There’s one kind of interview question for a potential investment banking job that can open up a Pandora’s Box full of problems, unless you are prepared. That’s the message from Bradley CVs Ltd., in a recent article.
What are they? Behavioral questions that are intended to reveal how you might act in a future situation.
First, you must learn to spot them. Behavioral questions are open-ended and invite you to describe an experience or event in which you were involved. They often begin with phrases such as…
- Tell me about the time when…
- Describe a time when…
- Give me an example of when you…
- Please discuss a time when you…
The interviewer is trying to see how well your past performance in a situation will translate into the position they are trying to fill today. They may have a specific set of skills or behaviors they are looking for. Often, the interviewer will follow up with questions such as, “tell me what steps you took” or “what was your thinking behind your decisions?”
The responses you provide give the interviewer a snapshot how you are likely to behave in a new role. It also reveals character traits and integrity because, as Bradley’s points out, if you’ve made up a story or fudged any details, your story will easily fall apart under close questioning.
There are almost an unlimited number of behavioral questions that you could face in an interview. So it’s difficult to prepare for all of them. However, there are a few tricks to keep in mind.
First, by reading the job description carefully, you can probably surmise the types of skills and experience the employer is looking for. You should select achievements and events that closely match these criteria, and prepare your stories accordingly. In choosing the most relevant events, have plenty of factual evidence handy to back up your behavioral story. You should also research the company’s background to identify what behavioral characteristics might be most valued with respect to its mission.
Bradley’s gives a 4-step approach to structuring your stories so they are succinct and effective:
- Set the scene by outlining the situation or problem
- Tell how you became involved and why
- Explain what you did to help resolve the problem or improve things
- Conclude by revealing what the outcome was, either measured in numerical facts or by describing the results
One more piece of advice: in addition to the stories that relate to the skills in your resume, they suggest you have ready-made examples demonstrating your strengths in:
- How you relate to people and communicate well (example: Describe a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or colleague)
- How you accomplished something significant (example: Describe an accomplishment from the past year that you are proud of)
- How well you can prioritize things (example: Tell us about a situation when you had a lot of deadlines at the same time and the steps you took to complete the tasks on time)
- How you solve problems (Describe a time when you were creative in solving a problem)
What about you? Have you fielded behavioral questions in an investment banking job interview? How did you prepare for them? Add your comments below.
It’s not enough to be ready for certain questions in your investment banking job interview. The nuances of how you answer those questions can make all the difference to a skilled interviewer.
That’s the view of Sam Geist, a recruitment consultant interviewed by the Globe and Mail. Geist shared his list of top 10 interview questions, many of which will seem familiar to you. However, it’s his comments on how the more successful candidates answer the questions, which proves to be the eye-opener. To start with, here are his top 10 questions:
1. What was your most challenging job? Why? What did you learn from this job?
2. What was your least challenging job? Why? What did you learn from this job?
3. In what situation did you find that you had to overcome major obstacles to meet your objectives? What did you do? Why? What did you learn from the experience?
4. Who do you admire most? Who do you admire least? Why?
5. In what situation did you attempt to do something, but failed? Why did you fail? What did you learn from this situation?
6. Describe a bad experience that happened to you. What did you learn from it?
7. Describe a situation where you tried to help someone change. What strategy did you use? How did the situation end?
8. Describe a mistake you made in dealing with people. What did you learn from it?
9. What was your best learning experience? What was your worst learning experience? What did you learn from each of them?
10. Describe the last major change you made. Why did you do it? How did it work out? What did you learn?
When it comes to answering these questions, beware of common pitfalls of many candidates, says Geist. One is generalization. Weaker candidates tend be more general in their explanations, rather than having specific facts and figures. Weaker candidates tend to have more trouble explaining what they learned in difficult situations, rather than being open about their mistakes and confident in the lessons learned.
Weaker candidates tend to focus more on what happened, rather than on “why” it happened, and what they would do differently in the future. Weaker candidates also tend to be more reluctant to acknowledge their role in failures. Stronger candidates are able to analyze both failure and success and acknowledge their role in both.
It’s human nature to be hesitant to admit one’s mistakes. But savvy communicators know that by admitting what’s known as a “non-fatal flaw”, a minor weakness or shortcoming, it builds credibility in everything else you say. Maybe this is why interviewers trust and believe the candidate who admits to his or her failures, mixed in with the successes.
Agree or disagree? How have you handled talking about a major setback or failure in your career, in an interview situation? Add your comments below.
As the fall job-hunting season kicks into high gear, you may want to be prepared for some of the more out-in-left-field type of questions. Interviewers often lob unusual questions just to rattle you, and to see how well you think on your feet.
Let’s assume that you are already well prepared for the softball questions such as, why do you want to work in investment banking? Why this firm? Why did you leave your last firm? Why so soon?
But answering the trickier ones is often not so much about answering quickly, as it is about offering a creative response that causes even the most jaded interviewer to sit up and think, “Hmmm… this guy has something worth listening to.” An article in the Globe and Mail had some suggestions, based on feedback from several top career coaches. Here are a few:
Where do you want to be five years from now? Okay, this one you should expect. But how you answer it matters. Don’t go into exact titles or salary levels, the experts say, because it shows you might leave the firm if you aren’t promoted quickly enough. Instead, say something like, “I hope to still be working for this company, with newly acquired skills and responsibilities.”
What skill do you think needs improvement? Nobody likes to admit their weaknesses. But you can be prepared for this question by picking something minor that you are already working to improve, such as your ability to speak a foreign language.
What was the last book you read? If you’re not proud of your reading list, you can dodge this one by saying you are an avid reader not only of books but of articles related to your industry. But you had better be prepared to discuss one or two interesting articles.
What person, real or fictional, would you like to trade places with for a week? This one’s a real trap, according to the article, because the interviewer may hate the person you choose. They suggest something along the lines of, “I haven’t thought about being someone else, but there is one person I deeply respect, and that’s my Dad.” They’ll have to respect you for this answer.
The article also has suggestions for ways to communicate your “brand,” demonstrate your passion for the industry, and be unexpected, but in a good way.
What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked in an investment banking job interview? Add your comments below.
