Sell-side Interview Questions

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CFAbigdog

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I have an interview for a Jr Research Analyst position.

What are some of the typical questions I should expect?
 
Question: "Tell us about a project of yours that required diligent research and creative thought."

Your reply: "I was offered an interview for a Junior Analyst position and wanted to prepare for it as best I could. I discovered that searching the AnalystForum archives revealed numerous posts from numerous individuals about the questions that may be asked during such an interview, and was amazed by the insight I gained simply by reading posts generated through the AF search function."
 
seriously though...there have been a LOT of posts about this. if you're interviewing for a position with your own potential coverage space, obviously be prepared to give a long and short pitch, be able to talk about the key drivers and catalysts in a potential industry you're covering, and discuss some of your past responsibilities and experiences with proactively creating and presenting proprietary investment ideas
 
I got asked a few times what stocks I liked and why, so be prepared to pitch some ideas. Also, they don't like BS answers. I think the best strategy for fielding a question you don't know is to come clean and say you don't know BUT try to come up with an answer anyway using reasoning and critical thought. I think they are more concerned about how you arrive at a conclusion vs. whether you happen to know the 'right' answer.
 
I would be preparded to pitch a stock outside of their coverage universe as well...If you have a choice and they ask you to pitch any stock chose that one...Why? If you pitch a stock they cover and take an opposite opinion and can't adequately justify it you'll look like a fool and if you take a position that is identical to theirs then you run the risk of looking like you are just telling them what they want to hear.

A stock outside of their group they may not be familiar with and therefore any minor mistakes you might make could go unnoticed plus they likely won't have a strong opinion one way or the other and will thus be easier to sway to your line of thinking.
 
Why did you decide to go to X school?
Why did you major in X?
Why equity research?
Why sell side over buy side?

Oh and make sure you have some questions to ask them at the end.
 
If the "JUNIOR ANALYST" title refers to a position where you'd potentially be covering stocks relatively quickly, they won't get basic questions like why research, why sell-side, etc. You should definitely be prepared to pitch stocks, talk about how your investment theses are different from consensus, what you do to generate new investment ideas, how you manage client and management relationships, what you've done to distinguish yourself within the firm, what your goals are for your first year, etc.

However, my guess is that you don't have have much sell-side experience, and possibly none at all. As such, if it is a position for entry-level or someone with less than 3 years of experience, you'll probably get some of the questions mentioned above. If this is the case, I will also reference the post I made earlier...fo' realz!

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Re: Sell-side Interview Questions
Posted by: numi (IP Logged) [hide posts from this user]
Date: September 13, 2006 12:24PM


Question: "Tell us about a project of yours that required diligent research and creative thought."

Your reply: "I was offered an interview for a Junior Analyst position and wanted to prepare for it as best I could. I discovered that searching the AnalystForum archives revealed numerous posts from numerous individuals about the questions that may be asked during such an interview, and was amazed by the insight I gained simply by reading posts generated through the AF search function."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 03:08PM by numi.
 
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