Interview Preparation

Interviews are your chance to showcase your skills, experience, and career goals while determining whether the role and organization are a good fit for you. Employers use interviews to assess your qualifications, potential contributions, and professionalism. Reaching this stage is an achievement, so be confident in what you bring to the conversation.

Meet with Career Advisers or Peer Advisers to prepare for all types of interviews:

Asynchronous Interviews and Online Assessments

Interview Focus:

  • One-Way Interviews (ex. HireVue): Pre-recorded responses to prompts — no live interviewer.

  • Online Assessments: Timed, standardized tests measuring numerical reasoning, coding, or situational judgment.

Types of Questions (varies significantly by the type of role)

  • Math & Data Reasoning: A company's revenue grew from $2.4M to $3.1M. What is the percentage increase?

  • Personality & Work-Style: On a scale of 1-7, how much do you prefer working independently vs. collaboratively?

  • Situational Judgment: Your team disagrees on a project approach and the deadline is tomorrow. What do you do?

  • Role-Specific Problem-Solving: Debug this code snippet and explain what's causing the error.

Etiquette

  • One-Way Interviews: Test your audio, video, and internet connection; set up in a quiet, well-lit space with a neutral background; dress professionally; look directly into camera

  • Online Assessments: Find a quiet space and block off enough uninterrupted time to complete it in one sitting

Additional Resources:

  • Big Interview Tool: AI-powered online platform where students can practice recorded mock interviews, review their video responses, and get feedback on body language and tone.

  • QuantGuide.io: Available for members of the Financial Markets Program for quantitative finance interviews

Recruiter Phone Screens

Interview Focus: Assess your fit for the role and ensure you meet the basic qualifications.

Interviewer: Typically HR professionals or recruiters.

Types of Questions

  • Eligibility | Ex: Can you please confirm your graduation date and major?

  • Logistical | Ex: This role will be based out of [X]. Can you confirm you’re located here or are willing to relocate?

  • Basic Behaviorals | Ex: Tell me about yourself. Why are you interested in this role and company?

Etiquette (See here for a checklist of what to do before, during, and after your interview).

  • Confirm important logistics to ensure you arrive on time and can participate seamlessly

  • Conduct background research on the company and who you’ll be speaking with

  • Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer (e.g., logistics of the role, company related)

  • Be sure to ask about next steps and timing for the interview process at the end

  • Send a personalized thank you email (within 2 hours if possible).

Behavioral Interviews

Interview Focus: How you have responded to past experiences to predict how you might handle future situations.

Interviewer: Typically hiring managers, other members of the team, or leadership.

Types of Questions (See our question bank here for a list of common behaviorals).

  • Experiential | Ex: Can you elaborate on [experience from your resume]?

  • Scenario-based | Ex: How would you handle it if [X situation] occurred?

  • Situational | Ex: Tell me about a time when you [demonstrated a specific skill].

Etiquette (See here for a checklist of what to do before, during, and after your interview).

  • Analyze the job description to identify frequently mentioned skills

  • Develop 10–12 stories from your experiences that cover the range of behavioral question types

  • Use the STAR method to structure your answers, aiming for 2–3 minutes per response

  • Practice with other people, speak aloud to yourself, or record yourself

  • Prepare thoughtful questions tailored to the team or your interviewer's background

  • Send a personalized thank-you email within 2 hours of your interview

Technical Interviews

Interview Focus: Assess job‑specific knowledge, ability to apply concepts, test technical skills & structured thinking.

Types of Interviews (varies significantly by the type of role; see sample questions here)

  • Case (Consulting and Corporate): Assess a business problem and develop a solution using a structured framework

  • Financial and Markets (Finance): Walk through valuation methodologies, market concepts, or accounting topics

  • Coding/Technical (Tech): Solve algorithmic/systems design problems, often in shared coding environment

  • Portfolio Review (Creative/Design): Present past work and explain your process and design decisions

  • Skills-Based Task (General): Complete a take-home or live exercise — such as a data analysis, presentation, or memo — that simulates actual job responsibilities

Etiquette

  • Ask clarifying questions before jumping into your answer; interviewers want to see how you think and problem solve.

  • Talk through your reasoning out loud as you work.

Additional Resources: