Interviewed at Oliver Wyman (London office) a couple of months ago and they asked me to figure out why a partner couldn't get a taxi in New York.
What's the dumbest interview question you've ever heard and how did you respond to it?
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What did you answer
Had to ask a bunch of questions to find out the answer which was that they weren't offering the taxi driver enough money
🤦
Lol, did you promptly tell them that cabs in NYC charge a flat rate (except for tip, which is assessed once you've reached your destination) and you can lodge a complaint against a driver that tries to do otherwise?
I hate when "case interviews" are that disconnected from reality.
How many basketballs can you fit in this room?
I got the same with footballs, lol.
I had an interview at JP Morgan and he asked how many quarters would it take to stack up to the top of the building. I’ve also gotten “how many lightbulbs are there in Manhattan..” lol
This for a consulting firm or was it a general ‘brain teaser’?
What was your answer?
To me none of these really sound like 'dumb' questions, I agree they're annoying to answer but they sound pretty typical of those open ended/Fermi type questions. I'd say an actually dumb question to hear would be more like "would you work here even if the money wasn't good" or if they ask a technical question where it's clear they have no idea what they're talking about themselves.
I've been asked "what type of excel formula is =sum()?"
I said "math," the answer was "an array formula." Anyone who thinks the important thing about excel is to know definitions is an idiot lmao
Lol. Where was the interviewer from? Some countries have more theoretical based education than practical applications.
This was a few years ago at a superday with a MM bank. It’s a two on one interview with an MD and VP interviewing me. MD asks me about these deals on my resume and why they’re not on the company’s news or website. Keep in mind these deals were ongoing and listed as so it’s MNPI (material non-public information).
I look at him shocked like is this guy serious cause that’s such a stupid question. I tell him straight up M&A is confidential until announced (if ever) and if he wants to tell me his list of ongoing processes I’d be happy to take them.
You’re not supposed to disclose material non-public information.
Agree but tbh this was such a dumb question for the MD to ask.
Brain fart after an all nighter
Man that’s dumb on your end, his question is completely legitimate. Having undisclosed deals on your CV shows that you can’t be trusted with confidential information.
"Tell me about a time you betrayed your friend and what you did to regain their trust?" - Monsanto
"I told him that roundup actually doesn't cause non hodgkins lymphoma and then paid him a bunch of money when he was terminal"
I had “Mario cart” on my interests and the vp asked me “so what’s your STrATeGY” XDD
I had to pause for a good 10 seconds to not crack up at his question, then proceeded to tell him “well, I usually like to throw bananas and turtle shells”
Got the offer the next day
You misspell “Mario Kart” on your resume and still get the job? I’m impressed and disappointed at the same time.
It was a fairly easygoing interview process relatively speaking
Why did you go to Top 5 MBA and not just go to local 40th ranked MBA?
Real question from a boutique firm. I tried to be nice then guy still kept at it and I finally had to say bc it’s ranked much higher and the dipshit got all pissed bc he was a 40 ranked guy. I still laugh to this day
“Why this group and not GS/MS?” - considering I was interviewing at a very regional mm for a sophomore internship, I thought this question could’ve either been phrased better or just a stupid comparison, as I had to stress why taking on more responsibility and working in small teams would be more ideal for me as a sophomore intern than working at a top group
What were they expecting you to say to this question??
I got this type of question once in the form of “if you got an offer right now from X bank, would you take it?” I said “yeah, it’d be the only offer I have right now so it’d be dumb not to take it” ended up getting the offer from that bank Edit: not the same type of question, didn’t read that right
what was your answer?
“How do you value a cow?” Asked at MS.
Age, Dairy vs Beef cow, health, diet, size, estimated meat grade
That's not that bad at all. My friend got asked it at BofA: it's to see who actually knows the principles behind a DCF and who's just memorising answers out of a guide
.
Middle of the 2008 financial crisis I'm interviewing for a back office type non-banking finance position. When I say back office, I mean back back office like shuffling papers all day doing completely menial mindless work. Was happy to get the interview or any interview at the time.
Interviewer asked, "Why are you interested in this job?"
I mean because I always dreamed of shuffling papers all day for like $15 per hour???? It's the GFC of 2008 and I need a fucking job to pay my rent. Did any applicant apply for any other reason?
and where are you now, still BO?
LMAOO 😂😂
Definitely 🤣
Worked some shit jobs and then did IB followed by ER. Didn't get that back office position but did get something equivalently shitty until the economy got better.
An interviewer asked me “so what do you think of the economy and where do you see it going?”
Ended up giving a detailed and intricate explanation using theory from what I learned from my economics class professor. The interviewer listened intently and sounded fairly impressed with my response and my understanding of the markets. I ended up joining the group only to realize the internship role I was interviewing for had little to no involvement with the markets even though the job title said “capital markets” -> it was an operations role that supported capital markets
If you were a valuation multiple, which multiple would you be?
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