Interview Engineering Major

Buy the WSO guides and read them

As a fellow engineer, I can assure you, that if you can work MatLab and fluid mechanics you fan figure out how to calculate WACC or do a DCF. Aside from complex trading strategy (black scholes, volitility pumping, etc), IBD is pretty much 10th grade math. Granted there is a lot, but it's pretty easy to know enough to express interest. Just make it clear to your interviewer that you don't have experience in the field but can answer basic questions (three part of a balance sheet, what did the dow close at yesterday, walk me through the underwriting process etc.) plus I highly doubt they would ask those questions at lest until the second round. Fit questions is really all you need to focus on.

I appreciate the help from everyone. I get the Vault (Finance and IB) guides for free from my career center. So if I know the Vault guides and WSO guides well, that should be enough?

Westfald, I am not really worried about the difficulty level, as I am pretty good with math and numbers. I was just wondering what is the best way of going about learning how to answer those "basic questions" needed for the interview.

Also, what is the best place to get information on banks' strengths in specifc industries, culture etc? Hoovers? My advisor mentioned Citi being strong in energy down in Houston... stuff like that

citi is not strong in houston--- it depends who u compare them to, but they are not the strong compared to the other bb

Also I find just talking to people in the industry is helpful if you know any. A lot of guys from my school spent their summers at Ibanks and helped me with some mock interviews and stuff.

I'm also a fellow engineer, and advise not to be deluded into thinking that since you're an engineer they won't expect you to know the basic aspects of finance. I've been grilled plenty of times so prepare for the worst. That being said, studying the WSO guides are probably the best places to start, you can then study things you don't understand fully in more detail (textbooks, websites, etc.)

Best advice, read. Voraciously.

Oh ya, make sure your resume is flawless or you won't even get in the door.

Vault is good for learning about the industries you want to work in, and getting specific company coverage and employee surveys. Investopedia is good for learning exactly what a financial term means in context, and there are also many in-depth investing/finance tutorials on their "university" page. For interviews, Vault and WSO will cover the same technical questions, but WSO is more concise and to the point. It is also much better organized. The diagrams are a great resource too. After going through the book, just print out the diagrams and look at them even 5 min. before the interview, and they will still sink in. Short and sweet. Don't bother with academic text books. If you know NOTHING about finance, I would start out with Vault and Investopedia and then use the WSO's outline style as a review. And of course always keep up with the markets and latest news stories because interview prep books and textbooks don't help you with that. Major sources include WSJ/FT, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNNMoney. If you're an engineer, I would say fit is still more important than technical, so know exactly why you want to do ___ and why you want to work at ___. You can do all of the above in one month.

The only problem with Vault, WSO, and Investopedia is very poor editing. You'll see annoying typos, repeated questions, and occasionally things that actually affect the material, but you should be able to figure those out. Still, great resources otherwise. Good luck.

Anyone know any sorts of books and/or guides that could help me out for S&T SA interviews? I'm also a non-finance major, and I'm pretty sure I can handle at least the probability/brain teaser questions. I should also be ok with the market related questions, but is there anything else that I should focus on? I'll have some free time coming up this winter break, so might as well prepare a little...

Here's my 2cents, being an engineer who's going to be in Finance next year on.

Firstly, Wall Street firms know that engineers can pick up Finance real quick given the right training. Therefore, your interviews will focus on how smart you are. Expect a lot of brainteasers and math questions. That said, do not rule out finance qs...however the finance part of the interview will not be as rigorous as for Econ or Business majors. I read only the Vault guide, and felt that gave the basic foundations I needed. You can also get the WSO guide.

The important thing is that while you might be excused for not knowing a shitload of Finance concepts, there will be no excuse for not nailing the mental ability part of the interview.