Interview over coffee?

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cfajedi

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Anyone have one of these?
My buddy got an ER interview thru a contact and thinks its a courtesy interview because its over coffee as opposed to something more formal.
What do you guys think?
 
Maybe, but hey if he impresses well enough then they’ll bring him into the office. He shouldn’t get discouraged.
 
Could also be a tactic to see how well prepared your buddy really is. Might be hoping to catch him in a relaxed, informal setting to see if he really knows his stuff.
 
Is he in a position where he travels? I have had interviews over coffee but that was because I traveled a lot and couldnt interview during the week…
 
id treat it as a formal interview bc if they like him they could potentially bring him in for a legit interview. even if they have nothing now if it goes well it could be a valuable contact for him going forward
 
Without knowing more information, then I don’t see any reason not to treat this as a serious interview.
Is it a small firm he’s interviewing for? The interview process tends to get more formal the larger the firm in my experience, although there is no hard and fast rule to that.
 
A few years ago I did an interview with a strategy head at a large brand name hedge fund. What was weird was that he wanted to meet at a hotel bar even though his office was literally across the street from the hotel. We ended up having the meeting at a cocktail table over coffee and seltzer. Needless to say I didn’t make it past that round.
 
kevinf12 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Is he in a position where he travels? I have had
> interviews over coffee but that was because I
> traveled a lot and couldnt interview during the
> week…
By “he”, who are you referring to?
My buddy doesn’t travel, but the person interviewing him probably does (Large SS ER)
 
It very well could be a courtesy interview. But so what? If you were fighting to get that in, then you’ve made progress.
 
SMIRK Wrote:
——————————————————-
> A few years ago I did an interview with a strategy
> head at a large brand name hedge fund. What was
> weird was that he wanted to meet at a hotel bar
> even though his office was literally across the
> street from the hotel. We ended up having the
> meeting at a cocktail table over coffee and
> seltzer. Needless to say I didn’t make it past
> that round.
How did you get your interview?
And are you saying you agree with my buddy in thinking that it’s a coutesy interview?
 
Through one of the Senior Managing Directors that was a friend of a friend. I suspected that the position didn’t really even exist, they were just being courteous because one of the higher ups told them to speak with me.
 
I’m sure he’ll treat this as a serious interview, but it stinks going into a losing battle. (if that’s the case)
 
SMIRK Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Through one of the Senior Managing Directors that
> was a friend of a friend. I suspected that the
> position didn’t really even exist, they were just
> being courteous because one of the higher ups told
> them to speak with me.
gotcha. just wanted to make sure we were comparing apples to apples.
 
cfajedi Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I’m sure he’ll treat this as a serious interview,
> but it stinks going into a losing battle. (if
> that’s the case)
Achilles went in one of those.
 
I had a real first interview over coffee. I guess you could say it was a little more informal (i.e. they told me to wear business casual) but is was basically the same as any other interview.
 
artvandalay Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I had a real first interview over coffee. I guess
> you could say it was a little more informal (i.e.
> they told me to wear business casual) but is was
> basically the same as any other interview.
How was your experience? Was the noise an issue? I’d find the background conversations irritating.
 
artvandalay Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I had a real first interview over coffee. I guess
> you could say it was a little more informal (i.e.
> they told me to wear business casual) but is was
> basically the same as any other interview.
You know what business casual is for an interview in finance? A suit. Just apologize and say you had something else going on .
 
Hmm. Without further info, I would speculate that a coffee interview is probably informational only. That’s how I would handle it if I was the interviewer. However, like some guy above said, this is still an opportunity to make a good impression that might lead to being invited to the office or being referred to other people.
I once had a second round interview that had a coffee portion. I don’t think it’s normal though.
 
Remember that if it is an informational interview, you are in charge of the interview pace and questioning. That doesn’t mean you are supposed to dominate the other guy or show lack of respect, or not invite questions on their end, but it does mean that you are in the driver’s seat as to what information you are gathering.
Imagine that the guy walks in and says, first thing, “So how can I help you?” (which may well be exactly what happens). Think about how you would proceed from that point, remembering that you don’t want to put them on the spot by saying “I want you to give me a job.”
 
Definitely treat this like a normal job interview. Prepare as you would for any interview, though if it’s informational, make sure you’ve got some good questions prepared. A lot of time, people will judge you based on the quality of your questions; through the questions you ask, people can learn a lot about your intelligence, curiosity, creativity, and ultimately what matters to you.
FYI, my last two full-time jobs were converted from “informational” meetings. Always be overprepared rather than underprepared.
 
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