Please, help me to *not* fail this interview
I am currently a junior at a semi target school. Basically, summer analyst recruiting has been a shit show for me. So far, I've only gotten two OCIs, two phone interviews, and one superday in a variety of roles such as IB, corp fin, and AM. I've received no offers yet, despite thinking a few of them went very well given they were mostly behavioral.
I was just invited to one final superday of the semester, which will be happening in a little over a week. It is for the investment arm of AIG, and I'd be filling a portfolio analyst role. I'm extremely interested in this opportunity. Bottom line is, I don't want another great opportunity to slip past me again.
Overall, after doing some research, it sounds like this interview is very behavioral, with maybe a few brainteasers and very simple technicals. For the behavioral questions, what qualities/experience should I try to link to this job? And where can I study up on some basic bond math/credit/other technicals?
bump, does anyone have any advice
PM me, happy to help.
PM'd, thank you!
From my experiences, the best interviews I had this recruiting season were the ones where I didn't try too hard to get my finance knowledge across. I had a few superdays at BB's and did some serious reflection after I didn't get an offer from any of them.
I found that I was trying too hard to get them to recognize my technical knowledge and the fact that I live and breathe finance. If the interview is mostly behavioral, that means they want to know who you are. At my next superday, I talked about my high school summer jobs, my interests, my likes, and left the investment/finance clubs, brokerage account, case competitions, etc. out of the equation. I ended up getting the offer for that superday.
Not sure if this is what your looking for, but keep this in mind, especially for an AM position. They need a real person, show them your diversified while still coming across as intelligent.
Hope this helps and best of luck.
This is something I didn't really think about- thank you! Looking back, I've definitely gotten the question "What do you do in your free time?" and maybe I tried too hard to link my extracurricular activities to the job.
On that note, does anyone know anything about the culture at AIG?
I second this completely. I went into a BAML technology IBD superday and tried too hard to have my technical ability come across. Invariably I didn't get an offer. At my JPM private bank superday I made it clear I was excited to be there and made it a point to just be myself - ended up getting an offer within 24 hrs.
Thanks for the advice. I'm finding it a little tough to find out their investment strategy(ies), since they're not an independent AM. What's the best way to look into this, and what specifically should I take note of (asset allocation, long-only vs long-short, etc)?
delete delete
With regards to behavioural, I’d suggest make a list of 5 experiences you’ve had (ran a student club, organised a charity dinner, interned at XYZ, etc), and practise using those to answer any typical interview questions.
Secondly, beyond the STAR method, try to tick of the following things when answering a question using an experience (“tell me a time you showed leadership”): - In what way did you go out of your way to get the role (unusual for a fresher to take responsibility, perhaps) - In what way did you motivate/inspire others to do a great job - What was challenging about it?
Thanks for all the help guys. What are examples of good questions I should ask the interviewers?
Hey man I went through something similar. What I found really helped me was emphasizing into my prep the way I presented myself. That is, I made sure to speak eloquently and think through all of my thoughts before speaking. I believe this is something you can change overnight and I think having this attitude going forward will help you out a lot.
Looking past on some past interviews, I would spit out technicals like an absolute ass and not understand why I wasn't getting offers. It's all about how you present yourself. PM if you want to talk.
PM'd, thanks!
How should I phrase my past experiences/resume walk through? Does it have to be in chronological order? My very first internship was in PWM, which is probably the most relevant for this position (over marketing & business development and corporate strategy). How do I emphasize my work there, even though it was a while ago (summer after freshman year)?
Bump
Also, should I expect a stock pitch question even if their portfolio is nearly exclusively fixed income?
Hey everyone, thanks again for the helpful advice. I just had my superday a few days ago. Definitely just tried to be myself, and not come across as a finance nerd. Two of my interviews were pretty average, but I felt like one of them went especially well. Hopefully will hear back soon.
Thanks for keeping us updated. Best of luck - I know we're all rooting for you.
Wafers,
Please PM - reached my limit. Need your advice on similar situation.
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