PIMCO Interview Questions

20 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (97%)

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.

4.2
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (99%)

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.

3.5
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (68%)

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.

34%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at PIMCO

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2021
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division N/A
Location London
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Grade Finance
Location Toronto
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Real Estate
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Credit
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Asset Management
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2021
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Fixed Income
Location London
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
2nd Year Associate
Year 2017
Job Title 2nd Year Associate
Group/Division N/A
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Product Management
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2019
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Asset Management
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2020
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Portfolio Management
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - PIMCO Examples

Associate Interview - Compliance

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: March 2024
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Professional interview process. Initial phone call then proceed with 2 VPs on the same Zoom meeting.
Interview Questions
What is the difference between mutual funds and ETFs?

Senior Analyst Interview - Real Estate

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: September 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Background Check
Interview
The interview process started with a screening call with HR. Following that, there was a virtual meeting setup with 4 individuals from the company who asked behavioral/experience/personality type questions. Following that, there was a 2 hr. proficiency test consisting of a case study.
Interview Questions
None of the questions were particularly difficult or unexpected. Very standard interview type questions (working style, strengths/weaknesses, example of a time when you had to resolve conflict, etc.). One specific question was: Tell us about your working style

Intern, Alts: Credit & Private Strategies Interview - Special Situations Group

Anonymous employee in London
Interviewed: February 2023
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Completed online form, followed by HireVue 1 month later and Assessment Centre consisting of 4 interviews
Interview Questions
Walk me through a recent valuation that you have done. What did you do which was different/innovative?

product analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: September 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
video interview after superday, pretty standard questions on the market and quantitive understanding
Interview Questions
What's going on in the market?

Research analyst Interview - Asset Management

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: June 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Met 9 members of the team across 1.5 months and a take home case study. Interview process was very enjoyable.
Interview Questions
How would you integrate factors in financial analysis

associate Interview - Sales and Trading

Anonymous interview candidate in chicago
Interviewed: March 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Skills Test
Personality Test
Interview
Multiple behavioral and technical rounds with a 3 statement modeling test, most interviews were relaxed some were very technical
Interview Questions
3 statement model done from complete scratch on a private company with limited financials in 3 hours

Associate, Commercial Real EstTe Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: March 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Recruiter screen, then one-on-ones with people on the team in Newport and New York. Each interview was one-on-one. I completed roughly 6 before I was told they woulnd't be moving forward. Some interviews are strictly behavior / get to know you, others are highly technical and you will need a calculator/pen/pencil.
Interview Questions
Mental math questions on IRR, cap rates, returns, and LP/GP payouts.

Trading Desk Analyst Interview - Investments

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: November 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Other
Interview
Applied online.

HireView Style Video Interview:

6 questions, mostly basic. Tell me the difference between a stock and a bond. If you had $1M how would you invest it? What are some risks associated with bonds? Tell me about a project where you had to learn a new skill. Can't remember the last one but was roughly behavioral/CV related.

Super Day:

6 rounds of interviews, 30 minutes each. 2 behavioral, 1 macroeconomic, 1 technical, 2 mix between behavioral/macroeconomic.

Macro was mainly focused about trends and expectations (read PIMCO report and was fine), general commercial awareness (what is inflation right now/interest rate/etc). Some stuff about unemployment and ESG. If you read the WSJ/FT/Economist with any frequency and study PIMCO's quarterly/yearly outlooks you should be fine.

Behavioral was standard questions about your resume, etc. Got along really well with my interviewers so we mainly skipped the script and talked about whatever. Very laid back and it was super chill. I think these are to see if you pass the "vibe check", ie. if you answer the first question well, the tone of the interviewer immediately changes to a much more informal one.

Technical was by far the hardest, not in the sense that the math was hard but it was concepts they hadn't warned me about in the slightest. I was asked the price an oil forward for a year from now, describe how one hedges against currency risk, and different investment ideas. Eg. if you thought the USD was going to depreciate, how would you make money off of it? Tell me what the convexity and duration of a bond is. How do you price a convertible bond?

I would recommend knowing about FX/Bonds/Commodities/OTC Products. I didn't get asked a single question about equities whatsoever. Macro super important as well.
Interview Questions
Price me an oil forward in a currency other than the USD for a year from now.

Portfolio Analyst Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Solana Beach
Interviewed: January 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
Tax-advantaged strategies (i.e. municipals) in PIMCO's Solana Beach office. PIMCO also runs tax-advantaged strategies from primary Newport Beach office; Solana Beach office from Gurtin acquisition circa 2020. Solana Beach office primarily SMA-focused.

1. Recruiter 1-1
2. Associate 1-1
3. Superday w/ Associate, VP, SVP (all 1-1)
4. SVP 1-1
Interview Questions
You have a 3 gallon jug and 5 gallon bucket, how do you measure out exactly 4 gallons of water?

Account Analyst Interview

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: December 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Overall, not too difficult, but make sure to know the market really well. If you are able to strike a smart conversation about the markets, they will like you.
Interview Questions
Honestly, nothing much. Everything was expected.