I'm looking at some informational phone interviews with alums and trying to build a closer connection. Would questions like "How are women treated at your bank?" or "How does it feel to be Black at your bank?" be a bad idea?
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Only a good idea if you are a black woman. If you're not, then you really can't make the connection with them.
those questions would just make the conversation awkward. how about questions about other hobbies/interests?
I think it is best to stay away from such questions. There are tons of other things to ask about. The key here is to just get the interviewer talking about themselves.
While the interview is a chance to prove your worth to the firm, it is also an opportunity to evaluate the firm to see if it's a good fit. I know it's seems odd right now, when you just want the security of having a job, but fit is a big deal when you spend so many hrs at work. If you are a diversity candidate and your interviewer is also one, for instance, you should ask that question. You learn good info about the culture and get them talking about themselves.
Think about the potentially awkward situation that could put the person in. You really don't want the answer "well, all 3 women and African Americans (or Africans, of course) I see in the lunch room" ... the industry ain't diverse, so unless you're interviewing with someone who would have a vested interest in it (i.e. tells you he's the diversity office for something, is of a background with which you can make that connection) don't ask about it. Just like you wouldn't ask a guy who's introduced himself as an industry group banker about what parts of M&A execution he likes best. Or ask a guy from a debt desk about the wonders of equity.
first off, dont say black. secondly, only ask these questions if the other individual is a woman or african-american or both. thirdly, i think you need to phrase the questions better - more so like are there networking opportunities geared towards females at your bank, etc. i think certain firms have specific opportunities like this, so this is fair game to ask.
Anything focused on gender/ethnicity I would stay away from as those can be controversial topics and even if the interview is from your own background, he/she may not appreciate the question since you're reminding him/her that Wall Street is not diverse at all and there's a lot of groupthink.
When I first read this topic I thought you were asking whether or not it is ok to ask questions about the person's family or personal life/interests... in short, no, you want to stay away from those too. Something like, "What do you do for fun/outside of work?" MIGHT be ok but definitely stay away from anything about family. Asking about how they got to their job/background questions like are pretty standard and encouraged, just don't make it overly personal.
How personal can you be in an interview? (Originally Posted: 07/15/2012)
Can you talk about your parent's professions leading you to go into Finance?
Ex: "my dad is a lawyer and my mom is an engineer. i was exposed to both professions throughout my life and neither appealed to me, so I wanted to pursue Finance especially after learning about blah blah blah"
Can you talk about certain obstacles related to family situation?
Ex: "yeah I got into this [semi target school] but I chose to go this [nontarget school] because I was saving lots of money by getting an academic scholarship at the latter"
Basically, certain topics are blatantly off-limits. But there seems to be a grey area with personal information in interviews and I want to get a feel for what applies and does not apply.
I don't see why not. Just don't make it over-dramatic.
Ya that stuff's all fine. If you have really uncomfortable stuff that would make the interview awkward, I don't think I'd bring it up though. If you wanted to go into finance after you were raped by an investment banker, I'd come up with a better story. But that basic personal information is completely normal/totally common.
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