Security Pricing Interview questions

dekka

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I have an upcoming interview for a fixed income securities pricing positoin at an asset management firm. I am not really sure what kind fo questions they'll be asking so I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I'm guessing topicwise it'd be: Bonds, convexity, interest rates, inflation. I am wondering if I should review Black-Scholes Merton equation as well as some stochastic calcuclus relating to bsm. Thanks ahead of time for any advice!
 
dekka Wrote:
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> I have an upcoming interview for a fixed income
> securities pricing positoin at an asset management
> firm. I am not really sure what kind fo questions
> they'll be asking so I was wondering if anyone
> could give me some advice. I'm guessing topicwise
> it'd be: Bonds, convexity, interest rates,
> inflation. I am wondering if I should review
> Black-Scholes Merton equation as well as some
> stochastic calcuclus relating to bsm. Thanks
> ahead of time for any advice!

If they asked me these questions, I would say "I don't remember equations; that's what books are for". In general, you should be careful about doing math at a job interview. Talk about the ways that you would do math conceptually, not the exact equations you would use. Never start writing on the blackboard.
 
Wouldn't it be better to solve a question and explain your process as you go?
 
In general, no, because:
a) You are not their student and you don't want to be treated like their student.
b) You won't be at your best doing this at a job interview unless you are phenomenally good under pressure (in which case, it might be to your benefit to demonstrate this)
c) Any problem you can solve in the amount of time someone will give you for an interview is a pretty trivial problem and can only work against you if you can't solve it.
d) You spend years building credentials. Stand on years of credentials instead of minutes of dog and pony show.
e) It's just not crafty interviewing. Crafty interviewing means you need to be at least a little manipulative to get the interview moving toward areas that are likely to have good outcomes for you. For example, you are interviewing for a risk management job and you need to talk to someone about exotic options. If you know nothing about exotic options, but notice that he/she went to the same college as you did, what should you be discussing - a primer on exotic options or How 'bout them Tigers? If you are writing on the board, you have no opportunities to be manipulative.
 
JoeyDVivre Wrote:
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> a) You are not their student and you don't want to
> be treated like their student.

I have to disagree with you on this point, Joey. Any job that treats someone as a student is a wonderful opportunity early in their career. If you have a boss that recognizes what you do NOT know, and is willing to teach you, then it's worth it's weight in gold. It's much worse to have a boss that is not willing to spend the time explaining difficult concepts and will just give the work to someone who already knows what they're doing.
 
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