anyone know what a first round interview at a place like Pershing Square, Greenlight, etc. is like?

rhen:

idkmybffjill:

I've been asking around my friends in banking but none of them know. Just asking out of curiosity…is it a stock pitch? accounting questions? personality/fit?

If you roll high enough to be considering these places a legitimate starting point, then I applaud you.

Yes, I know, it's a little ambitious, maybe I'm daydreaming too much lol

HFer_wannabe:

Fit and casual.

These are smaller firms full of family-types. I imagine they would have no formal interview process since they don't churn people. All they care about is if you'll be an enjoyable, intelligent person that provide value. Don't expect Bill to send you a modeling test to gauge your knowledge.

While a lot of interviews at the top L/S funds are more about fit, this is because the candidates have generally been pre-screened and questions about your modeling, basic understanding of financial concepts,etc are kind of given. At that point it is more about fit, passion for investing, how you think about companies, etc.

HFer_wannabe:

Fit and casual.

These are smaller firms full of family-types. I imagine they would have no formal interview process since they don't churn people. All they care about is if you'll be an enjoyable, intelligent person that provide value. Don't expect Bill to send you a modeling test to gauge your knowledge.

Correct. Instead, expect questions about your fishing skills.

mrb87:

Are you all speaking from experience or just making shit up? Because there are plenty of other elite funds (Baupost, Third Point, Elliott) that most definitely do have rigorous interview processes and multiple rounds with case studies.

This is an interesting point….anyone care to address this? lol

mrb87:

Are you all speaking from experience or just making shit up? Because there are plenty of other elite funds (Baupost, Third Point, Elliott) that most definitely do have rigorous interview processes and multiple rounds with case studies.

Agree (based on personal experience with a few 'elite' funds). Many rounds, and some have very structured processes. One process had a main interviewer (one of the senior investors), who I met every round - we'd discuss the previous interview, what I learned, go through some new topics (e.g. accounting / investment process / valuation), and talk about any new ideas I had since then. I'd also meet a couple of new people at both junior and senior level every round, mostly fit interviews. One fund I interviewed with asked for a series of mini essays, split between investing-related topics and fit/personality questions. Some had very extensive personality tests (e.g. Elliott). Only did case studies for two 'elite' funds but the specifications from both funds were very demanding.

A bit of a ramble, but anyway, my (very limited) experience has been that the elite funds can have extremely rigorous processes. Fit is extremely important (especially at shops with smaller teams), and I feel like the guys with poor fit tend to get eliminated early on in the process. All the 'elite' processes I experienced were very technical, but the focus tended to be on learning ability and curiosity, rather than existing knowledge.

mrb87:

Are you all speaking from experience or just making shit up? Because there are plenty of other elite funds (Baupost, Third Point, Elliott) that most definitely do have rigorous interview processes and multiple rounds with case studies.

And they are known for being dicks/rigorous. Realistically you either go through a headhunter or are referred by someone there, in either case, they will prep you for out of the ordinary stuff, and you should have financial fundamentals/stock pitch/fit/how you think about companies covered.