Quant Trader Intern Interview Guide for Beginners — Pt.1 Background
Getting ready for the 2019 summer internship application season, I decided to try my hand at applying for quant trading internships. However, hours of scouring the web did not result in a single comprehensive guide of how to prepare for these interviews for someone with no background in mathematics and finance. Thus, after reading countless Quora, Street of Walls, and Medium posts, I have compiled a fully comprehensive guide on how to nail that perfect internship.
I’m currently going through the process myself, with final rounds coming up at a couple companies and without getting cut from any company I’ve applied to so far (fingers crossed) (Update: I got cut from multiple first rounds and resume screens, but I did get an offer that I’m pleased with).
This post will focus on background. I highly recommend reading this section, even if you already have a general understanding of the interview process.
Looking for the other posts?
Pt.2: Round 1 (Mental Math and Pattern Recognition)
Pt.3: Round 2 (HR Screens and HireViews)
Pt.4: Round 3 (Technical phone screens — Probability, EV, and Brainteasers)
1. OK Why Are These Interviews so Weird?
Before trying to dig deep into interview prep, let’s discuss why the interview process for quant internships are just so darn different from any other field.
The knowledge base required for quantitative finance is esoteric.
Coupled with the fact that the number of companies is relatively small, it’s unlikely that many students will study the material required to enter this field if they are not guaranteed a job.
So, the general mindset behind most firms is to identify candidates who have the background that indicates a high possibility of skill in the field of quantitative finance. Thus, instead of testing on knowledge of market making, options, etc. they test for skills in problem solving, mathematics, communication, and “computational speed”. With the idea being, they can teach how the markets work, but they cannot teach how to think.
Aside: In many ways, the field of computer science was very similar back in the 80’s / 90’s. At the time, computer science was a small but rapidly growing field. Thus, all the “big” companies like Microsoft would test very lightly on actual coding ability. Instead, the interview questions mirrored the ones used by quantitative trading firm today! As coding become more widely learned by students and potential employees, these companies have now moved to interviewing candidates with computer science problems. Perhaps, one day if the field expands — the interview process for quantitative finance will become more inline with other technical fields.
2. Know thy Enemy
While every firm is different, you can expect to have four rounds.
- An online test on mathematics
- A hire view (recorded video interview) / HR Screen
- A technical phone interview
- On-site
Luckily, every stage is similar for most companies, so you can prepare for the next step while going through the process. Be warned, most companies will limit you to a week in between rounds, so if you’re not confident in your abilities to prepare for the next round in time, hold off on entering into the first round.
3. Getting the Interview
For most quant firms, who you know is generally irrelevant. Especially compared to other branches of finance, networking is much less of a priority and a resume submitted through an online portal should suffice. However, if you’re an underclassman, have a weaker technical background, or are applying to an exclusive company, networking can never hurt.
Aside: Most universities will have an online portal to apply through or a list of alumni and which companies they work at. A quick look through here can be a huge boost, especially if you go to an extremely technical or prestigious school.
Obviously, if you know someone who works at the company that can forward your resume along to recruiting, that’s going to be the best option. However, I found success without knowing anyone, using LinkedIn.
The basics is this: genuinely reach out to people asking for help and you will probably be surprised by how much strangers will be willing to aid you in your process (also the bonus offered by most quants for a referral hire means that the employees are incentivised to help you).
Aside: When writing a LinkedIn connection message, be direct with your intentions and try to find some type of common ground. For example, going to the same college, high school, or even being from the same home state, any little edge will help you when you’re networking. Also, always make sure to address the message to the person and to include the company’s name in it, if your message is obviously copy, pasted, and fired nilly-willy, you’re much less likely to get a response.
Please PLEASE spend time with your resume. No amount of preparation for an interview will matter if you can’t even get your foot in the door.
3a. Writing a Great Resume
I’ll focus on some tips focused on quant finance in this section since there are so many resources available on the general topic of resume writing.
“Good artists copy; great artists steal.” — Pablo Picasso
First of all, find resumes that you think are amazing online and steal their format, bonus points if it’s a resume for a quantitative finance position.
Secondly, taking into account why the interview process is structured the way it is, try to create a resume that aligns with the types of candidates quant firms would want to hire, high technical ability, ability to learn new topics rapidly, and interest in mathematics and problem solving.
Thirdly, don’t get too creative. Most resumes are looked at for about a minute, if it’s too wild, no one will be able to figure it out in time.
3b. Get Organized
School is hectic and so is your inbox when it starts filling up with first rounds, deadlines, and scheduling chains. To make sure that no company just “falls through the cracks”, before you send out your first resume, I recommend making a Google Sheet to organize yourself. I’ll detail below how I set myself up.
Sheet 1: Overview
- Company
- Position
- Awaiting Response (either for scheduling or results of round)
- Status (round # +whether or not it is completed)
- Deadline
- Last Contact (keep track of when you last submitted your round or HR emailed you last)
- Follow Up? (keep track of which date you should follow up with the company if you have been awaiting a response for a long time. This should be based off of last contact).
- Notes (I like to keep track of all the types of questions I receive, since some firms may focus on mental math speed and others on brainteasers)
Sheet 2: Contacts
- Company
- Name
- Position
- How we met
- Notes (good to keep track of details about them, especially if you share an alma mater, they share a personal story with you, etc.)
Sheet 3: Interview Questions / Stories
I’ll touch upon this more in talking about Round 2, but I’ve found it useful to write down every non-technical question I receive and write down general bullet points on how I should answer these questions.
No matter what you do, just make sure that you have a system in place such that you never miss a deadline and you know when to follow up with companies in case you slip through their cracks.
4. Effective Practice
The rest of the series will be focusing on both tips for preparing for interviews and advice on how to approach the interview. However, when you are practicing, it’s important to ensure that the hours you spend is being used to the fullest. For athletes or musicians this might seem intuitive, but given that I am neither, I had to learn these lessons the hard way.
“🎵 I never practice. I only perform. 🎵”
- Chance the Rapper
However you plan on taking the interview should be exactly how you practice. Likely, that means you’re going to be alone, with no music, sitting behind a computer with a mouse and keyboard. You want every single interview to feel like an exercise you’ve done a thousand times before, just like you practiced.
If you hit a wall, take a break and come back to it. You can really bang your head against a wall so many times until your head splits in half. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Every day you take off, you lose one day’s worth of skill. Practice everyday, even if it’s just 10 minutes, practice.
5. Wrap Up
If you liked this post and want me to continue, let me know with some claps! If you loved this post, show me some love via:
https://www.camdenko.github.io
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Ready for the next step?
Pt.2: Round 1 (Mental Math and Pattern Recognition)
Pt.3: Round 2 (HR Screens and HireViews)
Pt.4: Round 3 (Technical phone screens — Probability, EV, and Brainteasers)
