Akshit Vashishth
Finance Club, IIT Kharagpur, is proud to present one of its many success stories. Akshit Vashishth (Roll no. 16NA3FP04), a final year undergraduate student of the Financial Engineering program, shares his awesome experience with grabbing a Model Risk Management Intern at Credit Suisse, through CDC where he learned about financial products in-depth while primarily focusing on Investors’ needs. In addition to this, he has also cleared FRM level 1.
Finance Club, IIT Kharagpur interacted with him on the experience of his interview process and the strategy he adopted for the preparation of the same, to target different companies. Here, we present you a glimpse of the brief interaction we had with him. We really thank him for spending his valuable time to answer the questions regarding the CDC Internship process.
Interviewer: Hello, Akshit. Thanks for joining us. I hope you are safe and doing well.
Akshit: Thank You for a warm welcome.
Interviewer: So starting with the interaction, I would like to ask you about your past experiences in the field of Finance and also what type of work was done during those internships?
Akshit: So talking about my past experiences, I had 2 summer internships in the field of finance prior to my CDC internship. I interned at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. after my second year where I developed a block trade screener based on scheme holdings of mutual fund managers. At the end of my 3rd year, I interned at Equitymaster Agora Research where I implemented a systematic trading strategy based on positive returns seasonality periods. I also got to learn about different technical indicators.
Interviewer: What is the general interview process for finance companies? Can you please mention the number of rounds and the nature of the interview process?
Akshit: To be honest, every finance company has a different nature of interviews However, generally, they range from 2 -6. It’s basically subjective to each firm but on average, you could expect 2–3 technical rounds followed by an HR round. They shortlist either based on your resume and then might conduct a GD too. Many companies, especially quant-based, like to conduct their own internships tests on sections such as engineering maths, prob stats, speed quant, and coding.
Interviewer: So how did you prepare for the technical rounds and what preparation tips would you like to give to the students appearing for CDC this year?
Akshit: For Technical rounds in most finance firms, they mainly ask probability & statistics and puzzles. I revised the course contents of MA20104 Prob stats and solved standard quant finance interview problems from “Heard on the Street” book. I also revised my FRM material. Last but not the least, I prepared my CV content in and out. Students targeting quantitative roles must focus on problem-solving skills. It’s important to explain to the interviewer your approach to solve a problem. Having basic algorithms and data structures knowledge gives you an edge too.
Interviewer: Okay Akshit, could you please explain the role Competitive Programming (CP) plays in the CDC?
Akshit: Competitive Programming (CP) is really important for most companies that come into the CDC process. Most banks and financial institutions look for certain technical acumen. Hence it’s always safe to have some CP experience before you sit for your interviews.
Interviewer: Would you recommend any book for students trying to grab a Finance Internship?
Akshit: There can be different books you can follow, but I would like to recommend books like Heard on the Street, 50 Challenging problems in probability, and also Course contents of Prob Stats. Puzzles on Brainstellar.com can also help in improving your quantitative skills. These books are quite interesting and proved helpful during my preparation too.
Interviewer: Is this true that a high CGPA is required to grab a good internship in the Finance sector?
Akshit: Basically, it depends on the type of firm you are targeting. A CGPA above 7.5 lets you sail smoothly. The companies which directly shortlist based on resumes give importance to CGPA relatively. So having a high CGPA is always an advantage in the CDC process.
Interviewer: Is there anything else that you would like to share with the students? Any last moment tips..?
Akshit: Have a basic idea about the firm you’re applying to. Confidence is always the key to any interview. The worst-case scenario is that you won’t get the offer. No preparation is full preparation. Don’t question yourself too much if you don’t get an offer on Day 1 despite the efforts you put in because CDC internships can be very random.
Interviewer: Thank you Akshit for giving your valuable time for this interview to the Finance Club, IIT Kharagpur. We hope this interview helps students to organize themselves and prepare efficiently to target their dream companies and roles. We wish you all the best for your future endeavors!
Akshit: Thank You!!
