I had an interview with a hedge fund (was looking for experience). Got burned pretty badly.
I won't name names or specifics publicly, but it wasn't a typical hedge fund interview - and the guy was easily the most arrogant person i've ever. Barrage of questions (not finance or pure-logic) over a span of 15 minutes, and in the end i got cut mid-way with 'there's no way in hell we would employ you' and something about how some of my answers were a bit embarassing. Still a bit shaken.
Though sort of grateful, i guess. Good training for upcoming ib interviews.
Are hedge fund managers that callous and arrogant? Are interviews with hedge funds typically like how i've described?
Any horror stories to share?
Ok, so you met a dick. They're everywhere. I suggest you sack up, however. I would be "still shaken" after a near-death experience, not a bad interview.
Q @mrb87: Are dicks the norm in the HF industry?
Dicks are the norm, period. It's just a special case of Sturgeon's Law.
Arguably, the HF industry could be considered douchebag-rich, but I wouldn't say that it's all that special.
You had one interview with one employee at an HF & you have labeled all companies & employees in the HF vehicle as dicks.
This one guy was an asshole - get used to dealing with assholes, they are everywhere.
Turn this experience in to a positive: learn how to deal with difficult people, answer difficult interview questions, be calm when situations are tense, manipulate people or interactions to your benefit.
Didn't meant to paint you all with the same brush. It was a genuine question. I've only ever meant one, after all. (Also kind of grateful - it'll make me stronger come future interviews)
If you're still a student how did you get the interview in the first place?
some students are better/more proactive than the others. not a big surprise here.
I had an interview with a HF for a junior analyst position in the beginning of my sophomore year as well. But then they told me they are not going to hire me unless I can do 12 hours of facetime everyday along with my studies, lol.
I made it into a HF out of college, but I had zero connections and had to cold-email over 1200 funds with a 3-5 sentence intro. Landed a measly two interviews and converted one. I also had good grades, came from a good school (though not a typical Wall St feeder -- ex. MIT, Caltech, Williams), but even then I feel like I lucked out to a degree. If you don't have inside connections, or come from another desirable part of finance and are fortunate enough to meet a good recruiter (most of whom suck), you're probably screwed.
Well so far with the pms, partner and fund manager have all been great guys to me. I guess I will most probably come across a few cunts in the industry...
As much of an asshole as this guy is, here's the bright side:
1.) you know that you don't want to work with him. This process is also about you choosing who to work for, and he eliminated himself by being an asshole.
2.) He didn't waste your time. He told you that he wasn't going to hire you right away. He could've just let you finish the interview and then waited two or three weeks to tell you that you didn't get the job.
3.) He told you that you were getting something wrong. Many interviewers wouldn't even go this far. Now, if he were a nice person, he would've told you what you got wrong, rather than just insulting you, but c'est la vie.
Thanks for sharing...would love to hear what type of interview questions he was asking you...did you ask you for a long and/or short pitch? Again, appreciate the share.
-Patrick
I've met my fair share of hedge fund managers, and most of them are assholes. It's not that what they're saying is necessarily wrong though, many of them are quite intelligent, it's just that they tend to lack much tact or humility. If you want to work in that industry better get used to it
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