Quant Trader Intern Interview Guide for Beginners — Pt.5 Onsite
I can’t believe we made it 👏👏👏! First of all, if you’ve made it this far in the interview process, give yourself a huge pat on the back. This is the stage where burnout and feelings of inadequacy are most likely to rear their ugly heads. So let me get this out of the way, if you can make it this far you have the technical ability to work as a quant.
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Pt.1: Background (Interview Prep and Organization)
My first onsite interview was with Optiver. I completely flubbed it. Flying home that afternoon, the plane was leaning to one side because my heart felt so heavy (ok that was cheesy but you get what I’m saying). Maybe I have the chops to work there, but there’s no way that my interviewers could’ve known that. After that rejection, I got cut halfway through the Akuna final round. In my head, my skills were enough to reach the final round for several companies but not enough to actually receive an offer.
A mentor gave me some advice: the technical phone screen is to figure out who can do the math and probability. The onsite serves to see how people operate in the working environment. How can they work under pressure? Do they fit in with existing employees? Will they be able to learn in this environment? These are the questions that you should be looking to answer for them on your onsite. It depends company to company, but in general, showing how you would be an exemplary employee has a higher priority than answering the questions correctly.
Here are the components of an onsite:
- Technical (multiple)
- HR
- Desk Shadowing
- Management
- Meal
Here are some rare ones I’ve seen that will not be covered:
- Fermi Questions
- Group Interview
1. Treat it as a First Date With a Company
Hang with me here, it may seem like a bit of a stretch, but in a lot of ways, an on site interview is just like a first date when you’re over 30. Both parties are interested in each other and are feeling out whether or not a long term relationship could happen. It’s easy to get wrapped up in interview fever - hoping desperately to get the company, any company, to like you, that you forget that this is a mutual agreement. Even though it’s just an internship, 3 months is a long time and you shouldn’t blindly enter in any company that accepts you.
Where this extended metaphor really hits home is the attitude you should have while you’re doing your onsite. Anything that you do (or don’t do) you probably shouldn’t do during your interviews. For example:
Bad mouth your ex: Dates don’t want to hear you talk trash about previous relationships. It makes you look bad, and they worry that you’ll do the same to them.
Dress like a slob: Sure you’re a student, so t-shirts and jeans are just what you wear daily, but you’re gonna wanna show your date that you care enough about what’s going on to throw on a shirt with a collar.
Flex: No date wants to hear how many other people you’ve been with, how great your other relationships have been, or how privileged they should feel to be on a date with you, humility is sexy.
If you don’t get the metaphors above, just replace relationship with job, date with interviewer, and sexy with employable. You get the idea. If you wouldn’t do it during a date, don’t do it during an interview.
2. From the First Email You’re Being Interviewed
Think about this as texting a person you’re going to date, it probably won’t make or break the result of your date, but you know for a fact that they’re gonna be considering this.
Throughout the interviewing process, you’re going to be working with people who will ultimately decide whether or not you get accepted into the company. Meaning, that from the very first email you send, an opinion is being formed about you.
From the second you arrive onsite, even if you’re just with a receptionist, be on your best behavior. If you’re waiting in the lobby, take the time to read through literature about their company they may have.
Until you’re on the plane back home, assume that anything that you say or do will be judged. You don’t have to stress out about it too much, just don’t let your guard down.
3. Technicals
Technicals are the flirting, here’s where you show off the best parts of yourself and to pique the other party’s interest. By the end of this, you want them to want you.
All preparation required for this section is covered in my previous article. What I will say is that companies will typically ask similar questions to their phone screens, meaning that if you took proper notes, you can prepare specifically for the questions that they are likely to ask. For example, SIG had a heavy emphasis on probability and brainteasers while Optiver focused on mental math and computational speed.
You will probably have time at the end to ask questions in person to traders or the educational staff at the quant firm. Make sure to have intelligent questions to ask.
4. HR
HR interviews are the deep, personal conversations at the tail end of your date. A chance to connect with the other party on a spiritual level. See if your values align.
