408 Frequently Asked Questions In Quantitative Finance
worse if they are from a similar background, since they
may feel embarrassed to ask what you actually mean.
You lose points here. But it is generally polite to enquire
about the background of your audience when asked to
explain some part of your work. This both shows con-
sideration, and prevents you making this error.
Show some market insight This doesn’t mean you have to
know the ticker symbols of all SP500 stocks, but it does
mean you should be able to comment on the reliabil-
ity of models, what are their common pitfalls and how
the quant and the trader might communicate about
this. If you can quantify some practical phenomenon
that is rarely discussed in academic literature then you
will impress. (Tip: Because banks are often delta hedg-
ing, everything usually boils down to gamma and/or
volatility.)
It is also worth readingThe Economistbefore the inter-
view. Some interviewers are keen to see if you have
awareness of the world in general.The Economistmay
disturb some people since it covers other countries and
has no astrology column or coverage of golf.
Brainteasers There are several different types of brain-
teasers you might get asked, all designed to test how
your mind works under pressure, and to try and gauge
how smart you are, rather than how much you have
learned.
- Straightforward calculation.Example: How many
trailing zeros are there in 100 factorial?
- Lateral thinking.Example: Several coworkers would
like to know their average salary. How can they
calculate it, without disclosing their own salaries?
- Open to discussion.Example: What’s the probability
that a quadratic function has two real roots?
