When answering an open-ended interview question or online application question always follow this answering structure:
Describe the Situation – 1-3 sentences:
“I was a Trader at the FinancIN internship. I was trading FX on a margin account”
Explain the Targets – 1-2 sentences:
“I had to achieve a 25% return on capital in 14 days, while maintaining a maximum drawdown of 10% per trade”
What Actions you took to achieve the Targets – 3-4 sentences:
”I researched different trading strategies and indicators. I performed fundamental analysis for investment using the latest news releases. I designed a buy low – sell high mean reversion strategy and attuned it to the current market environment. When trading I always followed a disciplined approach to stopping losses and taking profits in order to remain within my risk limits”
What was the Result – 2-3 sentences:
“At the end of the 14 day internship I had exceeded my return targets by 120%, while not losing more than 10% of AUM on any single trade. The company has now adopted my trading strategy on a number of their managed client accounts”
And Remember:
• Answer the question – take a second or several to think about what you are being asked and how to answer it
• Be concise and clear in your answers – less is more
• Don’t waffle – bored interviewer = rejection
• Prepare – often times it is difficult to come up with a good example to a question on the spot. Therefore prepare several answers to common interview questions that you could be asked
• Never Lie – your answers may be checked before you are made an offer even if you pass your interviews
