Finance Interview Questions & Answers

In my interview I spoke for 45 minutes on the phone to a lady from the HR department. They asked me three questions: Why RBS, Why the division, and Tell me about a time you worked in a team. They also asked me to rate where I stood on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 always doing what I believe to me the right thing, and 10 not doing so. They also asked me to give an example of when I had displayed doing the right thing in accordance with my chosen rating.

When have you stood up for what you believed in despite the circumstances.

Make sure that you stay calm and enjoy the AC because you have to be able to convince other people that you can stay calm under pressure. The interviews will quiz you but do not be put off, rather take the challenge and answer the question in the best way you can. Also make sure that you take food with you because sometimes it can be a very long wait.

In the AC we were first given a group exercise where we debated the pros and cons of implementing several initiatives. We had to chose 3 that we would go forward with. We then had to give a presentation to the people in the division (individually), on why we chose the initiatives and how we thought the group discussion went. We also had one competency interview with someone from the division. This asked us a lot about the issues surrounding RBS and the division to which we had applied. We were given situations where we had to state what we would do in them.

One of the interviews was in a room with two other people. One person was from HR and the other was from management. It was a competency based interview where they started off asking me to talk through my CV. They then asked questions about my job, what I do in my spare time and why they think I am suited to the role. They also asked why they should give me the role and what it was about the company that I liked so much. There were generic questions as well about my notice period and availability and if I had any questions.

I think the most difficult question was actually the one where they asked why should we give you the job? It was a basic question but I was just unprepared. Other questions were like describe a time where you had to overcome failure.

I think others should prepare for competency questions properly but the other things are just an assessment of your personality. It was hard to prepare for the interview so I would say just relax and see what happens.

I had to do a group scenario where we had a plane crash and had to decide what items we could carry. We were observed by around 12 people from HR and management. Another task was to prepare for a presentation where we were split into groups and some prepared when others went off to do the presentation or their interview. A final task was another group one where we had to analyse data and put it into a table.

Why do you want to work in a controversial industry like this ?

The interview was by telephone with one of their recruitment team and lasted about 30 minutes. We talked initially about why I had applied for the role, what I knew about the company and why I was particularly interested in finance at the Co-operative Bank.
The rest of the interview was to test for competencies in the following areas: leading and supervising, relating and networking, coping with pressures and setbacks, and overall ability to communicate. In each of the areas, I had to give specific examples from my work, university or extra-curricular activities that showed my ability in that area.

What was it, in particular, that I did to prove that my boss should give me extra responsibility at work.

Make sure you are well prepared for your competency questions and be able to get across your passion for finance and have a clear rationale for why you are applying.
Do your research on the company - it's always good to be able to tie one of their company beliefs with something you are also interested in.

Can't help with this one - I don't know whether I've reached the assessment centre or not yet.

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.

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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.

My first interview was on the phone with the recruiter, as a pre-selection process to access the next step. The questions were general and it also involved some questions on particular situations and how I would handle them. The best thing was to get the recruiter's feedback on my answers at the end of the telephone interview.
However, I had the feeling that they already know they would process me to the second stage.

Do you have weaknesses? That question is common, but I don't think this is really useful..

When you are interviewed, be sure to want the role and to work in the company. Don't rush into it, don't apply for position you are unsure about.
Take into consideration the working hours, the location and write some reviews about the company if you can find some online. Don't base your opinion on it, but it gives a general idea.
For an interview, look excited about the position, show enthusiasm and energy. Be clear and sounds sure of what you say, and every time you say something about your skills, back it up with examples.

I didn't go to the assessment centre, because although I was told I had the right set of skills, I had no background in Finance. The salary was great, but I wasn't sure about the role in itself.

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.

When I originally applied for the job, I had to fill out general questions on their site about experiences and so on, then they got in touch with me to complete online tests. These were 2 tests which lasted approximately 20 minutes each. These were numerical and verbal tests, which I found were quite difficult. From this, I was then offered to go to an all day assessment with other candidates. Before the interviewer day, I was asked to send my CV in to them. On the assessment day there was group work, individual presentation, one to one interview and a written exam.

After my presentation I was asked to why I thought the gearing of the company had fell dramatically and in my one to one interview, the most difficult question was "When have I influenced someone and what happened?"

If you get offered the assessment day, make sure you have done plenty of background research into the company to fully understand how the company operates and make sure that the pre-work you are asked to do shows your efforts and your enthusiasm for the job. Throughout the day, make sure you are yourself as if you are pretending to be something else, this will get found out at some point throughout the day.

We were sectioned in to groups of 4 where we had to do a group task where we had to decide and agree on the task which we were given (what to do on a sinking ship). We were then asked to present out individual presentations which we had already prepared (financial performance of the company in the past 3 years). Then we had a one to one interview and a 2 hour written exam.

This was a three stage interview with no assessment centre component. I was asked competency based questions, however the interviewing was very tough. It was difficult as they would ask questions as to why I had not been working for three months (and why I deemed a break after university as necessary). Talking them through my CV was the most vital component of the interview with the addition of a few questions regarding the role.

Why has it taken this long for you to find work?
Why did you take a three month break and deem it necessary?

Be yourself as I thought it would be a negative for this role, but got me a job offer. This company looks for honest individuals regardless of there faults. Obviously you have to have potential and I was told the fundamental trait they look for is "to add something to their team, not take away from it". This may sound simple, however being a typical salesman type may not work, you need to show character of your own.

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