Scoring and Acing Your Finance Interview

Scoring and Acing Your Finance InterviewScoring and Acing Your Finance InterviewWays to ace your phone and in-person interviews in a competitive finance industry.Considering the state of the finance industry, every competitive edge counts when youre preparing for that interview. Recruiters and job seekers offered Ladders insights into the dynamics of interviewing in finance today.species Romero is managing director and owner of Academy Recruiting, which is based in Denver but works with finance clients nationwide. Hes both self-effacing and assertive about the importance of his discipline to finance job seekers in a tight market. Certainly, its biased. Being a recruiter, of course Ill say that the best way in a door is through a recruiter, said Romero. But the obvious dynamic that the finance market is shrinking and the pool of candidates is growing means that any company with an opening will be flooded with thousands of resumes. No hiring manager has the time to go through all of those, so they hire recruiters to weed through them.They want a recruiter to hand them the perfect candidate on a silver platter, Romero said.Making the right approach to the hiring manager is also key, according to Esther, a member of Ladders who is using the service in conjunction with her networking skills to find a new job as a lawyer in financial services.I try to read between the lines and see what theyre really looking for, beyond the bullet lists of requirements, and analyze what that implies for the firm, Esther said. My approach is to create my own job by understanding what they really need, then showing them how I can add value.Recruiter Romero extends that advice to the initial phone interview with a recruiter. Too many candidates take these too lightly, either taking them on their cell phones with spotty reception or while theyre running an errand. You need to convince me that youre a good person for me to put in front of my client that youre not going to make me look b ad. Not taking this call seriously is not going to do that, said Romero.A few more basic reminders from recruiters who work in financeVery often candidates are more interested in tooting their horn or beating their chest and regaling the interviewer with their accomplishments in regards to the positions that theyre going for, when they may not relate to the role at hand. Harold Laslo, a staffing specialist at the Aldan Troy Group in New YorkOne mistake thats happened a couple times is that when they get to the final interview - which is often just a formality - candidates assume the job is already theirs. Instead of asking about perks, theyre joking about the accommodations they were put up in. By not fighting for the job, they dont get it. Art RomeroI remind them not to interrupt, dont tap your pen on the desk, dont insert the persons name into your answers and dont hang yourself - if youre asked what time it is, dont tell them how to build a watch. Common-sense stuff, but it g ets forgotten. Sherry Brickman, a partner at Martin Partners near ChicagoCandidates sometimes forget certain skills, especially if theyve had a long history with the company theyve been with. Sherry BrickmanA candidate should have some knowledge about the company where they are interviewing. Previously, this information wasnt as attainable as it is now. To walk in totally unprepared at a senior level is very harmful when you could have gone to their Web site and gotten a minimal amount of background information about them. Harold Laslo