UBS IBD 1st round interview

Interview with UBS IBD. Strategies and recommendations? (Originally Posted: 03/05/2008)

I have a round 1 investment banking interview lined up for UBS (phone interview). The location in in Hong Kong, so I suspect that the interview will be conducted in Mandarin Chinese. I'm quite anxious, as this is the first interview in Chinese that I have conducted in my life. I have some time to prepare so I would like to take the initiative to study as much as possible prior to my formal interview.

Regarding language: First of all, how fluent should I expect my Chinese in Hong Kong? How much technicals will be tested in Chinese? Although I rank myself as fluent in the sense that I am completely conversational, I am unsure how far this ability will take me in a business interview (I often get positive reviews regarding my Chinese fluency from my parent's Chinese friends, but I'm not quick to rely on their opinion as useful considering that their children's Chinese is honestly quite horrible...). The extent of my business Chinese knowledge is limited: I know how to say the simple terms (such as investing, interest rates, accounts receivable/payable, cash, earnings, revenue, shareholders, debt, equity, bankruptcy, international business, etc.), but have no idea about any of the technical terms used in business schools (leveraged buyout, futures contracts, derivatives, annuities, valuation, dilution, etc.). Hell, if they ask me to describe in detail the discounted cash flow method, I would be completely lost in Chinese without the enormous substitution of English terms.

I recognize the amount of fluency required in a business setting to truly qualify as 'fluent.' I am fluent in another language and I used it extensively for my last internship for translation works of logistics/engineering manuals and presentations. However, I am not as knowledgeable with Chinese business terms when compared to the other language of fluency.

Regarding the actual interview content: What kind of questions should I expect (in other words, are the questions going to be similar to the ones asked in the United States)? Will they ask me difficult valuation questions over the phone? If they ask me for a stock pitch, should I respond with a foreign or a Chinese company?

Thanks for all of your help. I apologize for the length of this post. However, I really like UBS and I would want nothing more than an opportunity to work in Hong Kong. If given the opportunity to work there, I will choose to stay with the company for a very very long time. Everybody gives reasons during interviews for picking one company over another, but I truly have a deep desire to work for UBS (the reasons for this I will not elaborate). I just wish the the interviewer can somehow recognize my sentiments... Nevertheless, it has already been a humbling experience for me to be granted this interview. I hope it turns out well.

P.S. If it matters, I am a sophomore at one of the better business schools in the U.S. My work experiences are pretty good. I'd like to not specify as my experiences are quite identifiable. The key thing, however, is that I do not have professional finance experiences (not even in PWM). However, I feel I have other areas of accomplishments that outweigh this deficiency, at least to a certain degree. My school hasn't really taught much finance, but I took the initiative to go to the business library and independently study corporate finance, valuations, and financial modeling.

I am willing to share my resume and other materials with anybody courteous enough to help me. I would appreciate any input to better perform for my interview.