Industry: Finance
Position: Equity research analyst
Current Work Experience: 4 years
Setting: Candidate applied directly to the firm
Result: Selected
An Equity research analyst is someone who supplies information and makes recommendations to the firm's investment managers, about the performance of stocks.
This article contains insights, tips, and information shared from an equity research analyst who has been working with one of the top five investment banks in the world. Here, he addresses everyone who is looking forward to entering the field and shares some of the most valuable lessons that he has learned about making it through the selection process and thriving in the organization.
The candidate has been working with this organization for four years now, starting as a senior analyst and then moving to the position of associate and currently working as an equity research analyst. In his experience, the biggest advantage of working in such an organization is that you can move around different domains and are not stuck in the same job for years and years, making it a great opportunity for professional growth and career development.
All information and insights have been shared by the above-mentioned candidate.
Recruitment Process
The recruitment process started with CV submission which was followed by several rounds of interviews.
There is no standard number of rounds. It depends on the particular team how many rounds a candidate has to go through. Anyone from the bottom to the top of the company can interview you. In global companies such as this, there can be interviews with the Indian team, international team, etc. Keeping yourself ready for at least 5 rounds of interviews is advisable.
In instances where the recruitment happens through on-campus placements, the recruiters might conduct group discussions, which is not the case when candidates apply off-campus.
Interviews
There were five rounds of interviews all of which were eliminative and lasted for about 6 to 8 minutes. All the rounds were dominated by questions from the technical side, these questions were mostly based on the candidate's subjects in college and the position that he was being interviewed for.
There was no round dedicated only for HR questions. The interview happened on short notice and thus the candidate did not prepare exclusively for it. However, he did not find the questions to be too difficult as he is well-read on the news, updates as well as the technical aspects of this sector.
Tips for the interview
It is suggested to keep yourself updated and not prepare exclusively for an interview as putting in the effort regularly is more sustainable.
Interviews will be driven mostly by what is on your resume, as a process of authentication and validation of your profile. So, don't talk about aspects of your resume like answers to objective questions. Instead, corroborate what is on paper with instances/anecdotes/experiences from your life. For example, if leadership is your strength, instead of saying it as is, support the statement with examples of when you displayed leadership abilities.
If you don't know an answer, be upfront about it. Never resort to bluffing. Most of the time, the questions (especially the technical questions) are designed in such a way that you will be tempted to bluff if you don't know the answer, and the interviewers won't correct you until you realize on your own that you are wrong. The candidate used the analogy of building a huge card castle just for it to crumble down.
At the end of the interview, if they ask you whether you have any queries or questions for them, don't blank out. Be prepared to ask relevant questions. This shows that you are interested in the position and are keen on knowing things.
Show willingness to learn and express it through the interview.
Make use of platforms like LinkedIn to reach out to industry experts. If they are willing to connect and help you, it'll be a great way to get valuable insight into the industry and gain valuable advice before the actual interview.
In case you are called in for the interview on short notice, don't give up without giving it a try as opportunities like this don't always come knocking.
Tips to perform well on-the-job
Once you get to the position never be under the impression that you know enough and that you have reached the destination, it's just the beginning of your journey. There's a lot to learn and you might have to start from scratch. It'll take at least one year's time to be accustomed to things at the ground level. Give yourself time to observe and learn from people around you, as well as from your own experience. Only after that, you can think about ways to improve and develop things.
Networking is the key. You learn a lot from people around you. Use every opportunity you get to network wisely. Talk to seniors and juniors, in most instances, you'll have somebody senior to report to and somebody junior to manage, and networking is one of the things that'll help you strike a balance between both these groups and understand their pulse. If you are serious about progressing in your career, then networking is something you can't succeed without. Using informal settings to strike up conversations with people is a good way to do that. It's only when people know you and your work that they will be ready to refer you to something when a chance presents itself.
Show that you have an opinion on things. Especially in financial services, it's not like you have a formula for the right answer. You will have to be your own person with your own opinions and be willing and ready to express them.
To sum up, the candidate suggests to keep your heads high, look around, talk to people, build extensive networks, have an opinion on things, and when you don't know something, be ready to learn about it.
We thank the candidate for sharing their experience with us. This has given us a lot of new valuable insight on how to approach an interview and the career ahead.
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