With the rapid development of China’s financial industry, there is a growing demand for financial investment talents. Investment banks and fund companies have also raised their recruitment standards. Candidates not only need professional theoretical knowledge, but also need to be familiar with the industry recruitment process and common interview questions. This article summarizes the financial investment recruitment process, typical interview questions and mock interview answers, to help job seekers successfully pass investment interviews.
Financial investment recruitment process overview
The recruitment process for financial investment positions generally includes the following steps:
1. Submit resume and cover letter. Highlight education, internship experience and skills related to the position.
2. Online assessment. Includes aptitude tests, professional knowledge tests, English proficiency tests, etc. Need to pass a certain score to enter the next round.
3. First round interview. Ask about candidate’s knowledge background, working experience and skills. Evaluate overall quality.
4. Second round interview. More in-depth interviews, case studies and presentations to examine candidate’s logical thinking ability and professional competence.
5. Final interview with department manager. Discuss career planning and final evaluation.
6. Background check. Verify the authenticity of candidate information.
7. Offer letter. Congratulations, you got the job!
Common investment interview questions
Here are some typical questions that may be asked in investment interviews:
1. Why do you want to work in the investment industry?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. Walk me through your investment thesis for an industry or company.
4. How do you evaluate a company’s value?
5. What valuation methods are you familiar with?
6. How do you perform risk management in your investments?
7. What are some major risks facing the financial industry?
8. How do you keep up with financial news and market trends?
9. What is your investment philosophy and style?
10. Give an example of an excellent investment you made recently.
Sample interview answers
Here are some sample answers to the common investment interview questions:
1. I am passionate about the financial markets and investing. Working in the investment industry allows me to follow the global macro trends and apply financial knowledge to make investment decisions. This is an exciting career that perfectly matches my interests.
2. My strengths are strong logical thinking skills, data analysis capabilities and good teamwork spirit. My weakness is that I sometimes spend too much time analyzing details instead of thinking big picture. I am working to improve on synthesizing details into key takeaways.
3. [Walk through an investment thesis with clear logical thinking process, data analysis and risk assessment]
4. I mainly use discounted cash flow models and relative valuation models like P/E ratio, P/B ratio to evaluate a company’s intrinsic value. The key is coming up with proper assumptions for the financial projections.
5. I am familiar with DCF, multipliers, comps, precedent transactions, LBO models for valuation. I also studied options pricing models and have basic understanding of them.
6. I use position sizing, stop loss, hedging and diversification to manage risks. I make sure no single position accounts for more than 5% of the total portfolio value.
7. Major risks are market risk, liquidity risk, credit risk, operational risk and model risk. The financial industry is also facing increasing regulatory pressure globally.
8. I read financial news sites like Bloomberg and WSJ daily. I also subscribe to industry research reports and stay active on Twitter to keep up with the latest trends and what top investors are focused on.
9. My investment approach is long-term, fundamentals-driven value investing. I like to hold a concentrated portfolio with high conviction ideas.
10. I invested in Nio when the stock was trading at $2 per share. I saw huge growth potential for smart EVs in China. The stock has gone up more than 10 times since.
This article summarizes the typical recruitment process, interview questions and sample answers for financial investment jobs. Mastering the recruitment process and common interview topics is key to successfully landing your dream job in the financial industry. Show your passion, knowledge, logical thinking and communication skills during the interview to stand out from other candidates.