TYPICAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Personal Career Choices/Resume:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Tell me about yourself walk me through your resume. Why Investment management? (Be prepared to discuss why consulting, private equity and banking are not for you) Why buy side and not sell side? (Depending on the fund) why growth? Why value? Why momentum? Why fixed income? Why did you choose Columbia Business School? What qualities are necessary to be a good analyst? Do you have an industry preference? If so, why? Tell me about a problem or project that you worked on and how you went about solving it. What other firms are you interviewing with? Why do you want to work for us? What are your long term goals? What are you looking for in an internship/job? What classes have you taken? What have been your favorites? Least favorite? Why? Tell me about a time when you had to take a stand, and were met with opposition to your view. What was the outcome? What sort of teams have you worked with successfully and unsucessfully in the past? Talk about a failure. How did you overcome it? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your investment philosophy? Columbia is known for value investingwho are the top 3 value investors that you admire.

Market/Stock Pitch related:

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. Where do you think the market is going? Why? Do you own/have you owned any stocks? Tell me about them. Why did you buy/sell them? What stocks do you like now? (Should have 2-3 picks prepared, and expect follow-up questions) How did you arrive at your target price? What are the drivers? What are 5 ways a company can manipulate earnings? What are five questions you would ask a companys management? How do you value management?

When its your turn to ask the interviewer questions, here are some broad suggestions:
28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Investment philosophy, structure of fund and organization Portfolio allocation/turnover Career path for a research analyst Views on the CFA Search strategies