Interviewing on Wall St Fall 2013

WELCOME!
5 PM
10th annual

INTERVIEWING ON WALL STREET
PANEL PRESENTATION
6:30 PM

FINANCIAL SERVICES
NETWORKING RECEPTION
Co-sponsored by:

Equity Society, Fixed Income Society, Mergers & Acquisitions Society, The Clay Center at VSB & University
Career Center in collaboration with the Villanova Financial Club (VU Alumni working on Wall Street)


10th annual

Interviewing on Wall Street Panel &
Networking Reception

Agenda
Welcome
- Dr. Patrick Maggitti - Dean, Villanova School of Business

Introduction of Speakers/Panelists
Featured Speakers
 Q&A with Panel
Wrap-Up & Introduction of Reception Employers
Financial Services Networking Reception
Co-sponsored by: Equity Society, Fixed Income Society, Mergers & Acquisitions Society, The Clay Center at VSB &

University Career Center in collaboration with the Villanova Financial Club (VU Alumni working on Wall Street)


10th annual

Interviewing on Wall Street Panel &
Networking Reception

Panelists

 George Coleman(VU ‘78) - Moderator

Managing Director-Investment Banking; Vice Chairman-Global Equities, Credit Suisse

 Bob Bosse (VU ‘86)

Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Bank, JP Morgan

 Steve Hanwacker (VU ’01)

Senior Financial Advisor, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

 Bryan Rolfe (VU ‘86)

Managing Director, Debt Capital Markets, BMO Capital Markets

 Todd Sullivan(VU '95)

Managing Director- ISG Operations, Morgan Stanley

 Kathleen Barr (VU ’14) – Barclays S’13 Finance Intern; Biology Major
 Katharine Macomber (VU ’14) – Barclays S’13 Compliance Intern; Arts Economics Major
Co-sponsored by: Equity Society, Fixed Income Society, Mergers & Acquisitions Society, The Clay Center at VSB &
University Career Center in collaboration with the Villanova Financial Club (VU Alumni working on Wall Street)


10th annual

Interviewing on Wall Street Panel &
Networking Reception

George Coleman
(VU ‘78)

Managing Director-Investment

Banking; Vice Chairman-Global Equities,

Credit Suisse

Co-sponsored by: Equity Society, Fixed Income Society, Mergers & Acquisitions Society, The Clay Center at VSB &
University Career Center in collaboration with the Villanova Financial Club (VU Alumni working on Wall Street)


Villano va
How to Prepare for an Interview
September 2013

The materials may not be used or relied upon in any way.

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What Does A Global Financial Institution Do?
PRIVATE
PRIVATE BANKING/
BANKING
WEALTH MGMT
We alth manag e me nt
s o lutio ns
Co rpo rate & Re tail
Bank in S witze rland

INVES TMENT BANKING
S ale s & Trading
Prime Bro ke rag e
Re s e arc h
Capital rais ing and
advis o ry s e rvic e s
S HARED S ERVICES

Co rpo rate Co mmunic atio ns
Human Re s o urc e s
Info rmatio n Te c hno lo g y
Le g al & Co mplianc e
Ope ratio ns
Ris k

AS S ET MANAGEMENT
Alte rnative s
As s e t Allo c atio n
Glo bal Dis tributio n

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Prepare before you go
Pre paratio n is half the battle

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What We Look For
Applic atio ns

Team
amPlaye
Playerr
Te
Collabo
llaboratio
rationn
Co

kills
SSkills

Proble
blemm
Pro
lving/Inte
/Intelle
llecct t
SSoolving

Leade
adersrship
hip
Le
Potetential
ntial
Po
>150 Hire s

Initiativeand
and
Initiative
Drive
Drive

Communic
mmunicatio
ationn
Co

kills
SSkills

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Interview Best Practices
 Firs t Ro und

 On Campus
 On Trading Desk
 With HR Recruiter
 S upe r Day

 Five 30 minute interviews
 Usually about 30 candidates
 Think of it as the Super Bowl. J ob offers are made the next day.

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Interview Best Practices from the Interviewers
Perspective
 Inte rvie ws

 Be s t Prac tic e s

 Your job is to elicit evidence from the candidate to support your
rating on each competency

 Be clear on what core competency you are testing
 Let the candidate talk 80% of the time; remember, you have the
job already!

