Finance Interview Questions & Answers

My telephone interview lasted around 30 minutes, and I was first asked why I wanted to join the programme. I was asked about why I wanted to join Lloyds, and about the key issues facing Lloyds today. They also asked me one question about team-working: tell me a time when found it a challenge to work in a team. There were lots of follow-up questions.

The interviewer called on time and was responsive during the interview.

What are the current issues facing Lloyds at the moment.

Make sure that you have prepared well with solid examples of the competencies: team-work, leadership, and initiative. Make sure that you read up about the recent events happening with the company and stand out by displaying a real passion for the company.

I didn't attend the AC.

I applied to Morgan Stanley through SEO London, and was contacted by them for a telephone interview. This lasted 40 minutes, and was with a member of the division to which I was applying. They initially asked me why I wanted to work for Morgan Stanley, and quizzed me on my understanding of the division that I had applied to (Finance). They also asked me to explain a complex subject in simple terms. They asked me of examples when I had worked well in a team, and examples when I had taken on a challenge.

The Most Difficult Question was: Explain a complex subject to me in simple terms. It's useful to use something from your academic course that sounds complicated but is actually very transferable to everyday situations.

Stay calm in the interview process and be prepared with different examples that display the competencies that they are looking for. Read up the company website to look at the graduate profiles, and believe in your ability to do well. All it takes is practice and self-belief.

In the AC we had a group exercise where we were given 30 minutes to discuss a variety of different implementations that could be carried out under a budget. These included CSR initiatives, web-site upgrading, and a rise in pay. As a group, we also had to develop a presentation of our chosen options in this time. We then presented for 5 minutes to 5 people from the Finance division, and we each took turns in answering. For this I learnt that its best to be prepared mentally: keep calm and stay open to other people's views. Always make your contribution stand out and draw in real life examples of what you are saying.

We then had two competency interviews with two members of the Finance department. The first one was technical, and they asked us about the difference between various financial statements. The second one was more competency based and one question that was asked was: tell me a time when you dealt with a unexpected situation.

My experience was that this company was very accommodating and took a personal and friendly approach. The interviews were almost conversational.

My initial telephone interview was with a member of the L&C recruitment team which asked me some basic questions about my CV and I was told what was involved in the role I was applying for. Upon passing that I was told that I would have be required to complete a sales role play over the phone and an online maths test and a time was arranged to complete both of these. The sales role play involved selling a holiday which I was given the details of before the call. The numerical test was a basic online maths/IQ test which had to be completed within a time limit. Upon passing both of these test I then attended a face to face interview. This involved going through my CV and job history in more detail with two of the recruitment advisers and lasted about an hour.

Why I would be suitable for the job. How my past experience is relevant to the job (no previous experience in finance).

Be yourself and answer questions genuinely. The recruitment team are very friendly and happy to help wherever they can.

Face to face conducted with two recruitment managers

In the final stage for a Graduate role, I went through two 30 minute one-on-one interviews with senior members of the finance team. The interviews were short and two the point, mainly focussed on past internship experience and what sets me apart from other applicants.

What is your Unique Selling Point? Describe your internship role as if I were a layman with no industry knowledge.

Remain calm and keep talking - selling yourself every step of the way. Focus on Nomura's key competencies.

N/A

After being successful on the online application and psychometric tests, I was invited in the interview which was based in their Nottingham HQ. The interview itself was case study base. It involved me working on 2 case studies which was one to one. It was very analytical and required basic mathematical abilities to work through. Each case study is an hour long and each one is assessed by a different member of HR. Although, no knowledge of credit cards is required, you must be able to understand graphs and ways on improving their services.

The most difficult part was using the data/drawing graphs and interpreting the results.

Work on your basic mathematics such as calculating percentages, ratios, etc...
Be sure to research the company and their various operartions.

The assessment centre went quite quickly and you really get into the case studies which I found to be enjoyable to work through. The interview is able to give you advice in case you were finding it too difficult to get through. It was definitely a fantastic experience!

After initial application screening, a telephone interview is the next stage. Here the questions are competency based with little technical/financial knowledge tested. Motivational questions were key here, testing reasons for applying to the position. Preparation is a must, you must know the company well and be prepared to answer in detail why you chose SWIP and why the specific asset class. There was a large emphasis on being a team player. Have plenty of unique examples of working well in a team, and leading a team if possible.

After the telephone interview is a face to face interview with one person from HR. A very friendly and enjoyable experience. Here the questions go over your background (CV, cover letter and answers to application questions) and also some more technical content. Here is the time to demonstrate your interest by knowing the company's ethos, business structure, investment strategy, etc.. Technical questions did come up, but they were not too quantitative or hard going, as HR were conducting this stage. Basic asset management and investment knowledge would suffice, although more in-depth knowledge would be very beneficial.

Also, they want to meet you in person to make sure you're approachable, communicative and able to get along with people well, I assume this ties in with their concentration on working well in a team.

