Stock Brokers/Dealers or Finance Industry help! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Battlefield · 09-29-2003, 10:54 AM

I'm going through first round interviews for Dealer training programs with some banks, what I desperately need is tips from people in the industry or sales type industry who can help me out with interview tips...Basically how can I convince them that I'm smart and that I have the interpersonal skills to sell this stuff for them?

jimk · 09-29-2003, 01:24 PM

i work for a derivatives trading firm. i've been on a half dozen interviews with different firms, and the emphasis seems to always be on answering quickly under pressure. the most intense one was 4 guys sitting at a table across from me yelling probability problems at me. after working with them for a while & hearing them discuss new interviewees, i could tell that while a correct answer was good, it was more important how the person held it together while frazzled.

i don't know if bank interviews are at all like this......hope it was some help!

Battlefield · 09-29-2003, 02:14 PM

Hmm were any of those interviews when you were fresh out of college? I've been out of college a year but I doubt I could answer any mathetmatical/calculation questions during an interview

jimk · 09-30-2003, 05:20 AM

no, i had been bartending for years & had a couple buddies who had started doing well in the biz & got me a few interviews. the told me to bone up on the stats & math.

i think the banks interviews probably won't be quite as intense as with small trading firms. the banks probably don't want their sales staff to act like sharks, like we're expected to.......

be confident, try not to show any unsurety about your answers. maybe go to bloomberg.com or another financial website for a day & develop an opinion and/or some good questions about the industry (e.g. exchange traded funds vs. futures, are the trading pits losing ground to electronic trading, is the 30-yr bond ever going away, can interest rates go lower, etc........).

if this one doesn't go well, don't be discouraged.......keep going on interviews. you will have learned a lot from the first one. there is high turnover, they're always looking for the next gordon gecko!

onetime2 · 10-01-2003, 05:19 AM

Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. ENTHUSIASM. Keep the conversation going no matter what. In many cases, personality can get you farther in sales than knowledge and experience.

09-29-2003, 10:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
Battlefield Crazy	Stock Brokers/Dealers or Finance Industry help! I'm going through first round interviews for Dealer training programs with some banks, what I desperately need is tips from people in the industry or sales type industry who can help me out with interview tips...Basically how can I convince them that I'm smart and that I have the interpersonal skills to sell this stuff for them?

09-29-2003, 01:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
jimk Addict Location: Chicago	i work for a derivatives trading firm. i've been on a half dozen interviews with different firms, and the emphasis seems to always be on answering quickly under pressure. the most intense one was 4 guys sitting at a table across from me yelling probability problems at me. after working with them for a while & hearing them discuss new interviewees, i could tell that while a correct answer was good, it was more important how the person held it together while frazzled. i don't know if bank interviews are at all like this......hope it was some help! __________________ raw power is a guaranteed o.d. raw power is a laughin' at you & me -iggy

09-30-2003, 05:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
jimk Addict Location: Chicago	no, i had been bartending for years & had a couple buddies who had started doing well in the biz & got me a few interviews. the told me to bone up on the stats & math. i think the banks interviews probably won't be quite as intense as with small trading firms. the banks probably don't want their sales staff to act like sharks, like we're expected to....... be confident, try not to show any unsurety about your answers. maybe go to bloomberg.com or another financial website for a day & develop an opinion and/or some good questions about the industry (e.g. exchange traded funds vs. futures, are the trading pits losing ground to electronic trading, is the 30-yr bond ever going away, can interest rates go lower, etc........). if this one doesn't go well, don't be discouraged.......keep going on interviews. you will have learned a lot from the first one. there is high turnover, they're always looking for the next gordon gecko! __________________ raw power is a guaranteed o.d. raw power is a laughin' at you & me -iggy

10-01-2003, 05:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
onetime2 Junkie Location: NJ	Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm. ENTHUSIASM. Keep the conversation going no matter what. In many cases, personality can get you farther in sales than knowledge and experience. __________________ Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

09-29-2003, 02:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
Battlefield Crazy	Hmm were any of those interviews when you were fresh out of college? I've been out of college a year but I doubt I could answer any mathetmatical/calculation questions during an interview