Investment Associate

The interview process was in 3 stages:

Stage 1: Telephone interview with two mid-level staff for 45-60 minutes. Topics included assessing my knowledge of current events, probing my reasoning for working in investment banking (I was an IBD analyst at the time), inquiring about my opinions on the sustainability of the investment banking business model and questioning me on economic topics (I was an economics major). It was clear that the interviewers valued highly candid responses, especially if those responses broke from the "party line". For example, one asked if I thought my bank was a good business and I answered "no" and gave a critique of the firm's strategy and of the flaws in the business model/strategy. I was a first year analyst at the time and they expected me to regurgitate the usual coolade about what a wonderful firm it was -- they told me they were impressed I responded to the contrary.

Stage 2: Personality / work-style diagnostic tests. Upon successful completion of the phone interview, candidates must complete online versions of the Myers Briggs personality test and another psychological test about workstyle. As far as I know, there is no "wrong" result but rather the test results are used to help interviewers assess your performance in Stage 3.

Stage 3: Group interview at Bridgewater headquarters. Under the supervision of 1 senior and 1 junior employee, approx 4-5 candidates will participate in a ~3 hour group interview in a conference room. During the session, the candidates will debate a 4-5 controversial topics (the sort with no "right" answer) under the watchful eye of Bridgewater staff. If a candidate fares well (e.g., clear speaking style, sound logic, strong critical reasoning skills), then the candidate will be ushered into another room for a 3-on-1 interview. In this second interview, the candidate is presented with choice of ~4 highly controversial policies (e.g., "the year is 2040 and the world is severely overpopulated, would paid euthanasia be a sound policy to implement if it alleviated greater suffering?") and asked to support or defend the policy. The candidate must prepare a 15-minute speech and then sit through 30 minutes of difficult Q&A.