So I just had a phone interview with a major bank for a Capital Markets Analyst position. Was supposed to last 30 minutes, lasted only 15. Interviewer just asked a few questions, why this position, why this bank, what do you know about it. Then I asked a couple of questions. Unfortunately I feel like the fact that it only lasted 15 minutes meant I definitely got dinged. Anyone else have a similar experience? I studied my balls off for it too lol
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i don't think it's necessarily indicative of anything. most phone interviews are to screen you. they key takeaway for the interviewer is whether he/she liked you enough for a real interview. I've had phone interviews that last less than 10 minutes and I ultimately got called back for an interview. goodluck!
Its hard to say. They could have like your responses and didn't need anymore questions to get a feel for you. Don't look to much into it
FWIW, my boss does phone interviews basically between meetings sometimes and its way low on the priority list. If its short, sometimes its because they're just making sure you are somewhat articulate and they already know you're going to get an interview. The opposite can also be true.
It's funny that you should post this, as I just got off the phone under similar circumstances.
Good luck.
Best phone interview I ever had was only about 10min long. It was at SunTrust IB.
He only had a few questions, related to how much I wanted the job, why I wanted it, and what skills/knowledge I had.
Got the next round invite based on just that
I had the exact same experience today. Had a phone interview scheduled to last for 30 minutes, but only lasted around 15. I've heard that if interviews don't last the full interview time then you are screwed. I felt pretty !@#$ all day because of that.
i had a similar experience-30 min interview that only lasted 15mins and I had to scramble for questions to get more time with the interviewer. Eventually I got into the next round. While length might be an indicator, I think it is much more important that the conversation went.
Shortest Interview Ever... (Originally Posted: 05/18/2011)
Had the shortest interview ever yesterday....
Apparently the job wanted a 3.5 GPA, which I do not have. I already work full time, so I had to clear my schedule in the middle of the day for this...
Get a phone call, he says "Hello, what is your GPA" .... boom, interview done.
30 seconds? Is that a record? Oh well, on to the next one.... lol.
haha, that's funny. I say to hell with'em if that's all they're worried about.
Did the job advertise the candidate as having a 3.5GPA.
If yes, why apply?
If no, what the hell is wrong with that company? How about you make your requirements clear?
uh... you apply because people get jobs that don't meet GPA requirements all the time... was this serious?
That's pretty rough especially if they didn't specify that in the posting
No, to be fair, it stated a minimum GPA. But if I followed that minimum GPA req, I would be unemployed for the next 10 years; and wouldn't have the job I have now. You win some, you lose some. :D
Hahaha, that's awesome.
Same here.I can't understand why employers care that much about ugrad GPA if it's not even for an entry level job.
where was this? what kind of firm?
All undergrad gpa shows is that you have work ethic of a certain degree and can handle a structured workload. Grading systems need re-evaluated IMO. I knew kids in my major(econ) that were absolutely clueless about the subject when it came to intuitive thinking, however they studied hard and memorized material and got good grades. If they had to answer a question now, they wouldn't remember any of it.
This. I couldn't agree more. I've met plenty of brain dead 3.9ers. Idiots can study and memorize for hours a day (or pad their classes to be with the teachers that have A-/B+ class averages.)
Not to say that the opposite is true, but there is only a short story to be told of a much larger novel from GPA.
For what it's worth: given a choice between two candidates, one with a 3.8 and good ECs and the other with a 4.0 and no ECs, Lehman started making it a habit to pick the 4.0 and look how that worked out......
there's so many successful people that did terrible in college and are better at banking than people who did well
Yeah, they obviously liked what they saw on my resume when they first called to schedule. They probably only caught that I had not listed my GPA when they looked over my resume right before we interviewed.
I apply to pretty much only jobs that require a 3.5 GPA or higher. I would say that I have had only about half of the interviewers even bring up my GPA during the interview, and it may have been a quick note near the end of the interview about it. The rest moved me to the next round w/o ever asking me anyhting about my GPA. This is the first time I have ever had an interview cut short because of it.
Just wanted to post this so that the others on here with low GPAs realize that you win some and lose some, but keep hustling.
What your GPA,, if you don't mind me asking?:P I agree with you though, just try to get in; one says yes, one says no.
You should call them back and tell them to go fuck themselves. What a complete and total joke. Only thing funnier than getting asked about GPA (after being out of school for 3 - 4 years) is being asked about SAT scores. Simply retarded.
