Get assessment ready
We know that assessment processes and interviews can often feel daunting but preparation is your key to success.
Keep reading to explore heaps of useful resources to help you prepare and feel more confident.
Nailing Your Assessments
Watch our industry panel walk you through a typical assessment process and explain what hiring managers are looking for so you can wow them with your knowledge, enthusiasm, and skills.
Every assessment process differs across firms and typically takes the form of multiple stages. These could include:
Telephone interview
In-person interview
Online assessment centres
Each assessment stage will be looking for you to demonstrate skills and knowledge essential to your role as an intern or graduate in investment management. Amongst skills such as team work, analytical thinking, and communication, you will need to demonstrate an understanding of the industry and an interest in the firm you are being assessed by.
What will I be asked in an interview?
Remember that there are no trick questions!
This is a chance for you to show that you are intelligent, diligent, a team-player and intellectually curious. Make sure your answers can be backed up with examples of experience you have or research that you have done. Don’t worry if you do not have previous work experience, relate the question to your studies or an extra-curricular activity that you have done.
WATCH: Questions to be prepared for during your investment management interview
The 34 PRACTISE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Prepare and practice your answers to these commonly asked questions to ace your interview.
General
• Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your CV.
• What are you passionate about?
• What would your fiercest critics say about you? And your loudest champions?
• If we were to ring your former boss/supervisor/teacher and ask them to describe you, what would they say about you?
• How do you prefer to learn?
• What is your greatest achievement to date?
• What do you want to learn about yourself?
• Why do you want to work in investment management?
• What do you think is most important in preparing for an internship?
Decision Making Skills / Judgement
• Tell me about a good decision you made recently at work.
• Tell me about a recent problem you faced at work and how you found the best solution.
• Tell me about a mistake you made and how you dealt with it.
• What recent innovation have you made that had a positive outcome?
• Describe a situation in which you had to schedule your activities to meet an objective.
Resilience / adaptability
• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your resilience.
• Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback from your manager or supervisor. How did you handle this?
• Can you describe a time when you failed at something? And how did you learn from it? What would you do differently if the situation presented itself again?
• Tell me about a time you had to quickly adjust your work priorities to meet changing demands.
Problem-solving / initiative
• Describe a difficult problem you had to resolve.
• Describe a new idea or suggestion that you made to your supervisor recently.
• Tell me about a time that you were not satisfied with your work performance. What did you do about it?
• Describe what you do to minimise making mistakes in your work.
Communication Skills
• Give me an example where you had to rely on information given to you verbally to complete a task.
• Give me an example of a complex process or task you had to explain to another person or group of people.
• Tell me about a challenging writing assignment or important report you had to prepare recently.
Leadership & Team work
• Describe a time that you demonstrated the ability to be an effective team member.
• Describe a time when you have worked with others to solve a common goal
• Have you ever been in a situation where you have had to lead a project with peers? What were the key challenges? How did you approach it?
• Are you more comfortable leading or participating in teams? And why?
• Describe a situation when you negotiated with others in your organisation to reach agreement.
• We have all had to work with someone who is difficult to get along with. Give me an example of when this happened to you and how you handled it.
• Tell me about a situation when a colleague was less cooperative than you needed or wanted.
• Tell me about two of your colleagues/ customers/employees who are very different to each other. How do you interact with each one?
• Describe a situation when you had to persuade someone recently to accept an idea/ plan/product.