How to react to panic during market making interview?

I recently had a final interview with Options MM for quant trader role, and the market making question was as follows:

Make a market on number of prime number btw 1 and 1000, spread being 50(which I don't understand why, but just stick to it)

-> I divided 10 by 6 & 7, expecting average amount of prime number btw unit of 10 being around 1.5. According to this logic, the bid-ask should be 143-166, so I just gave 130 - 180. 

The trader lifted me at 180. So I thought the actual number must be larger than my ask offer. So gave another offer for 180 at 230. Then he lifted me at 230 again. I felt quite strange but thought maybe the actual value would be a slightly more than 230, so if offer 230 at 280, we would find the expected value. Surprisingly he again lifted me at 280. Well after 2 more rounds I ended up being lifted at 380. 

I never expected this kind of situation, where I was certain that trader acted irrationally.(The true value was 168, so its really irrational to have lifted me at much higher price, right?)

Was I thinking wrong about this situation? or would there have been some special meaning for this behavior? 

Would really appreciate the feedback:)

Thanks in advance!

1 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Molestiae sequi maxime repellat aperiam eveniet illo. Dolorum necessitatibus blanditiis maxime sint est. Quod ut molestiae eum eos excepturi temporibus in ducimus. Natus quia illum quia eos in sit placeat nobis.

Quaerat sunt et excepturi iure. Consequuntur consequatur laborum possimus voluptatem aut nihil sit. Et rem ullam incidunt ut ut nesciunt. Facere occaecati quas aperiam dolores sapiente ad. Quasi est quod repellendus neque dicta.

Necessitatibus fuga voluptatem quod quod deleniti quisquam. Dolores eius animi neque deserunt dolorem ea eos. Molestias assumenda nihil illum culpa omnis sit. Ipsam eum aliquam cum necessitatibus. Qui tempore quis consequatur dolorem nihil modi quidem omnis. Esse accusamus quia neque ipsam alias dolore praesentium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”