Posts Tagged ‘Interview Prep’

Storytelling Your Way to a Job

Friday, March 4th, 2011

In a recent article in Inc. Magazine, Peter Guber discusses the art of storytelling. Storytelling is an essential tool in thinking about the interview preparation process.

Gruber defines purposeful storytelling as “a story you tell with a specific purpose in mind. So when you tell a joke, you want make someone laugh, or if you tell a story about someone who had a hear attack it may be because you want the listener to exercise.”

The job interview is no different. Your intention is to convince the interviewer that you are an excellent fit for the position and someone others will enjoy working with. Begin with this goal in mind and this will shape the strategy of every story you provide for your interview responses. Above all else remember “the goal of your story must be to show what is in it for the listeners” (or in this case the company rep).

Happy story telling!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-KtR4vM4eg

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10 Books to Read Before Your Finance Interview

Friday, February 18th, 2011

If you are preparing for a career in finance or just want to learn more about the stock market you may have noticed the enormous amount of material on the internet and at bookstores. Most of this information is not worth the paper it’s printed on.

Save yourself some time and focus on the best books. The following are ten excellent books on finance, economics, and investing. The list contains a mixture of textbooks, humorous accounts of the industry, as well as guides from the top investment professionals. And now, in no particular order…

  1. Monkey Business (Rolfe and Troob) – A classic book recounting investment banking war stories. Provides an insider’s perspective of what goes on behind closed doors on Wall Street.
  2. Liar’s Poker (Lewis) – A humorous account of the Sales and Trading floor at Salomon Brothers. A must read for any future banker.
  3. When Genius Failed (Lowenstein) – Analysis of how Long-Term Capital Management- the highly acclaimed hedge fun- failed (the fund lost $4.6B in the span of 4 months in 1994).
  4. Financial Analysis for Managers (Higgins) – Popular Finance Textbook.
  5. Principles of Corporate Finance (Brealey and Meyers) – Popular Finance Textbook.
  6. The Intelligent Investor (Graham) – Originally published in 1949, this is the classic guide to “value investing”.  As Warren Buffet says, “by far the best book on investing ever written.”
  7. Irrational Exuberance (Shiller) – An excellent introduction to behavioral economics and the irrationality with which investors approach the markets. Originally written in 2000 as a warning about the rising stock market which eventually crashed.
  8. Stocks for the Long Run (Siegel) – One of the best known books on stock market investing. Evaluates the history of the stock market and makes a case for investing in stocks.
  9. A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Malkiel) -Burton Malkiel argues that the stock market is essentially efficient and that investing in individual stocks is a silly proposition.
  10. This Time is Different (Reinhart, Rogoff) – This recent book explores the history of financial downturns. It argues that there are clear patterns and understanding them can help us avoid future recessions.

Originally published for my friends at Online Degrees Today.

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What should I ask at the end of the interview?

Friday, February 11th, 2011

The last five minutes of the interview is your chance to ask questions. There is nothing more embarrassing  than being caught off guard with nothing intelligent to say. It’s one thing to struggle with  interview questions that you are not expecting, but in this part of the interview you should have excellent questions prepared.

Here are a few tips for asking excellent questions at the end of an interview:

1) Do not ask about how you did in the interview.
2) Do not ask about work/life balance.
3) Do not ask anything about personal life.
4) Do not ask generic questions that make it seem that you know little about the role/company.
5) Research the  company and the industry thoroughly to ask targeted questions.
6) Try to include articles/books you have read if they relate to to the organization to show your passion for the industry.

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The Key to Any Interview…

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Interviewers are people. They are excited by interesting people and they are bored by boring people. The top candidate is almost never the person who has the best “technical skills”. It is the person who has intellect, passion, and exciting experiences. I want to hire someone that I would enjoy having dinner with or drinking a beer with.

In my interviews, I always mention my backpacking adventures in Southeast Asia, India, and South America. I always mention my high school debate experience and love of chess, backgammon, and Risk. Interviewers can relate to these experiences, they want to ask more questions about them and hear my stories. These connections and experiences are what ultimately lead to job offers.

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The Super Bowl Job Search

Monday, February 7th, 2011

The job search is similar to the Super Bowl in several ways.

1) You don’t just wake up and find yourself playing in the national championship game. The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers worked hard all season and defeated tough opponents to make it to the Super Bowl. Similarly, you don’t just wake up and find yourself interviewing for the job of your dreams. It takes careful planning, preparation, and hard work to make it to the big day.

2) Making it to the Super Bowl is not enough- the teams are there to win the game. They carefully prepare before the game by analyzing the opponents strategy, picking apart the offense and defense, and finding vulnerabilities that can be attacked. Interview day also takes careful preparation. Candidates should research the organization thoroughly and figure out how they can add value  in the position.

3) Winners Win. In sports and in the job search process winners win. Those individuals that are well prepared for interviews are more successful in the interview process, which continues to build confidence and translates into interview success.


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Responding to the Most Difficult Interview Questions

Friday, February 4th, 2011

It is impossible to anticipate every single potential interview question, so you should expect to be caught off guard at some point in the interview. The key is how you choose to respond when faced with this situation. Things to think about:

1) Remember that it is perfectly okay to take some time to think about an answer. You may say something such as, “that’s a great question. Let me take a few seconds and think about a good example.” As an interviewer, I would much rather wait for 20 seconds for a response, rather than hearing a terrible answer.

2) If the question is very technical in nature and you don’t have an answer, you should be honest. For example, in a finance interview the interviewer may ask you to explain the “beta” of a stock. If you have no idea what “beta” is you can say the following:“Unfortunately, I am not sure what “beta” means but I am looking forward to learning more about finance during my summer internship experience. I am also currently enrolled in a Corporate Finance class and I anticipate that we will cover this topic.”

3) Another approach to a question you don’t know the answer to is to say something about what you do know the answer to (must be related). Here’s an example to a question about your view of Brazil’s economy. “Although I have not had the chance to follow recent news about the Brazilian Economy, I do follow the other emerging markets, especially India and China. India recently… ” (continue  with analysis).

FYI: Beta describes excess stock returns over excess market returns. Or, more simply, how the return of a specific stock compares with the return of the market as a whole.

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Your attitude counts…a lot!

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

Interviews are not simply a test of your knowledge, they are also a test of your character and personality. Employers want to know that you will work well on a team, respond constructively to criticism, and exhibit leadership in times of crisis.

As you practice answering various interview questions think about the content as well as the delivery. What attitude are you conveying as your describe your biggest weakness or an example of how you handled a conflict among team members? Does your style match the content? Is it authentic?

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