SIG PHONE INTERVIEW

can anyone shed light on what i can expect ... have a phone interview coming up with SIG. brainteasers, behavioral, resume, (ive also heard they focus on game theory, but will this come up on the phone? also, do they just want to see if i understand game theory or if i can use it to solve problems ... again, for the phone interview only please i underdstamd they may demand a more deeper understanding later on in the process). thanks ! also, any specific quesitons would be great !

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NestoGrande5 friends walked into a restaurant. They all had a different birthday. There was a round table with 5 seats around it. What is the probability that they sit down in correct age order either clockwise or counter clockwise?

From Fall '08.

There are 5 ways they can be seated in the correct order clockwise and 5 counterclockwise. So total of ten positions. The number of ways they can be seated at any position is 5! . So counting.

5+5/(5!) = 10/(54321) =10/120 = 1/12

I think. I'm pretty sure.

 
StopDropRollTechnically they can't be in order since it's a round table and the first and last guy will end up sitting next to each other.

That's really smart in a no shit sherlock kind of way.

 
StopDropRollTechnically they can't be in order since it's a round table and the first and last guy will end up sitting next to each other.

you're an idiot

 

You flip four fair coins, if you get 4 heads I will give you $10.00

You pay me $1.00 to play.

Should you play? What is the EV:= % to win * pay out

I want to have a discussion about the followup from this question, as I believe each play would be independent, but was told no it was conditional...

 
blastoiseYou flip four fair coins, if you get 4 heads in a row I will give you $10.00

You pay me $1.00 to play.

Should you play? What is the EV:= % to win * pay out

I want to have a discussion about the followup from this question, as I believe each play would be independent, but was told no it was conditional if we start talking about what the previous game was ...

added italics

my concern with the conditional basing it off of the last game would be suppose I don't see the first game I then walk in the room during the second game why would the first game change the odds of the the second game

.5^4

 

Are you sure it isn't 9 and 8 instead of 8 and 7?

Anyway the logic is the same. You make 2 groups of 3 and weight them. If they weight the same, the marble you're looking for is in the other 2 marbles left, weight them and you got your answer. If one of the groups weights less, you pick those 3 and weight 1 and 1. If one weights less that's the one, if they weight the same it's the one you left out from the three.

 
Maximus Decimus MeridiusAre you sure it isn't 9 and 8 instead of 8 and 7?

Anyway the logic is the same. You make 2 groups of 3 and weight them. If they weight the same, the marble you're looking for is in the other 2 marbles left, weight them and you got your answer. If one of the groups weights less, you pick those 3 and weight 1 and 1. If one weights less that's the one, if they weight the same it's the one you left out from the three.

Yes. Now answer number two so we can discuss Gambler's Fallacy!

 
blastoisespace reserved.

You have 8 marbles, 7 of which are the same weight 1 isn't. How do you figure out the lightest marble if you can only weight them twice using scale with two balances.

You take 6 marbles and weigh 3 against each other. Two cases:

Case 1: The 6 are all of the same weight. For the second measurement, you weigh the remaining two against each other and the one that weighs less is the lightest one.

Case 2: The 6 contains the one marble that's a different weight, so the scale won't be even. Take any two marbles from the lighter balance and weigh them against each other. If they weigh the same, then the third marble is the lightest; otherwise, the lighter of the two marbles is the lightest marble.

Edit: didn't notice maximus's response above!

For the second question, the only way I can see it being conditional is if you're allowed to restart the game once a tails is flipped. So for example, if your first four flips are HTHH, then you would only need two more heads to win $10. Not sure if this is correct though.

 
monkeyspells

For the second question, the only way I can see it being conditional is if you're allowed to restart the game once a tails is flipped. So for example, if your first four flips are HTHH, then you would only need two more heads to win $10. Not sure if this is correct though.

Yea I think that is the question. The other way is way too easy: -1 + 10/16 = negative EV. I think more clarification is needed, but as I understand you pay $1 to flip four times, and then if you wish you can pay $1 more to flip 4 more times and the second four are appended to the end of the first four. So if you flip HTHH first you can pay $1 and flip HHTH and you would win $10 since that makes HTHHHHTH.

That makes it a little bit harder.

 

hey mr. machina...i have a phone interview for a research position coming up and was wondering what sorts of questions you got so I can get a feel of what to expect. would GREATLY appreciate the help : )

 

Did any of you ever make it past the first round? If for the research position, what is the interview like after probability? Market knowledge?Anything specific. Thanks!

Play the long game - give back, help out, mentor - just don't ever forget where you came from. #Bootstrapped
 
Docle.GThanks! jsmort11. I read through the threads about SIG. It seems like the interview is the same for both ER and trader.

yeah--i would imagine they would be relatively similar. A lot of these prop firms really want HIGHLY quantitative people throughout, regardless of what your title is. If you want some more insight, do a search on the Jane Street Capital interview process...i would imagine they would be similar and there are MANY threads about JSC floating around here as well.

 

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