Bank of Nova Scotia Interview Questions

22 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (84%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.6
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (94%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (85%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

67%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Bank of Nova Scotia

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
1st Year Associate
Year 2022
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Toronto
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2022
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Toronto
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2022
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Derivatives
Location Toronto
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2022
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Sales and Trading
Location Toronto
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2022
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division FICC - Fixed Income Currency and Commodities
Location New york
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2021
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Corporate Banking
Location Toronto
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Sales and Trading
Location Montreal
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2018
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Toronto
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2018
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Finance
Location Toronto
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Bank of Nova Scotia Examples

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Toronto
Interviewed: October 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Presentation
Interview
Starts with an HR interview, then call with staffer, then 2 associate and VP technical interview, then a case study and presentation
Interview Questions
1. Walk me through depreciation
2. FCFF and FCFE from EBITDA
3. Walk me through a utility DCF
4. What discounts levered and unlevered IRR
5. IRR Definition
6. Depreciation: accelerated versus book. How to treat the difference (DTL)
7. Exit multiple – which one to use
8. Exit multiple versus GGM
9. Cost of debt and equity, which one is higher
10. Why renewable is traded lower than utility
11. Walk through resume
12. Why IB
13. How to motivate yourself
14. Why not MM PE
15. What additional value can you add coming from a strategic buyer
16. How do you feel about doing market update decks which are less exciting
17. How would you look at acquisitions

Sales and Trading Summer Internship Interview - Derivatives

Anonymous interview candidate in Toronto
Interviewed: April 2022
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round was with a recruiter, who asked me all behavioural questions to understand why I want to do this role. Second round with split into three and was mainly trying to validate the things on my resume plus some behavioural and slightly hard technical questions. Got the offer in two days.
Interview Questions
Asked me the exact date of the next BOC meeting

Sales & Trading Interview - Sales and Trading

Anonymous interview candidate in Toronto
Interviewed: September 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Other
Interview
Started off with attending a campus recruitment event. Recruiter reached out through email to have a group coffee chat. Got an invitation to the first round interview which consisted of 2 interviewers. Heard back in 24h, and two days later, had the second round interview which was 1 panel interview, 1 behavioural and 1 technical, all 30 minutes long.
Interview Questions
What makes you stand out as a candidate?

Analyst Interview - FICC - Fixed Income Currency and Commodities

Anonymous employee in New york
Interviewed: August 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Conversion offer after summer, panel interview, asked about improving during term, greatest challenge and market
Interview Questions
market specific questions about their product

Corporate Banking Interview - Corporate Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Toronto
Interviewed: October 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interviewers were very nice. It was a mix of behavioural and technical questions. Pretty standard credit questions and why Scotia
Interview Questions
They asked me why I didn't have a 4.0 GPA

Intern Interview - Sales and Trading

Anonymous interview candidate in Montreal
Interviewed: September 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Presentation
Interview
It was a webcam interview with two associates since I wasn't in Toronto. The interview lasted around 30 minutes.
Interview Questions
They asked me what I think the bank of Canada should do to interest rates. I was also asked the definition of option greeks such as Delta, Gamma, Vega since I mentioned that I trade options on my free time. I was also asked behavioural questions such as tell us a time when you had to deal with a conflict, and how you reacted? Another question that asked about a time when I had a stressful deadline and how I addressed it. They also asked for my biggest weakness. I was also asked about my outlook for the economy in the next year and a half.

Investment Banking Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: October 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
I was put in touch with the hiring manager through networking. She then passed my resume along to the IB team in NY, and I was selected for a first round interview the next day.
Interview Questions
None were too difficult, it consisted of technical and behavioral questions.

The technicals were fairly standard ranging from walk me through a DCF, to explaining other valuation methods commonly used in Investment Banking. Then general market and deal knowledge was also tested.

Behaviorals consisted of the following questions

Tell me about a time you've failed?

Tell me about a time you've worked with ambiguity?

Tell me about a time you've used leadership skills to accomplish a task within a group?

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Toronto
Interviewed: September 2017
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Two analysts interviewed me. Ask resume questions, and then ask to give three methods about how to value a company. Not hard interview, but the position is very competitive.
Interview Questions
They ask me to give some recent related news about merges and acquisitions, or related transactions. I did not prepare a lot for the news part.

Then they ask me to share my opinion about the interest rates, currency, and some macro related objects. I did not prepare this part, so what I answered is kind of messy and not ordered.

Then they told that they have a lot of candidate with huge mergers and acquisition experience, which means this position is very competitive. Finally they ask if I have any questions for them.

Equity Research Associate Interview - Finance

Anonymous interview candidate in Toronto
Interviewed: May 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Other
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Skills Test
Interview
First round - Face to face with HR
Second round - Technical Test
Third round - Pannel interview
Fourth round - Interview with Analyst
Interview Questions
The most difficult part of the interview was the panel interview. it was an interview with 3 associates and 1 HR representative. It was a 45min interview where I pitched a stock and then the Associates asked questions about my pitch. The questions were difficult but the Associates were nice and accommodating. They also asked a few technical questions.
-About being a merger be accretive or dilutive.
-The biggest risks in an industry
-How the markets are doing and have done.
-Why Research and why this sector.

Commercial Banking Associate Interview - Commercial Banking

Anonymous employee in Toronto
Interviewed: April 2016
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1 year +
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
One round interview. with a skills test at the end

The interview was with two directors, basic fit questions nothing too hard
The test consisted of looking at company financials and deciding if you would lend to them. I didnt do great but still got the job
Interview Questions
The technical test. I was not expecting a test at all, as it is kind of a low-level job. Anyone with a basic understanding of lending will do fine on the test. The things to focus on are Debt servicing ratio, Current ratio, and debt to TNW. these are the metrics that are looked at most in the department. Also you want to look at the financial health of the company. Overall I dont think I did great on the test as I had no credit experience but I killed the interview so I think that is why I got the job. , Walk me through your resume - Focus on analytical experience, that is the most important part of the job and even if you do not have specific experience this will help.
, Why do you want to work in commercial? - I told them it is a great balance between analysis and interaction with clients and people, which is true. In the job, you do a lot of analysis but you do a lot of site visits as well to meet with clients and prospective clients, if you like doing this then commercial is a great gig with some ok growth opportunities.