Again, the preparation is covered in a previous article. I tend to focus on how I would be a cultural fit in to the company during this portion. Make sure that you maintain eye contact, smile, and try to treat this interview as a conversation as much as possible. Remember, this process is for finding a match, not for selling yourself.
5. Desk Shadowing
Desk Shadowing is going back to your date’s home. You get perspective on what they’re actually like behind the front that they put on. Maybe your date has a whole bunch of cute dogs, or maybe they have a creepy doll collection above their bed.
This portion will probably be the most important for you to help you decide which company to go to if you receive multiple offers. Your job is mostly sitting behind a desk for 8 hours, so this sneak peak gives you a comprehensive understanding of what a work day would be like.
In addition, this is a company’s only chance to see how interested an applicant is on actual trading.
In other words, this might be the most important section and ultimately one that you cannot prepare for outside of coming up with questions that you would want traders to answer.
My advice is to act as you would in a work environment. I spend a lot of time at previous jobs cracking jokes and arguing about random topics, so that’s how I acted while I shadowed. There were clearly some companies that weren’t into it, and that’s fine. I’m glad to see that if I worked there, my personality wouldn’t gel well with the rest of the workers.
Management
I’m going to skip the date metaphor for this section, but you probably get the idea.
This portion is similar to the HR interview. However, my main focus here is to show that I would fit in on a desk and operate well in a team. They are likely to start off the interview by giving a background on the company and their direction moving forward. Take this time to see how you would fit into their vision and verbalize that to your interviewer. Depending on the size of the firm, you’ll have the opportunity to talk to people who rank higher or lower on the totem pole. Try to ask questions relative to their position.
The most important takeaway is the direction of the company. Careers as quants typically don’t last long, so you better be sure that wherever you go is where you would want to go for a significant portion of your career.
Meal
Breakfast for the morning after. A more relaxed time, outside the stress of the actual date, that’s just as important as everything else.
Not much to say here. Enjoy your food, don’t do anything outrageous, and treat this like another HR interview. You may have a chance to talk to traders during this time, and if you do, take this time to ask questions that aren’t directly focused on work. You spend 8 hours sleeping, 8 hours at work, and 8 hours with family. Which means that the people you spend the same amount of time (or more) with your coworkers as you do with your family.
Make sure that these coworkers are people that you actually enjoy being around. Nothing’s worse than going into work and having to spend all day with people you hate.
Post Interview
After a date you better text them back.
After the whirlwind that is interviewing, you’ll probably be really exhausted. But, there’s no time for rest yet. Make sure to email and thank everyone involved in the process. If you get the job, they’re gonna be sticking around in your life. If you don’t, then next year, they’re going to be good friends to have.
Be sure to keep track of all emails and contact information in a google sheet and keep them safe for later. Better safe than sorry.
Conclusion
Congratulations on making it this far! Seriously, to get to this point is no easy feat. It took some serious hard work, dedication, and time.
Don’t feel discouraged if things don’t work out for you this year. It’s all a learning process and if you feel that quant is the right role for you, then you have a head start on preparing for next year’s interviews. If you’re looking for advice or for more information. Feel free to contact me through LinkedIn. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to help, but I can certainly try my best.
So, without further ado, good luck and godspeed! Wherever life takes you next, I’m rooting for you!
Credits
Thank you for reading all of this!
Having done tech, I got spoiled with countless resources dedicated to helping others get interviews. For quant, there’s not nearly the same level of resources. Luckily, friends who are familiar with the field were able to give me great advice that helped me put together the information I saw online. I hope that their advice coupled with my experience can help you and others enter this field.
Huge thank you to the Gietls for introducing me to the field and offering advice. To Other Tim for being a wonderful mentor. To Brice and Genie for teaching me math. To Charles, Arun, and Asim for getting me serious about interview prep. To anyone who gave me advice about the industry, interviewing tips, and company information. Finally, thank you to my parents for tricking me into thinking that math is cool at a young age and for letting me borrow the car to go to study at the library.
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Looking for the other posts?
Pt.1: Background (Interview Prep and Organization)
