Mental Math in IB
What type of questions do you get in interviews, and can I ask to do them on paper? I’m not good at mental math but would like to get better.
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Very little mental math - they're almost never going to ask you what's 17 x 32 or anything like that (unless you're at CVP).
You'll get accounting type questions ($10 depreciation question) and people might give you like 5 pieces of information, 2 of which are irrelevant, and tell you to calc FCF or something. Usually round numbers. I would not ask for paper unless they give you a ton of info.
It's always good to practice mental math, but typically more of a trading interview issue than IB
Ok thank you. I’ll just get better at the basics in my head then.
I was of the belief that mental math was not really necessary for IB until one interview I had for an IB role.
I remember the night before the Superday studying technicals and even brain teasers from the M&I guide thinking I was overdoing it. I remembered one brainteaser, in particular, that was a mental math challenge. I even remembered the answer and most critically the explanation for the answer thinking this is a bit much.
The next day, as the interviews were progressing, I get the same exact brainteaser I reviewed the night before and answered it as I exactly remembered.
I ended up getting the offer for that role and nothing was the same!!!
What resource did you use to practice for the interview?
Mergers and Inquisitions 400-question interview guide.
The guide in it's earlier format is probably widely available now given that was quite some time ago. The guide has been updated given the increasing competitiveness of IB recruiting. I remember feeling like I was a strong candidate from a techincals standpoint given how much prep I was doing and then IB interviews just kept leveling up from there lol.
WSO Interview Guide is really good as well for both IB and PE.
I got something like 24x32 for a MM superday for the 2023 cycle. Wasn’t able to answer it correctly, however I got everything else correctly. Still got dinged
How do they ask the question? Is it just like “solve this in your head asap”?
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