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Interview Structure
 Ope ning

 Introduce yourself – your role and tenure with the Firm
 Putting an initially nervous candidate at ease (e.g., by switching to a
non-interview discussion tangent)

 Clo s ing

 About 3–4 minutes prior to end, wind down the interview:
– ask if there is anything else the candidate would like to tell you
– allow the candidate to ask one or two questions
– thank candidate for his/her time; provide your contact information
should candidate have further questions (and return his/her call)

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Do your homework -- R e s e arch
Be fo re yo u arrive at a Wall S t. inte rvie w yo u mus t:
Kno w re c e nt indus try ne ws
Kno w the firm

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What does the firm do?
What separates the firm from its competitors?
What major transactions has the firm been a part of recently or in the past?
How successful has the firm been recently or in the past?
The basics: top leadership, major locations, number of employees, etc

Kno w the po s itio n

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What are the required skills / qualifications the job demands?

For which division are you interviewing?
What does a typical analyst do in this division?
How could you add value to this division, even if you don’t have the technical skills?

Kno w yo ur re s ume

 Does your resume accurately reflect you key achievements? Most important info at the
top
 Be ready to discuss your resume in 3-5 minutes
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Think like the interviewer -- Pre -e m ptive thinking
In o rde r to s uc c e e d in a Wall S t. inte rvie w, try to antic ipate the que s tio ns yo u are like ly
to be as ke d:
S pe c ific que s tio ns to pre pare fo r

 Open ended – “How do you perform under pressure?”
 Past performance – “Tell me about a time when you showed leadership during a difficult
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situation?”
Interpersonal / communication skills – “What distinguishes you from your peers?”
Problem solving abilities – “What difficult issue have you solved recently?”

Intellectual skills – “How many ping pong balls can fit in a 747? With or without the
seats?”
Motivational/work skills – “Give an example of when commitment to a job or activity paid
off.”
Why Credit Suisse?

Re me mbe r THINK FIRS T!

 Before answering any question, think about what you want the interviewer to come away
with when you are finished answering it.

Tips fo r g o o d ans we rs

 Good answers are thoughtful, clear, interesting, confident, and relevant
Give e xample s whe n po s s ible
Do n’t o ve r-pre pare
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First impressions
It’s more than jus t wo rds

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Dress to impress

What is appro priate
Me n

 Wear a suit. If you don’t have one, wear a button down shirt, tie, nice pants and
a blazer

 Do not wear a lot of cologne, jewelry, a crazy tie, unpolished shoes or white
socks
Wo me n

 Wear a suit. If you don’t have one, wear nice pants or skirt with a twin set or
blazer.

 Do not wear short skirts, tight pants, too much perfume, long dangly earrings, or
too much make-up
Eve ryo ne

 Always come clean with neat hair and dress in clean, pressed clothes

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Actions can speak louder than words
Pro pe r de c o rum and attitude
Waiting at the inte rvie w

 Do not smoke
 Do not chew gum

 Review your resume
• Go over things you feel are the most important
• Rethink the questions you are likely to be asked
Whe n the Inte rvie we r c o me s o ut

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Stand up immediately
Walk over to him / her
Firm, dry, confident handshake
Look them in the eye, introduce yourself
SMILE
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During the interview
Ho w to Make it Co unt

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Don’t just survive, thrive

Ho w to s uc c e s s fully s e ll yo urs e lf
S pe aking po ints

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Speak slowly
Avoid all slang
Avoid “um” and “like” as fillers in your sentences
Speak confidently but NOT arrogantly
Keep eye contact when speaking or listening
Answer the question asked
Be positive in all your answers
Market yourself
Don’t be afraid to put it on the line –
“I want this job and I will work as hard as it takes to get it”

Bo dy lang uag e

 The rest of your body language can say just as much as your mouth
 Sit up, lean forward, be engaged
 Stand until the interviewer sits
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Technical Questions / Brainteasers
Be pre pare d to ans we r te c hnic al que s tio ns re late d to what is o n yo ur re s ume
The purpo s e o f te c hnic al que s tio ns and brainte as e rs are no t ne c e s s arily to

g e t a c o rre c t ans we r, but to s e e ho w yo u think
 Walk the interviewer through the response showing the thought process
behind each step
 If you get stuck, ask the interviewer for input as you are responding

