What subject at b-school do you like best? Least? Why?

§ Do you think that your grades are an indication of your academic achievement? Undergrad / at KFBS?

§ Tell me about a time when you were under a lot of pressure and how did you handle it?

§ What criteria are you using to evaluate the company for which you hope to work?

§ Who else are you talking to?

§ What’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done?

§ Tell me about a time when you were innovative?

§ What are you expecting out of a summer internship?

§ What is my name?

§ What do you expect to be doing on a day-to-day basis in this job?

§ Tell me a joke?

§ I like you – why do you think that is?

§ What do you want to know about our firm?

COMMON INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

INVESTMENT BANKING

§ Why do you want to work/live in NYC?

§ What excites you most about investment banking? Why do you want to work in this business?

§ In what area of the bank are you most interested? Product/Industry?

§ Why did you choose Kenan-Flagler if you wanted to be on Wall Street?

§ Discuss three distinct methods commonly used to value a company?

§ It’s 10pm and you have a pitch to prepare for morning – what would you do to prepare a valuation for the client company?

§ I see you worked for Company X. What valuation methods would you use to value Company X and why? Which companies would you use as comparables and why? What multiples would you use to compare and why?

§ Reconcile Free Cash Flow from Net Income.

§ Can you walk me through how you would determine a company’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)?

§ If a target company has a higher P/E than the acquirer in an all-stock deal, will the acquisition be accretive or dilutive?

§ If the Fed raises interest rates, what happens typically to bond prices? Bond Yields? Stock market? Why?

§ What are the benefits of pooling versus purchase method in an acquisition?

SALES & TRADING

§ Why do you want to work/live in NYC?

§ What excites you most about sales & trading? Why do you want to work in this business?

§ Why did you choose Kenan-Flagler if you wanted to be on Wall Street?

§ What are the roles of a sales/trader? How do they create value?

§ What qualities should a successful sales/trader possess?

§ What do you think caused the Asian crisis? Do you think the affected countries are now on the right track for recovery?

§ What are your overall thoughts on the Economy- Why? What does that mean for the stock/bond markets?

§ What is the current trading multiple of the S&P and do you see that expanding or contracting?

§ What about the shape of the yield curve? (obviously a more fixed income oriented question)

§ If you had $1MM, what asset classes would you look to invest in and why?

§ Lots of logic questions- for example, two trains are 100 miles apart and traveling toward each other at 40MPH and 60MPH respectively, when will they collide?

INDUSTRY FINANCE

· Why do you want to work in the finance area?

· Why do you want to work in this industry? This company?

· What do you think should be our largest expense item on our income statement / biggest asset or liability on our balance sheet?

· What is the difference between NPV and IRR and why would you use one over the other?

· Could you briefly describe how you would prepare a cash flow statement if you are given an income statement and a balance sheet.

· Could you briefly describe how you would evaluate a new machine/ plant/ aircraft that we are considering acquiring?

· What do you hope to accomplish over the summer, or what kind of a project would you like over the summer?

· What do you think is the role of finance in an organization or in our company?

· If profits / revenues have declined in the most recent quarter over the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter a year ago, how would explain or analyze the variance?

INTERVIEW GUIDANCE

DON’T FORGET THE BIG PICTURE…

Before you get bogged down in the minutiae of answering specific questions, think about the following broad, general issues:

§ Why do want to work in the financial services industry?

§ Why do you want to work in a particular area of a financial services firm (i.e., Investment Bank, Sales & Trading, Private Client Services)?

§ Why do you want to work for the firms that you’re interviewing?

If you give these issues serious thought and arrive at real answers then the answers to detailed questions will come more easily. If you decide that financial services is not the industry for you then you have saved yourself a lot of time, money and disappointment.

UNDERSTAND THE OBJECTIVE OF THE INTERVIEW

Make sure you know what you want to accomplish from the interview – Treat the interview as a 30 minute sales pitch. Don’t approach it as coming to the right answers – anticipate why the question is being asked. Be clear and concise in your response and focus your answer on communicating the points you want to sell.

SILENCE

When you’ve finished a response to a question, though it may seem difficult, simply smile and remain silent yourself. Answer a question to the best of your ability and then relax. Interviewers often use this silence to see if you can handle stress and still maintain poise.

GUIDANCE ON ASKING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Questions you have for the interviewer are your main vehicle for showing your enthusiasm. Before your interview, outline the things you hope to learn about the organization and your role within it. Be sure you will not come up blank when asked (as you doubt will be) "Do you have any questions?" Salary and benefit questions, however, should not be discussed until you have an offer.

Have questions for the interviewer. However, don't ask questions that could be answered by company literature or through basic research. Ask questions to gain information that you are sincerely seeking. By being an active listener during the interview, you may come up with questions you hadn't thought about prior to the interview: questions about the work environment; what motivates the interviewer in working for company X; what the track records of previous hires have been, etc., etc.

INTERVIEWING TIPS

"In the fields of observation, chance favors only the mind that is prepared." Although this quote, which is attributed to Louis Pasteur, relates to study in the sciences, it aptly describes the successful interviewee. Chance plays only a small role in the success of an interviewee who is well prepared.

1. Be prepared for all interviews. Know about the company and yourself.

2. Remember basic courtesy. Be on time or appropriately early for any appointment, refrain from bad habits and be courteous to the interviewer, even if he is not.

3. Show enthusiasm and energy. This is CRITICAL to a successful interview!

4. Remain poised and confident. If every other rule slips your mind, be sure to remember this one.

5. Be honest. Do not try to second-guess interviewers and tell them what you think they may want to hear.

6. Answer the Questions. The key to answering the questions asked is listening to them. Be positive with all answers.

7. Have examples for the skills you claim.

8. Don't forget your sense of humor – smile and have fun.

9. End the interview naturally