Sandler ONeill Interview Questions

14 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (72%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.4
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (96%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3.2
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (18%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

13%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Sandler ONeill

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
1st Year Associate
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location new york
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2016
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
N/A
Year 2014
Job Title N/A
Group/Division N/A
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2013
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Equity Research
Location Atlanta
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
Location Chicago
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2013
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2013
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Finance
Location New York
Experience
Very Negative
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Sandler ONeill Examples

associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in new york
Interviewed: July 2020
Date Submitted: Jun 24, 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Very good interview went really well, interviewer was super nice and helpful. Got to learn a lot about the company and what they do.
Interview Questions
They threw a technical question at me which I really was not expecting, but ended up being not too difficult.
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: April 2016
Date Submitted: Dec 17, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
In-person
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Connected through an analyst I met during my internship. Interviewed in person in NYC. Interviewed with two managing directors
Interview Questions
Who do you think is going to win the election (Hilary or Trump)
Sample Answer

Internship Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: October 2018
Date Submitted: Oct 11, 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Had a phone interview with the head of recruiting. Asked me typical general questions (walk me through resume, why Sandler, why IB etc.). Overall pretty easy interview just know a lot about the firm and what they do. Have a good answer for why FIG.
Interview Questions
Why FIG (I had thought about this but wasn't fully prepared to go in depth on it)
Tech is leading to shrinking of human capital in Financial Services sector so why would you want to get into it now?
I was unique situation (applying early and before BB) so I was asked why I chose to apply to a middle market/boutique style bank.
Asked me what was driving the markets right now
It really was not that bad of an interview and I wasn't asked anything necessarily surprising. Since its a smaller bank you really need to know what they do and have a good answer for why you're applying to them
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: November 2017
Date Submitted: Mar 11, 2018
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Was contacted by a the head of recruiting's assistant to schedule a one-on-one interview. No difficult questions just make sure to keep up with the news.
Interview Questions
Asked to talk about some of the recent deals the company has done and my thoughts on them. Asked the typical valuation methods and multiples used and why most FIG companies can't be valued with a traditional DCF. The questions really vary in difficulty depending on who is being interviewed. Make sure to prepare questions to ask because that was a big portion of the interview. Very straight forward questions; nothing too technical. More of behavior based interview so definitely keep composure throughout.
Sample Answer

SA Interview

Anonymous employee in New York
Interviewed: January 2014
Date Submitted: Jan 08, 2015
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
On-Cycle, traditional recruiting process.
Interview Questions
Pitch a stock, Trading ideas etc. Standard interview process...
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: January 2014
Date Submitted: Oct 30, 2014
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Reached out to an associate and an MD at the firm, who put me in touch with one of the guys who runs recruiting for summer analysts. From my experience, everyone I talked to was extremely professional. Had a pretty short initial phone screen and was invited to participate in their super day. Main advice is just try to be able to show why you want to work in FIG. Sandler really tries to find people who want to work for them longer than two years.
Interview Questions
"What interests you about covering financial services companies?" Mainly just talked about the recession and how that made me realize how important banks are.
"What are some things that are different about valuing financial institutions compared to other types of companies?" Use DDM instead of DCF, price companies based on TBV, etc.
Sample Answer

ER Analyst Interview - Equity Research

Anonymous interview candidate in Atlanta
Interviewed: March 2013
Date Submitted: Mar 08, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Interview
Found out about the opportunity through a friend. Emailed the head of ER and got an immediate response confirming they were looking for someone. Had a phone interview and a 1 on 1 interview the next week. They asked me to write-up a 2-3 page ER report about a bank stock. We discussed my pick at the interview, how I valued it, what some of the metrics I looked at, what the basis for the buy or sell was, etc. Had another interview a few weeks later with head of research from NY. He had been golfing all day and didn't really care too much about my story. I think I was the backup pick and just wanted me to come meet the guy incase the first pick dropped out.
Interview Questions
How would you value a bank stock? What are the future prospects for xyz? What are some of the industry statistics that you looked at to justify your position? What do you think constitutes a buy versus a hold or even a sell? How has the company been growing? Organically or through acquistions?
Sample Answer

Investment banking intern Interview - Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago
Interviewed: January 2014
Date Submitted: Jan 29, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First Round on Campus 2nd round 2 hours in office. Lots of Fig Specific technical questions and general questions about the industry such as what did the s&p500 close at yesterday, etc. They expect you to know a lot about FIG and the firm.
Interview Questions
Walk me through a DDM
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Summer Intern Interview - Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: November 2013
Date Submitted: Jan 28, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
The first round of the interview was a very short phone call with the head of the internship program, Bob Castrignano. I had a phone call in November, and was told I would be given my decision within 10 weeks (it has now been just over 10 weeks). He was very hard to get a read on (in terms of how the interview went). He cut the interview short and said he had a meeting to go to. Though it seemed negative at the time, after talking to a close employee it seems the interview actually went pretty well. All he really cares about is that you sound intelligent and are very business-like during the process.

A good way to make a positive impression is to be prepared with specific, well-thought out questions about the firm. They like to see you have actually done research about the firm, even though there might not be too much information out there. There are a few articles out there about Sandler O'neill's role in the September 11 attacks. Read those. The firm lost about half its employees in the attacks and has been rebuilding ever since. This is now a huge part of their culture and history. For example, I mentioned how the firm is very successful in its niche, and then asked about his ideas on future growth prospects (i.e. does being in the niche limit its growth prospects). Moreover, a good question might be asking about the financial crisis -- overall, Sandler O'neill was not hurt by it (since it was not involved in mortgage-related lending or bonds).

After talking to one of the principals, the work culture seems pretty good. The firm is small and not very well known but has carved out a very successful niche within the small - mid cap financials industry.
Interview Questions
He immediately started asking questions. No "tell me about yourself" or anything like that; he just asked "Why investment banking?" as soon as the phone call started. Just make sure you are prepared to jump into it and you should be fine.
He wasn't interested in technical skills, more interested in broader knowledge. He asked what I knew about the current markets and what kind of personal investing experience I had.
Sample Answer

Summer Intern Analyst Interview - Finance

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: September 2013
Date Submitted: Nov 13, 2013
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Initially communicated to firm via email. After several correspondences, was called by secretary to interview. Had to call head of internship program several days later at agreed time.
Interview Questions
First question, Do I have a investment portfolio? Response was no because this was early in my internship search days. Followed by What about a mock portfolio, do you follow the stock market? From this point on was dismissed.
Sample Answer