Five-ten year plan interview question
Hey guys, if Ive got a summer internship interview coming up at a big BB.. do you think it's better to be honest and claim in my five year plan that I want to move to PE and HF after working 2 years as analyst? Or keep telling that Ive aways been willing to work for that firm and I want to come back afterwards as associate and work in IBD for the BB??
It's a basic question but Im kinda having second thoughts right now..
If it's for an IBD position, say you want to work in an area that allows for the opportunity to gain broad exposure to a sector and also allows for deal exposure. Explain why these two pieces are important to you. This will cover your ground so you don't have to flat out say you want to move to PE/HF or lie that you want to be a banker forever.
Say something like this which worked really well for me...(total bullshit btw)
You know it's hard to really predict where you are going to be 10 years from now or so. If I looked back 10 years ago, I would have never predicted myself wanting to work in finance. The great thing about this job is that it opens up so many doors and opportunities, especially coming from a bank with a reputation such as XXX. I hope that I am lucky enough to still be working in investment banking that far down the line, but, if not, I know that I will have learned the skills/work ethic/bla bla bla to do anything I put my mind to.
Obviously touch it up a bit and make it sound not AS corny, but this way you don't look like a liar saying you want to be a banker 4 life, and you also don't come offas the uber-competitive douchebag who is using his IB analyst stint solely as a stepping stone to a better career. (of course, this is just my opinion... but it was well received)
This is a common interview question and considering you are going for a summer analyst position you have some freedom in your response. I generally advise people to go with an answer something like this: summer analyst, then earn a FT analyst offer and work for firm X for 2 years. Ideally, you will receive a 3rd year offer, and then accept to maximize the experience and skill set you can gain as an analyst. From there, it really depends on your opportunities. At this point, you would be most interested in continuing to grow with the firm and earn an associate promotion. However, since that those promotions are difficult to achieve, you could also easily see yourself making the move to P/E and accept an associate position there.
Let them know essentially, that you are interested in IB, and sticking with this firm for the FT offer, but down the line, it really depends on what opportunities are out there - it is not easy to make the analyst to associate jump, especially at some firms, therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to understand the other options that will be available to you due to the skill set, experience, etc, you will gain as an IB analyst (yes, mention the skill set again/why IB).
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Just don't say "I wanna be doing this in 10 years" .. be sincere and just say you want to do this and learn and go where the opportunity takes you pretty much but don't make it sound like you're using them to go bigger and better
how to best answer 5-10 year plan during HF/AM interviews? (Originally Posted: 08/09/2013)
For hedge fund interviews, if you are interviewing for an investment analyst/portfolio analyst role, what should you say and shouldn't say? How about if you're interviewing for a research oriented role?
I'm just curious about the best answers that won't automatically get your resume canned. I recently interviewed for a research role at a buyside shop and I told HR people that I wanted to eventually move into portfolio management (5-10 years later which I thought was reasonable) and they didn't like the answer
"In your chair". If you're feeling particularly ambitious go with "In your boss's chair".
In all reality, tell the truth as long as that truth doesn't involve leaving the firm. Don't try and bullshit your way through some model answer, it will be instantly obvious.
I've found that mentioning an MBA is okay because it shows ambition and that you care about your upward trajectory. Anything involving leaving the firm/changing locations is probably not a great idea, even if these people know that is your goal you have to fake otherwise. It's like dating a girl you know you would never marry, at least give her the illusion that you are just not using her in the short term.
this is a trick question..u really need to gauge properly the interviewer and the job for which you are interviewing. When i use this question for very junior people it is a big trap...if a kid says something like "i want your job" in 5 years without qualifying that response, then it shows me a) that he is delusional about how quickly he will be able to advance and b) he may not understand that the job he is applying for is importnant and that its not a training program for something better down the road.
You need to remember that a hedge fund is not hiring you to train...there is daily pressure to provide returns and you will be doing a job that needs to be done properly. So you can say whatever you want, but make sure you also communicate that you are excited about and will work your ass of at the job you are interviewer for right now. The last thing i want to hear is that a kid i am hiring todo a job that is important is planning to spend his time focused on trying to learn about other jobs they may be able to do later in their careers.
I always like honesty. Unlike IBs, HFs don't dance around outright greed. It should be reasonable, but if you say "I just want to work as hard as I can to make as much money as I possibly can. There is no other goal.", I would hire you. If the guys you are interviewing with are markets guys, they'll get that things always change, and no one can predict what the opportunity set will look like. That's markets. Your job at HF is to maximize the opportunity currently in front of you. Make hay while the sun shines.
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