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Follow through
Clo s ing the inte rvie w
Have que s tio ns re ady fo r the inte rvie we r

 Ask about the job, the firm, the firm’s culture
 DO NOT ASK ABOUT MONEY
 See “other tips” for example questions to ask
Yo u’re no t do ne ye t

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Stand up, thank the interviewer for their time, shake hands again
Write a thank you letter as soon as you get home
Re-emphasize how nice it was to meet them and how much you want the job
Be extremely polite, appropriate, and nice
Remind the interviewer of something you discussed or mention a particularly
enjoyable aspect of the conversation

If yo u are invite d fo r a final ro und inte rvie w, re que s t fe e dbac k fro m ro und 1

inte rvie we rs
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How to kill an interview
Thing s inte rvie we rs hate
Be ing a “kno w-it-all”, o ve r-ag g re s s ive , o r o ve rbe aring
Co nde mnatio n o f pas t e mplo ye rs
Bad hands hake
Be ing late
Lac k o f manne rs
Bad pe rs o nal appe aranc e
Lac k o f c o nfide nc e
Lac k o f invo lve me nt in s c ho o l o r e xtrac urric ular ac tivitie s
Rambling ans we rs
Having no que s tio ns to as k

Ove r-e mphas is o n mo ne y
Lac k o f inte re s t and e nthus ias m
No t kno wing the jo b to whic h yo u are applying
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Other Tips
Extra Po inte rs and Che at S he e ts

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Questions to ask an interviewer
 Te ll me mo re abo ut yo ur pro g ram
 What are the c harac te ris tic s o f yo ur to p pe o ple ?
 What are the thre e main c harac te ris tic s yo u lo o k fo r in a c andidate ?
 If I we re to as k yo ur to p re p what he / s he like s the mo s t / le as t abo ut the

c o mpany, what kind o f re s po ns e wo uld I g e t?
 Te ll me abo ut a typic al day
 Ho w wo uld yo u de s c ribe the c ulture o f the firm?
 Will I be re quire d to wo rk in diffe re nt lo c atio ns ?
 What are s o me abilitie s and s kills ne e de d to be s uc c e s s ful in this

po s itio n?

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Attributes interviewers look for in candidates

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Useful Wall St terms and concepts
 As s e t – Anything o wne d by a c o rpo ratio n o r o the r le g al pe rs o n
 Be ar marke t – A marke t in whic h pric e s are g e ne rally de c lining
 Bo nd – A de bt ins trume nt; a s e c urity that re pre s e nts the de bt o f a c o rpo ratio n, a munic ipality,

the Fe de ral g o ve rnme nt, o r any o the r e ntity. A bo nd is us ually lo ng -te rm in nature – 10 to 30
ye ars
 Call – An o ptio n to buy a s hare o r c o mmo dity
 Chine s e Walls – Re g ulatio ns whic h pre ve nt c o nflic ts o f inte re s t aris ing in inte g rate d s e c uritie s

firms
 Co llate ral – An as s e t ple dg e d to s uppo rt a lo an
 Co mmo ditie s – Raw mate rials s uc h as g rain o r pre c io us me tals . Co ntrac ts fo r the purc has e

and s ale o f c o mmo ditie s are s o ld o n c o mmo ditie s e xc hang e s
 Co upo n – A mall c e rtific ate whic h is de tac hable fro m a bo nd to be e xc hang e d fo r divide nds ,

inte re s t payme nts e tc . Als o me ans the rate o f inte re s t payable o n a fixe d-inte re s t s e c urity

 De rivative s – A financ ial ins trume nt who s e c harac te ris tic s and value de pe nd upo n the

c harac te ris tic s and value o f an unde rlying ins trume nt o r as s e t, typic ally a c o mmo dity, bo nd,
e quity o r c urre nc y
 Divide nd – A po rtio n o f a c o rpo ratio n’s as s e ts paid to s to c kho lde rs o n a pe r-s hare bas is .

Pre fe rre d s to c k is s uppo s e d to pay a re g ular and pre s c ribe d amo unt. Co mmo n s to c k pays
varying amo unts whe n de c lare d

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