To answer this question, you will want to ensure you have reviewed baseline accounting and finance information. Providing a simple answer to this question will help your interviewer see that you have confidence and mastery in foundational concepts.

Sample answer:

“The relationship is inverse. When interest rates go up, bond prices decrease.”

If you have been in any interview whatsoever, you are probably well-conditioned to respond to this question. However, consider how you might refine your answer to be more powerful. Rather than covering everything on your resume, just highlight the directly related roles you have held.

As you talk about these roles, mention specifically how they have prepared you for the role to which you are applying. Then, be sure to drop the name of people you know within the company and talk about deals that BofA has worked on lately.

Sample answer:

“(resume highlights)...I also have become friends with a couple of people working in this capacity already--(Their names). They’ve told me about your recent deal with XYZ, and I know that I have the ability to add value to future deals like that one.”

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to highlight situations that don’t necessarily show up on your resume. Answer this question with a moment that is at least relatively recent.

Sample answer:

“When I was preparing to apply to graduate school, I wanted to make sure that I stood above and beyond a standard candidate. To this end, I made sure I got A’s in each class, and then I signed up to be a part of two research projects in addition to working on an internship.

This required me to plan out every hour of my day for months, sacrifice normal sleep patterns, and really have no social life for the duration of my efforts. This shows my personal initiative because I knew that my concerted efforts over time were going to lead me to my goal.”

The interviewer will ask this question to find evidence of your ability to act well in high-pressure situations. Taking charge and not becoming overwhelmed will be smart principles to highlight as you answer this question.

Sample answer:

“While I was facilitating a club activity one Summer, an attendee passed out. Most people just sort of watched in shock. As soon as I saw what had happened, though, I told someone to call medical, and I got down to tend to the attendee.

Everything ended up being ok with this person, but I think it shows a good example of my resolve to act and solve issues in situations that usually stun others.”

You can begin to address this question by letting the interviewer know that you have some foundational understanding of what metrics to look at while diagnosing a company’s health.

Sample answer:

“Consider the cash flows. Look at debt versus EBITDA to see how well this company is able to pay off debts. I would also look into the past and reputation of the person running the company as well.”

This question will be posed to ascertain whether you have the ability to both take accountability for your mistakes and learn how to improve after slip-ups. Be sure to be clear about your ability to do both things as your answer.

Sample answer:

“Yes, when I failed my first college class, I realized that I had been getting by on good sense for a long time academically. I researched how to become a good student, and I improved my academic record. I still use those study habits now.”

The ability to treat clients in a personable way is a very important soft skill to have in any role. Offer an example from your past work where you offered this kind of service, preferably in a way that was above and beyond.

Sample answer:

“Working at a startup while in school, we had about a dozen clients who were using our new software. This software had a lot of bugs, so clients often reached out for help. I made sure to respond to anyone within 30 minutes, and I learned the names of each point of contact.

This helped them feel connected and cared for, which was important as we tried to scale up and find new customers. This approach to clients helped us develop a reputation as a great service-oriented business.”

Many people are capable of robotically completing assigned tasks without much ingenuity or additional verve. This question can show an interviewer that you have a habit of owning a project and putting life into mundane tasks.

Sample answer:

“As an intern, I naturally got a lot of undesirable projects and was expected to fill the gaps that people didn’t have the care to deal with. I made sure that I always responded enthusiastically, and my manager told me that my approach made me stand out.”

This question will assess some of your macro-level understanding of economic factors and the resulting reactions that take place.

Sample answer:

“When rates go up, bank interest rates go up. Then, as a result, lending goes down, which will affect growing companies the most.”

Having a method to deal with a disaffected coworker is important. Avoiding direct confrontation with a coworker of this kind is one thing, but being able to manage them sensitively and then rally them to be a part of the team is that much more helpful.

Sample answer:

“At my last place of work, one of the things I tried to do with a difficult coworker was talk to them away from others. This way, I could connect with them without showing them up or making it seem like I had ulterior motives. Then I could appeal to their desire for good.

This method actually worked well previously, where I talked with them and was able to hear some of the things they felt others weren’t listening to from them. We then had a more intimate connection, and they would listen if I asked them to do something.”

This question will measure your ability to use mental math adeptly. Breaking this down mentally to 9x9x9 will help. 9x9 is calculated quickly as 81, and then you need to multiply that by 9. You can do this by multiplying in chunks.

9x8 gives you 72, then 9x1 is obviously 9. Combine those chunks you’ve multiplied, and you arrive at 729. This method is relatively easy with some practice, so try it out with other numbers as you prepare for your interviews.

Sample answer:

“The answer is 729. I arrive at that by multiplying 9 by 9 for 81. Then I multiply the 8 and 1 by 9 and stick those components next to each other. So that’s 72 and 9, so 729.”

Basic financial concepts at a small scale, like in this hypothetical question, will help an interviewer see that you understand financial dynamics and can conceptualize them on any scale.

Sample answer:

“Growth in revenue over our fixed expenses would grow our margins and drive profitability in a big way. Another way to drive profitability would be to minimize input costs.”

This question will allow an interviewer to see that you are capable of topic mastery and can be relied upon for trustworthy information. It also will show that you can take charge in a situation and dictate the next steps if that role becomes necessary for you.

Sample answer:

“A family member of mine has a startup company. They didn’t study finance in any meaningful way, so their company is pretty successful, but the finances are a mess. I stepped in and helped them organize their finances and gave them an idea of where they stood as well.”

Your answer to this question will show the interviewer your level of creative problem-solving skills. Explain the measurable elements of your innovative idea as your answer.

Sample answer:

“While I was working at a previous job, our information-gathering process spanned across two teams, decreasing response time to clients. I suggested to a manager that one person on our team be given higher access to our software.

This allowed us to keep information gathering on one team, which in turn led to quicker response time and higher satisfaction rates.”

A good method for solving this question mentally is to take 4% of 1 million, which should be more manageable. This is easily calculated to be 40,000. Now, you can multiply that by 10 and quickly see that 4% of 10 million is 400k. Then simply take half of 400k and add it in for 600k.

Sample answer:

“The answer is 600,000. I found this by first taking 4% of 1 million, which is 40,000. Then I multiply that by 10 for 400,000. Then I multiply the remaining 5 million by 4%, which I know will be half of my first answer, so when I sum those, I get 600,000.”