Ceng Zimo's interview experience

In my junior year, I decided to end my lazy life of sneaking back to Beijing every holiday and use the last summer vacation before graduation to make my resume perfect. More than 10 years ago, investment banking was hard to find, and summer jobs for undergraduates were even harder to find. I always believe that some opportunities fall from the sky, and some opportunities need to be created by hand. Therefore, regardless of the distance and position, my friends who work on Wall Street have been constantly "harassed" by me without exception. Finally, I have a clear understanding of the names and telephone numbers of China business directors and human resources directors of several major investment banks. As a result, everything was expected, and most of the application letters sent out fell into the sea, and there was no news in their voice mail. "It's rare to have a summer job. So many people who have no summer work experience have not entered the investment bank after graduation? " I can only comfort myself like ah q.

However, the miracle really happened.

Two months later, it turned out that I really got a call from Merrill Lynch and asked me to go to new york for an interview. I have heard many interview stories, especially the first interview, and all kinds of embarrassing scenes have appeared from time to time. A friend of mine, who is the managing director of a famous investment fund today, once had such a conversation in the interview that year: the recruiter asked, "Why are you interested in corporate finance?" The friend replied politely, "Sorry, I want to be an investment bank." The other party asked again, "I'm asking you, why do you want to do corporate finance?" My friend was surprised and wondered why he asked again, so he answered more firmly: "I don't want to be a corporate finance, I want to be an investment bank." "Don't you know that corporate finance is an investment bank?" My friend suddenly blushed and couldn't speak, regretting how he was so stupid. Corporate financing and mergers and acquisitions; M&A is a part of investment banking. Many times, people will use corporate finance to refer to investment banks in general.

In layman's terms, their conversation is like: "Why are you interested in being a public security officer?" "Sorry, I hope to be a policeman." "I'm asking you, why do you want to be a public security officer?" "I don't want to be a policeman. I want to be a policeman. "

I am about to face the first interview in my life. I am looking forward to it. I am very excited, so you can imagine. I have made unprecedented preparations. I keep all your experiences in mind: don't be nervous, be natural and graceful, and have a good talk with Kan Kan. Why did you choose Dartmouth? Why did you want to come to Merrill Lynch? The answer must be prepared in advance.

Read the Wall Street Journal carefully a few days before the interview, and memorize the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Hang Seng Index and major foreign exchange rates. Shake hands moderately. If it is too light, it will appear insecure. If it is too heavy, it will cause disgust. It's better to bring a wallet where you can put your notebook, which is more professional.

Eyes are the windows of the soul, so you can't wander around. Only eye contact can make you confident. If you dare not look directly into the eyes of the other person, stare at his nose, so that you won't feel the aggression of the other person's eyes, but in the eyes of the other person, you are still maintaining eye contact. The suit should be dark, preferably black and dark blue, and bring an extra pair of stockings to prevent sudden silk loss before the interview. ...

Later, I learned that investment banks really judge people by their appearances, and proper dress can add a lot to the interview. When I was a student, I was always a T-shirt cowboy with a big Jansports backpack. In order to reinvent myself and look like a professional woman, I got off the plane in new york and went straight to Bloomingdale's Department Store. Bloomingdale is located in midtown Manhattan. There are so many suits in it that I can't put them down. The salesgirl was also very warm and thoughtful, and advised me to try it on one by one. Every time I walked out of the fitting room, I praised me with my eyes wide open. I really look brand-new in the fitting mirror and look professional and capable. "Is it just one set or more sets?" The salesgirl's sweet voice made me fall back to the ground from the clouds. I just realized that I forgot to look at the price. Bloomingdale's positioning is actually only mid-range, but a series of figures on the price tag still scare me. After all, I'm just a student living on a scholarship. The clothes I tried on, plus consumption tax, cost more than $ 1000, and the cheapest one cost more than $500. "buy? Still not buying? " I had a fierce ideological struggle. "They really suit you!" The salesgirl seemed to see my embarrassment and tried to make a final encouragement.

At this moment, a customer who wants to return the goods suddenly came to the cashier next to him. Seeing her, I had a brainwave and immediately took out my credit card. My attitude is very frank, as if the credit card amount is only 5 dollars instead of 500 dollars. The salesgirl smiled and checked and packed for me. She probably didn't know that 24 hours later, when the girl who was very satisfied with her professional dress finished her job interview, she would return Ellen Tracy's suit to her intact and recover the "huge sum" one by one.

The next day, wearing a dark blue suit that seems to be tailor-made for me, but it doesn't belong to me, I walked into the conference room of Merrill Lynch calmly and confidently. In the face of two bankers from Hong Kong, for half an hour, I learned the American way and talked about myself, saying that I was as smart as Einstein, as diligent as an ox, and as fond of investment banking as a mouse loves rice. When I shook hands and said goodbye, I found the answer I wanted in their faces: this girl was from an investment bank.

