- 5 Logical reasoning :had vector spaces and machine learning. Why was this called logical reasoning? I have no idea
- 10 Quant : pure mathematics: probability ( Central limit theorem, random walk, z variable, various distributions: Bernoulli, Weinberg). The kind of questions you get in IIT exam + some puzzles (none of the standard ones)
- 15 Computer science : calculate complexity of best methods to solve a question (algorithm analysis), operating system questions on page faults and multi-level index
- We are in a junction. p is the probability that at least one car will pass through it within the next 20 minutes. Give me the probability that no car will pass within the next 5 minutes.
- Suppose you toss a fair coin 400 times. What is the probability that you get at least 220 heads? Round your answer to the nearest percent.
- A drunk man walks back with probability p and forward with probability q(=1-p). He is standing on the edge of the cliff, find the probability that he survives
- There was a question on maximum likelihood estimate :
- There are 13 red, 15 blue and 17 green butterflies. 2 butterflies of different colors merge and for 2 butterflies of 3rd color (1 red +1 blue=2 green). What color butterflies are left in the end ?
- There're 10 steps ahead of rabbit and she can jump 1 step or 2 steps at a time. How many different ways for her to reach to the top.
- Given N noodles in a bowl and randomly attaching ends. What is the expected number of loops you will have in the end?
- From C there were questions on register , enum etc storage classes.
- C++ questions were mostly of class related , inheritance , friend function etc.
- SQL: some queries . Interview had the question :
- finance option pricing, no arbitrage principle (For strategist profile)
- brainteasers and puzzles
- current events : if an investment banking position
- How does the PE of a firm change after a stock split?
- What is outlier? Why we are concerned about them - give a situation ? How to detect it?
- 2008 crisis-extreme value theory?
- Suppose you have three call options on the market, with strikes 10, 20, and 30. Suppose the call option with strike 10 costs $12, the call option with strike 20 costs $7, and the call option with strike 30 costs $1. Does there exist an arbitrage opportunity?
- A 2 year bond, yield 6%. A 1 year bond, yield 4%. What's
- What do you mean by lift chart?
- Stability of a system?
- Describe eigenvalues and eigenvectors?
- What do factor analysis
- Give me three stock picks and why. What is the 5 yr bond rate?
What Goldman Sacs
test on :
Goldman visited our
campus for STRATEGIC ANALYST PROFILE. This page has all the research I did
before appearing for my interviews (other people's experience), as well as the
questions asked from me (personal
experience)
Written round
30 MCQ for us in
1.5 hours. Seems like a lot of time, but the questions were tough and took
around 6 minutes each. Some were similar to what we get in our BTech
mathematics and computing subjective
examinations
I read on
glassdoor.com that in addition there is
one essay titled "Why are you the best fit for Goldman Sachs?" The
topic of this essay is common in all campus placements.
So I prepared for
it too, never got to write my speech
Probability
questions :
Puzzles
asked :
Ans
: Basic Recurrance formula F(n) = F(n-1)+ F(n-2) . Expalation : Asume rabbit
wants to climb the 10th step , it can either make the jump from 9th step or
from 8th step . F(1) = 1 - can take only 1 step F(2) = 2 - can take 2 single
steps or just take a 2 step jump . so 2 ways . Solving this recurrence
relation should give the result . Time O(n) & Space O(1)
Ans : You just have
to recognize that the number of loops on the nth trial is
N(n)
= 1/( 2n - 1 ) + N(n-1).
so
N(k)
= 1 + 1/3 + 1/5 + ... + 1/k
For software development profile :
Ways
to Improve SQL Query Performance
Make sure the
tables are normalized to the appropriate degree, then that they're indexed
correctly. Those are foundational. From there, improvements can normally only
come in the 5-10% range
Expect questions on coding applications in finance
world.
Example :
What would be the
best approach to handle real-time
intraday data storage? Example can be prices of stock ticks
Ans : Plain binary files.