Dude, you hit it spot on. I have no idea why people would ask for SAT scores 3-4 years after graduation. It's like HELLO I took that shit 9 years ago(10 if you took it as a junior). I was never in that position, but I could imagine recruiters asking that question.
Its a stigma, its already assumed higher GPA= more likely to succeed. I have a mediocre GPA and I know many people in my school who have higher GPAs but don't shit about finance their just good at studying and good note takers. Now that I think about it, a kid in one of my classes has a 3.85 GPA or above and he was asking me to explain stuff to him in class and he wants to be an investment banker but doesn't know the first thing about it.
You guys are all right! GPA, though it can be helpful in seeking out candidates, is only one measure and the key word is "helpful." It doesn't quarantee quality or future success.
At least you've got a good story to tell! And you were right to apply -- job postings are tailored to the ideal candidate who, in a lot of circumstances, doesn't exist or is already on the working somewhere else.
Good luck with the other interviews.
I never had any problem with GPA requirements, but I always tell people to ignore both GPA and work experience requirements. My job had a work experience requirement when I had none. Just get to the interview and impress. OP was just unlucky that his interviewer was a moron.
Two straight short interviews (Originally Posted: 03/02/2017)
First time posting, so like the title says, I had two straight short interviews. I interviewed with a boutique investment bank for a full-time analyst position about a month ago. Lasted about 15 minutes, phone interview with basic questions about my education, experience, etc. I thought the interview went bad because it was really short, didn't think I would hear from them again.
Received an email from them on Friday and interviewed on Monday. The same people, again lasted about 15 minutes. A couple of the same questions from the previous interview, but added two technical questions. I stumbled on the first, thought I answered the second one adequately. Told me I should hear back from them in about 10 days.
I heard that usually short interviews are a bad sign, so would like to hear some your opinions regarding that.
A little back ground about me, I have a Finance & Accounting degree and recently graduated with an MBA. I don't have any IB experience, just some accounting and none finance/business related work experience.
Thanks.
There's no definitive "X amount of time = certain results" for interviews.
You have no idea what the expectations / schedule / etc of the person conducting the interview was.
When interviews end early . . . (Originally Posted: 09/08/2010)
After going through multiple rounds at a boutique for an associate position in IBD, I met with the head of the group. Up until then, everything had gone very well. However, after some preliminary questions he ended the interview early (about 10-15 minutes in) and said he needed to meet with everyone else to get their opinions on me.
Anyone ever have an interview like this?
I had an interview once where the guy was really brusque and after 10 minutes of rapid fire questions he tells me he "knows within five minutes if he's going to hire someone" and ends it. Got the offer. I think your situation sounds like a good thing since you had already been through multiple rounds.
That sounds a lot more positive than my experience. This guy's demeanor was distinctly disinterested--even mildly irritated, but I could be paranoid. Moreover, he asked a technical question I could not answer. I left the interview feeling pretty sick in the stomach.
I was pretty dumbstruck. I had been under the impression that he'd be aware that others had liked me enough to get all the way to him, but it seemed as if he had no idea why he was talking to me in the first place.
What was the technical question that was asked? If it was a really easy or common one, then maybe he's pissed off.
Regardless, he'll speak with everyone else you spoke with. Is he the most senior person you met so far? If he is, usually how it goes is the senior ppl would have veto power, and you may be dinged. If you have very strong support from everyone else, they may bring you back to speak with someone else to get another opinion.
No hard and fast rule though. I've had interviews where I met MDs first, and got their stamp of approval before going through superdays and meeting more junior staff.
Well, I don't want to say what the technical question was because I don't want to completely give myself away, but it wasn't quantitative and had nothing to do with valuation or understanding the financial statements. In retrospect, it was simple and I feel stupid not having an answer, but it's also not something I could have reasonably prepared for.
I was asked other, very basic questions about the financial statements and answered correctly. Nonetheless, he said he was concerned about my quantitative abilities and ended the interview before asking a single quantitative question.
He is the most senior person I've met with, and I was told that this was the final round.
Totally Freaking Out Over Informational Interview - too short? (Originally Posted: 02/26/2016)
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Thanks for advice. On average is this scale: 100/75/50/10/1 ? I hate being such a newbie at this...
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