During my summer at Merrill Lynch, I didn't learn much financial knowledge or operational skills, but it opened a window for me to enjoy the beautiful scenery of investment banks, and I made a wish from then on: I want to really become a member of Wall Street. As a result, as soon as the fourth grade started, I was involuntarily involved in round after round of endless job interviews. Like every 96-year-old student who was busy looking for a job, although Dartmouth in May 438+01June was already snowy, I wore a short suit, thin stockings, a long black coat and high heels and ran back and forth between the Hanover Hotel and the classroom dormitory in the weather of MINUS 20 degrees.

Hanover Hotel is the place where investment banks come to the school for the first two rounds of interviews. At that time, it was full every day, and the corridors on each floor were crowded with students in suits and ties, either standing or sitting, anxiously waiting for people in the room to call their names.

The job interview of investment bank seems to be full of obstacles and dangers, but most of the problems involved are "old-fashioned". "Tell me about your own experience." "What words will your friends use to describe you?" "Why should we hire you?" No matter how the way of asking questions changes, I always like to show off my "self-praise 1234" to keep changing: I am smart and eager to learn, and I can adapt to the new environment quickly; I am good at numbers and mathematics, and A+ scores in many related subjects are the best proof. I work very hard, working eighty or ninety hours a week. I am good at cooperation and a good team player.

No matter how long the job interview is, it only takes 40 minutes. Everyone is afraid of tricky questions, so am I. Therefore, once I encounter a question that is "just to my liking", I will wait for an opportunity to talk about it in detail. Until the end of the job interview, the other party will no longer embarrass me from time to time, so I can "extend" other answers that I have carefully prepared.

The first job interview that year was a vice president of Credit Suisse First Boston. First, the vice president who interviewed me to work in Boston seems to be in his early 30s. He sat on the uncomfortable sofa in the hotel room from 8 am to 4 pm that day and met a dozen students nonstop. When it was my turn to walk in, he was exhausted, and even the smile when shaking hands was as reluctant as squeezing toothpaste. "Well, tell me about yourself." As expected, his first question was quite satisfactory. I smiled, and when my eyes lit up, I told my own experience and hid my "1234" in an orderly way.

The vice president leaned back on the sofa and nodded while listening. The first question, I passed the test successfully. "How do you prove that you are good at teamwork?" I deliberately put on a thoughtful look, but I was secretly pleased. Who let me encounter the problem of betting again? However, I don't want him to see that I am prepared. After a pause for a few seconds, I began to tell my "military career" vividly according to the designed ideas. When I was studying in Beijing, I went to the 38th Army for military training twice. This is not an outstanding experience in China, but it is a proud capital in the United States. After more than 40 days of military life, what did you leave behind besides unbearable hunger and muddy water with yellow sand? Unexpectedly, four years later, in a foreign country, I suddenly found that military training, which once made me complain bitterly, turned out to be a magic weapon for job interviews.

Facing the vice president of First Boston, the other side of my short military life, which was covered by hunger and poor sanitary conditions, actually came back to life in my mind. I vividly recall how we crawled forward in the trench mixed with mud with the help of the team members, how we shot on our stomach in the scorching sun, how we took turns to stand guard in the terrible dark, how we were awakened by the whistle when we slept in the dark, how we packed our backpacks in a daze, assembled in an emergency, and then marched over the mountains like defeated soldiers ... At that time, I already knew that when I walked out of that room, even though he couldn't remember my name. I am also convinced that as long as I am remembered by him, I will be on the list of the second job interview. Sure enough, he said "great" three times in a row, and then asked, "It sounds like you are excellent in all aspects. Do you have any shortcomings? " "English is not my mother tongue after all, so compared with my American classmates, I think this is my biggest weakness." I responded calmly and didn't hide it, because if we can turn shortcomings into advantages and shortcomings into advantages, it is far more convincing than simply stating our own Excellence. "However, I have been trying to improve my English. When I first came to America, I spent at least an hour or two watching news in front of the TV every day besides classes and work, in order to practice my English. In addition, although my English writing scores were A and A-, I didn't stop there ... "Because of my nearly 3.9 academic scores and Merrill Lynch's summer work experience, I easily got the first job interview of almost all large investment banks; Then, with full preparation and gradually improved skills, I went through five hurdles in the second round of job interviews of all companies and flew to new york again and again to accept the final test.

When entering the second round of job interview, it is often that the applicant faces two questions at the same time, and enters another room half an hour later, which is judged by two other bankers of the same company. Two examiners often play the roles of "good guys" and "bad guys". In Morgan Stanley's second job interview, I successfully turned the "bad guy" into a "good guy". At 9 o'clock that morning, I walked into the appointed room on time, and there were already two men waiting there. One of them stood up in a friendly way and said enthusiastically, "Hello, Mozi. I'm Mike m & amp； Director of A This is my colleague, Rob, the manager of China Merchants Bank. " As soon as I saw Rob's muddy expression, I knew he must be the "villain". "Why are you interested in investment banks? Is it because of money or because you like to accept challenges? " The first question that the good Mike throws is like a test paper with a bet of 50%. The first half is within the scope of review, and the second half should be improvised. More torturing than improvisation, this question is a dilemma: although the starting salary of investment banks is indeed higher than the average for both undergraduate graduates and MBA students, if your answer is money, it will be regarded as "greed" and if the answer is challenge, it will be regarded as "hypocrisy".

