Chapter 11: Paul & Dominic’s Guide to Getting a Quant Job 397
real actions that are finished, complete and correct. One
can pass most exams by getting answers wrong, but by
showing good working, and an understanding of the
principles. However, banks aren’t really all that happy
if you lose a pile of money by getting ‘‘nearly’’ the right
answer, where you put a minus where it should have
been a plus. They like to see projects where you’ve
started, worked to a goal and completed without having
to have your hand held. This is a big reason why they
like PhDs since it’s a powerful argument that you can
complete things. However, if you’re going for a PhD-level
job, you still have to beat others who have reached that
level.
Projects completed are good, and you should be pre-
pared to answer questions on them. The people who
interview you will often have your sort of academic
background, so these questions may be deep.
You may have changed direction in your career, and
you should be prepared to answer why you made any
given choice. It is important to be able to show that you
didn’t just ‘‘give up’’ on an area when it got tough.
Interests and hobbies Several of the people you meet will
want to understand what sort of personality you have,
or indeed whether you actually have one.
In finance you spend more of your waking hours with
your colleagues than the person you marry, so it is
good to present yourself as interesting as well as smart.
They all want to feel you can work with others, so the
clich ́e of ‘‘reading, walking and listening to music,’’ don’t
really cut it. Certainly you shouldn’t fake an interest in
something, but do try to find something with which
you can speak with a little passion. One candidate had
somehow acquired a formal qualification in stage com-
bat. Although it’s relatively rare for quants to need to
