I recently had a 30 min first round interview with the founder of a $1 bil L/S equity fund and had prepared my story and a L/S stock pitch for the sector I was interviewing for. However, the interviewer/founder asked seemingly pointless questions for most of the interview, first question was asking about where I grew up and why I choose what college I went to. Mind you I am almost 9 years out of college. I gave an honest answer (parents moved to the state I was in and it was the best academics for the cost, and a good alumni network blah blah).
Then was asked what clubs I was involved with at college... I barely remember my guy it was 10 years ago. Then was asked what my SAT scores were... again I really don't remember as I took those in 2011. Never once did he ask about my investment philosophy or about my sector. I was asked some more expected questions (why buyside, why HF, why xyz firm). But still found this interview quite odd.
No idea if I did well or not, and have no idea what the interviewer was trying to get at with these questions. Just wanted to post this as this was my first buyside interview ever and I was stunned at the questions I was asked.
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That was my sense, interviewer was trying to get a sense of why I ended up where I am and why I got into finance in the first place. But still felt there were a lot better ways to arrive at that versus asking me why I chose what college I did when I was 17 and what finance clubs I was involved with 10 years ago. I guess we'll see. My other inclination was that maybe they were primarily interviewing candidates with only a few years of work experience, but who knows.
Brother, this guy was just trying to get to know you on a personal level!
At smaller firms the interviews are very unstructured. I've been asked all sorts of questions or led on all sorts of discussions. Brainteasers, how many pullups I can do, if I read a certain book, and how to legally reduce your tax burden.
If every candidate is sufficiently capable then they are likely to be similar enough in qualifications that useful determination relies on what differentiates them elsewhere. Imo it makes sense.
Update: was passed on
Was gonna make a comment right before your update.
had a similar interview the other day and the interview questions were just super wack. Basically asking whether I was single and some unrelated hobbies/interests. Ended up getting passed on as well.
In short, a lack of emphasis on technicals + too much behavioural is generally not a good sign for interviews
Probably for the best tbh
Yeah feel that, seemed like a great fit though at a high level, they specialize in my sector and were looking for someone to cover the exact subsector I cover. Would have been nice to have the chance to discuss the sector and trade ideas lol. oh well
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