If you were the interviewer...

[MikeLawrence]

Hello all,

Today I was given two contacts within GS, and I will reach out shortly to introduce myself/make contact.

If you were them, what kinds of questions do you think you would ask me? One of them is in SWE, and the other is either assisting a trading desk working on AI/machine learning.

Figured I might as well poll the forum, can't hurt anything. I'm doing my due diligence, trying to think through and write out answers to obvious questions ahead of time, but all I can think of are the basic 'why are you interested in this field,' 'what is your background.' If I can't think of it ahead of time there is an argument to be made saying they won't ask it in real time, but still, I'd rather sound like I have some idea of what I'm doing.

Except I only started looking into this field with any intensity ~2 months ago and I don't feel that I actually have much knowledge about it. My current line is, 'I'm learning and looking for real world experience.' Which has the benefit of being true.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, I will think through an answer.
(I think it was 2 months anyway. That's about when I discovered it was called variations of 'quantitative fin' and found this site. Technically I was interested earlier but I don't think that time counts.)

Since I'm reaching out to them this time around, feel free to share any questions you think are good to ask potential employers.

 

[TheCheshireCat]

Since you're reaching out to them, I believe they would be expecting you to ask THEM questions. I mean, they're not exactly interviewing you for a position are they, they're just talking to you to give you some career advice I'm guessing.

 

[MikeLawrence]

I mean, yeah, you're not wrong.
I meant to come at it from that angle too but forgot to include anything of the sort in the original post. Edited now. Feel free to comment from either perspectives. I have little practice with professional interviews, and I'm starting to try and get this stuff down so it actually makes sense in real-time conversation.

 

[jarryds]

Yeah definitely important to understand that this won't be similar to an interview. This is basically a 15 minute conversation for you to get a grasp of what they do in the field and how they got there. These conversations will provide context for your search to find a place in the industry. Self studying won't fill you in on what is actually going on in the industry, conversations like these will.

Things I like to understand for sell side:
- What service does their desk provide for clients
- What does their immediate team look like
- Maybe ask them for a super general example what they work on

No idea for SWE, I don't typically seek out those conversations

 

[MikeLawrence]

No idea for SWE, I don't typically seek out those conversations

I'm not seeking out SWE either, but these are the contacts I was able to get; referrals are a main goal of these conversations.
From what I gather, one of them is probably middle-office, doing more direct support/research for a trading desk.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If you can shadow them for a day at work it would be very beneficial to observe and learn a great deal. Maybe this will not happen at first but can be something as a result from your reaching out for conversations.

 

[MikeLawrence]

If you can shadow them for a day at work it would be very beneficial to observe and learn a great deal. Maybe this will not happen at first but can be something as a result from your reaching out for conversations.

That would be great. One of them works in Dallas, which is pretty close to my college, but I'm studying abroad next semester so that would have to be a ways out.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Give Guy the job!