Can't beat them. With today's fast computers any
superimposed database layer will create unnecessary overhead (speed and code).
Datafields:
Byte key (trade, dom bid/ask event, volume, others)
Single price
Long volume
Long timestamp (millisec from 00:00 same day)
One file per symbol per day.
Very simple to access, search, analyze.
They sometimes hold
a GD
The topic is the
same every time : you will be given a sheet with some 12 people, occupations
and personality . Then you are told that they are on a sinking ship and you
can save only some, say 6. So you discuss and choose people with good
justification
For the interview:
What's
a superday?
A day of one-on-one
meetings with employees in a particular division or group. Do know where Goldman Sachs stock is
trading that day. Do not be
late.
They usually start
with tech questions and the interview goes in the direction you want to.
+ points if you can
talk about and are prepared for :
I
prepared questions like "How does Goldman make profits?", latest
IPO, company stock price, markets in general, option trading
Goldman's advice:
"Demonstrate a passion for financial services."
<picked directly
from their website>
For a pure
investment banking role , here are the questions I picked from glass door.
This is for Quant role (Usually PHD s in financial mathematics)
Ans : When stock
splits, price changes to half, so does the earnings per share. (As number of
outstanding shares double). So P/E does not change.
Ans : Make up a
situation. My favorite one is that if Bill gates walks into a bar, the average
income of every person present jumps to a million.
There, Mr. Gates is
your outlier
Use statistical
tools to detect them
And Download paper
from : https://ideas.repec.org/p/uta/papers/2009_03.html
Ans
:
here is an elementary model-free theorem that says
that call option prices are a convex function of strike. In this example, they
are not so there must be an arbitrage.
By
Jensen' inequality, the average of 10 call and 30 call should be greater than
20 call. Here 20 call is overpriced
The way the theorem is proven is to take the
portfolio
+1 C(10)
-2 C(20)
+1 C(30)
Long
10 call and 30 call and short the 20 call
and observe that the pay-off is positive or zero so
the price must be positive.
Study links :
the implied rate
for the bond that starts one year from now?
Rate
of Interest = ((1.06)^2)/(1.04) - 1 This comes from No Arbitrage Principle. On
solving it gives you 8%. This is valid only if the bond under consideration
has the maturity of 1 year.
Study links :
Know your basic
finance well : duration, convexity, CAPM and economics (inflation/deflation)
General tips :
If you can talk
about this, win-win situation
They also asked about current finance news
Interact with and learn the names of your
interviewers, you may be questioned on this later, and people skills are
highly valued.
Read about the company, and the division to which you
are applying, know exactly what it is they do.
Read the Goldman Sachs annual report (available
online)
What we expect you to accomplish early on, what
attributes make our top performers so outstanding, what you can do to truly
drive results, how you’ll be evaluated --all the things that matter to
you and to us and our businesses.
Bring a “project.": Do a little research about the company. That’s not
impressive; that’s a given.
To really impress the interviews:
"tell us how you will hit the ground running and
contribute right away -- the bigger the impact the better. If you bring a
specific skill, show how we can leverage that skill immediately.
Remember how we see it: We have to pay you starting
day one, so we’d love to see an immediate return.
We want you to ask for the job… and
we want to know why.
By the end of the interview you should have a good
sense of whether you want the job. If you need more information, say so. Let’s
figure out how to get you what you need to make a decision."
That article is a must read for every interview you
go to
Do negotiate :
Many year-end bonuses are tied to performance
metrics and the amount can vary depending whether certain milestones are met.
Sign up bonus is easier to negotiate because it is a onetime thing.
I am writing this
page due to sunk cost fallacy : the 12+ hours I spent on researching about GS
should be shared and saved (This way I can get rid of the albatross around my
neck)
Most of the
research was picked from glassdoor.com . Thank you for the wonderful website
and tool.
Disclaimer : I do
not own most of content .
