We were talking to Charlie Panoff from Objective Solutions International about job interviews and he asked us this question – and, for the record, no we did not get it right. Hopefully, you’ll be better prepared and when asked this one, a light bulb will go on for you.
Q: A windowless room contains three identical light fixtures, each containing an identical light bulb. Each light is connected to one of three switches outside of the room. Each bulb is switched off to begin. You are outside the room, the door is closed, you can not see anything inside the room. You have one, and only one, opportunity to flip any of the external switches. After flipping your chosen switch(es), you may go into the room and look at the lights. You may not touch the switches again. How can you tell which switch goes to which light? [more…]
Although research analysts may be promoted to the associate level, many investment banks also recruit candidates directly out of the MBA programs at the top business schools. These professionals are often hired as associates.
First-year associates usually get paid a base salary range of $80,000-$90,000. The average bonus paid to associates with less than one year of experience is over $20,000. Associates with experience of between one and four years can receive bonuses of $40,000 or as high as six figures (taking their total compensation over $200,000).
Many associates work in the position for three to four years. Although some associates have analysts reporting to them, associates still have to do a fair amount of grunt work. The hours are long and your job is still to make your boss look good. However, if you can add value to transactions or pitches or help the firm improve things in other ways, you can be on your way to moving up the ladder to VP or director.
As an associate, you’ll need:
- The ability to do Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuations, pricing of deals, and due diligence
- A complete comfort level with Excel spreadsheets
- Great interpersonal and networking skills
- The ability to manage subordinates (analysts)
- Stamina, because you’ll still be working 12- to 18-hour days for weeks at a time
The demands of the job and the long hours do lead to a fairly high attrition rate among associates. Many associates report working 80-100 hours a week. It’s common for your co-workers to become your family. Many investment bankers spend nights in the office.
The training and the experience of working at such a high level of finance does provide lucrative opportunities for those who wish to pursue other careers. However, those who excel in this environment can make a great deal of money in a short period of time. You are often promoted based on performance. After four years as an associate, you can be promoted to Vice President. Stay another four years and you could move up to Senior VP or Managing Director.
Next time, we’ll look at some of the specific skills requested by employers who are looking to hire investment banking associates.
Analysing this simple number-based strategy game isn’t too difficult outside the stressful context of an investment banking job interview, so put yourself under some time pressure to come up with the answer…
Question:
We shall play a competitive game, taking turns to call out integers. The first person to call out “50″ wins. The rules are as follows:
- The player who starts must call out an integer between one and 10, inclusive
- A new number called out must exceed the most recent number called by at least one and by no more than 10. For example, if the first player calls out “nine,” then the range of valid numbers for the opponent is 10 to 19, inclusive.
Do you want to go first, and if so, what is your strategy?
Answer:
[more…]
We were talking to Charlie Panoff from Objective Solutions International about job interviews and he asked us this question – and, for the record, no we did not get it right. Hopefully, you’ll be better prepared and when asked this one, a light bulb will go on for you.