My own personal choice not to attend a leading business school to study a masters degree was a talking point. The interviewer was keen to see if I had thought it through properly and weighed up each option. They are less concerned with your actual choice; they want to see the logic behind your decision making, and that you do your homework.

Have a view on investing, tell them what you think and why.

Very friendly and relaxing. One to one interview, quite informal.

The first phone interview was pretty standard as far as I can tell. The usual competency questions about various achievements you have had so far and what skills and lessons you had learnt on the way. After this there was an preliminary assessment centre where Tesco Finance Management gave presentations on why it was such a good place to work and what you could expect from the programme. The day was ended with a one to one interview, similar to the phone one, but more in depth. This focussed a lot on what your motivations where for applying for this role and what you hoped to achieve. The final assessment centre started with a dinner the night before and followed by a day of group exorcises as well as individual ones, testing problem solving, team work, general initiative, logic and presentation skills. This ended with an interview with two people which was more a feedback session for you to give your views on the day.

What has been your biggest failing? Are there any ways you have tried to overcome this?

They are looking for people that match there world view. Make sure you have researched the company's position on various issues.

Generally a reasonably fun day, but at the same time quite draining. The day was divided into six sections with an activity in each. These mostly consisted of working in a group, discussing some information presented to you along with a problem you had to solve. The group would then have to present its decisions to the assessors. There was also individual presentation tasks which followed a similar pattern, but you presented your ideas on a one to one basis.

After the application and usual tests I progressed onto the video interview. This was quite strange as I had never done anything like this before and talking to myself in a room was fairly strange. However you did have time to practise before had, which I highly recommend doing as it helps you get used to the situation.
The questions were fairly standard asking things like what do you know about Morrisons, example of leading a team, set-back and how you dealt with it and then scheme based ones like why you enjoy finance and why that scheme. Then the end they give you 30 seconds to basically sell your self, which if unprepared is a little unexpected!

Having 30 seconds to say why they should choose you (especially when your not expecting it!)
Having 2 minutes to describe why you love finance.

Make sure you really know some good answers to interview competency questions. Especially based on their core values.

The assessment centre was set around the time when there was floods and so only 6/8 of us were still able to make it in. On arrival they brief you about the day and you have a short presentation about Morrisons history and future.
We had a presentation to do, a group discussion, an interview and a role play.
The interview was again, fairly standard comptency questions but based around their core values (Can do attitude, bringing out the best in people, great service, fresh thinking and one team). This was with 2 assessors.
The group discussion was about splitting a budget to fund certain charitable projects.
The presentation exercise task centred around product selection for a new healthy range. You had some emails all asking for some info to be included in the presentation. You then delivered the presentation to 2 assessors and they asked 4-5 questions about it.
The role play involved being giving a situation that had been happening at work and we as acting manager and ask appropriate questions. However, when meeting with the 2 assessors, they threw in the fact that her own manager had been off which meant that anything you had prepared pretty much went out the window!
All in all a good day but long.

The initial telephone interview covered specific questions around Santander and Geoban. As I would be working in Finance, I remember I was asked about my knowledge regarding Finanncial Regulators and their role within Santander. I didn't expect this but they were friendly and told me I shouldI research this and rememeber examples for my face to face interview. I had to complete an online competency test which was personally the most difficult one yet! Then there were background check and an interview in person with 2 people. Mainly competency questions, I used the STAR approach for most which they were impressed with. Finally, there was 4 weeks intense training with an academy sign off at the end, we had to achieve a certain pass grade for knowledge gained in training to officially become a case handler. Alot was not covered in the interview such as this sign off. Also that we would be self employed, so you would need to set up a limited company (I highly recommend this) or join an umbrella company (I don't recommend this as it is more costly). It is an extremely intense job and I think the interview downplayed this. But overall a positive experience and a very big learning curve!

The hardest questions were regarding financial regulators and their rules and regulations, how they are implememnted. And also applying my experience to a financial role because I came from a retail and arts background. But everything you have done will play a part in this. They ask for a graduate that has achieved a 2:1, as it is a graduate role. So all my experience in uni helped me answer the question regarding why I would be suitable for the role.

If you go for this job, expect 12 hour shifts, weekends and long evenings/early starts. This job requires extreme leveles of concentration, stamina, confidence, self-motivation and attention to detail. No one told us how much commitment would be required, not everyone made it. I am still there now but it was a very, very long journey. But once the hard part is over, it gets easy!

NA

Fairly normal interview. No out of the ordinary questions that confused me. Three motivational questions and three competency questions. Lasted about 30 minutes, wasn't with a direct employee of the company, but rather an employee from a recruiting company employed by Close Brothers. There was no communication issues, e-mails and phone calls were clear.

Describe a recent mistake you have made. what was the situations, what would you change, and what have you learned from this?

Make sure you are clued up about the company, although there were no specific questions relating to the history of the company, they do ask questions that implicitly want you to focus on why you applied for the company, which is aided for a detailed look through their website

Have not yet attended the assessment centre