What should I do? In this case, I feel that I can only avoid the heavy weight and move out of the old routine: "What attracts me most is that investment banks provide a good learning opportunity. First of all, I can learn many skills, such as evaluating asset value, helping enterprises to raise funds, helping companies to improve their core competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions, maximizing shareholder value, negotiating with lawyers and accountants and how to create the best transaction structure; Secondly, the investment bank has concentrated a lot of smart, capable and experienced professionals, and I will definitely gain something from working with them; Third, the American economy is highly developed and the capital market is indispensable. I hope that through the work of investment banks, we can closely observe how the capital market promotes the effective allocation of resources and how to promote economic development. In addition, I am interested in investment banks because I am very suitable for investment banks ... "This answer is to tell the other party that I know the business of investment banks, to flatter and be sincere, of course, mainly to make them happy, to show that I still have a macro vision, and finally to add" self-praise 1234 ",even if some answers are irrelevant. Besides, I have to buy myself time. When reciting "lines", you must take out half your brain and seriously think about "money and challenges". What should I do with it? "Being an investment bank is really a good learning process, but what about money? Is money important? " Rob, the villain, really saw through my little trick and killed me. "It is undeniable that the salary of investment banks is very attractive, but if you work 80 or 90 hours a week, how much can the hourly salary of analysts be higher than that of working at McDonald's? People should have a long-term vision. As the first job in your career, the most important thing is not how much you have paid, but what you have learned that will benefit you for life. " In just a few words, I watched Rob's expression turn cloudy, cloudy and sunny. I know, my luck saved my life again. The first two rounds of interviews of investment banks are generally tortured by five or six people. When you go to new york for the last round of job interviews, you have to meet at least eight people a day. Among the hundreds of questions in so many rounds of job interviews, "money" is not a thorny issue, and Rob is not the worst "villain".

In the last round of Morgan Stanley's job interview, an analyst just walked into the conference room, which surprised me: his shirt sleeves were rolled up high, his tie hung askew on his chest, and his eyes were full of red blood. After shaking hands with me deadpan, he asked calmly, "If you find a job, there are two ways to pay your salary: 12000 dollars a year, and I will give it to you at one time;" In the same year, it was $65,438+02,000, which was paid monthly, and it was $65,438+0000 per month. How would you choose? " My heart jumped with a bang. Why doesn't this man play by common sense? I told myself not to panic. I was about to answer quickly when I suddenly realized that if I simply chose the first option, the answer would be too absolute.

I think I might as well move out of the noun in the textbook: "It depends on the current real interest rate. If the real interest rate is positive, I choose the first one; If no, I choose the second one; If it is zero, the same is true. At the same time, I will also consider the opportunity cost. Even if the real interest rate is negative, if there are good investment opportunities that can bring more returns, I will still choose the first one. " After this long list of answers, I can't help feeling smug, because I know that the process of thinking is more valuable than the answers themselves when answering such questions. "Most people say you choose the first one. You are not bad, but also very considerate! " After a faint comment, he did not stop there. "What is the real interest rate?" "Nominal interest rate minus inflation rate." Fortunately, the basic knowledge of economics has not been completely abandoned, so I am glad. "What is the current interest rate of the Federal Reserve Fund? What is the inflation rate? " This time, I was really stumped! I really can't figure it out. I have never seen him before. Why is he so aggressive?

When preparing for the job interview, I told myself to stick to one principle: don't pretend to understand what you don't understand, and don't make up what you don't understand. So, I honestly replied, "I'm sorry, I don't know, but if necessary, I'll call you as soon as I get back." Later, I did hear that a girl from China told the Americans who interviewed her that in order to show her uniqueness, she liked driving racing cars best. Smart oriental porcelain dolls love the madness and excitement of western style, which makes Americans who have never lied since childhood believe it and are fascinated. But China, a colleague in the company, hit the nail on the head and said categorically that the girl was making it up. As a result, it is conceivable that the extremely happy American found that the clever "porcelain doll" didn't even have a driver's license, so he shouted that he had been cheated, and the China girl naturally missed the job. The analyst stubbornly put forward an intelligence test that only consulting companies usually ask: "One of the nine coins is different in weight from other coins. How many times can two hands find this special coin at most? " "Three times." I answered quickly and didn't admit defeat. "Still nine coins. If you change one of the conditions, you can find this special coin twice. How should this condition be modified? " "Tell me whether this coin is heavier or lighter than other coins."

When I gave the correct answer at high speed again, he finally whispered "Yes" and then asked, "Do you have any jobs offered by other investment banks now? A * * * How many? Which companies are it? " A smile crept into my mouth, his expression finally stopped being grim, and his question finally got on the right track. It is said that in my evaluation book, his view is: at all costs, you must be hired!