Background/Personal Questions

Question 1

Walk me through your resume/Tell me about yourself

Answer 1

• I was born and raised in South Florida. I went to high school here as well, and originally wanted to study medicine.
• I first got interested in finance when my dad started looking at options trading on the side during high school. This introduced me to the world of finance, and once I got into college I decided that I found this more interesting than medicine. I became a part of business clubs on campus at Berkeley, and learned more about finance and eventually, investment banking. I did a financial case competition involving Abbott and loved the financial modeling I had to do, and this jumpstarted my pursuit of finance.
• In college, I started off doing consulting projects for a business club involving Logitech and Microsoft. This involved their go-to-market strategy and financial services marketing respectively, and while they were interesting, I wanted something more structured and quantitative. I then did work at a search fund over the summer to help source acquisition candidates and assess their quality in terms of an acquisition. This experience was very engaging, but I wanted something more demanding and on a bigger scale, which is why I’m here today.
• I’m interviewing today because I like (this bank for these reasons) and this (product/industry) for these reasons. As a student, I feel like this is exact kind of high-intensity job I’m looking for post-graduation.
• In the long term, I’m interested in eventually doing advising for (these kinds of companies/companies on these kinds of deals) and I think banking is a great way to gain the most relevant experience for that post-graduation

Question 2

Why did you attend UC Berkeley? I’m sure you had many options.

Answer 2

I chose Berkeley because of it’s excellent academic reputation as well as its top-level undergraduate economics and business programs. I’m also interested in studying chemistry as I’ve found it interesting since high school, and Berkeley has one of the best chemistry programs in the world. These factors made Berkeley my standout top option.

Question 3

Why did you major in the field(s) you majored in?

Answer 3

I’m majoring in economics because I love the broad applicability of the field and approach it teaches towards understanding situations in economical (markets) and non-economical contexts (game theory). I decided to double in chemistry because I have always found the subject to be of great interest as it explains the way objects and phenomena in the world act they way they do, and I wanted to deepen my understanding of the field and of my own daily observations.

Question 4

Where else did you apply for college? Did you get in anywhere else?

Answer 4

Aside from Berkeley, I also got into NYU Stern, Vanderbilt, and other top schools. I chose Berkeley due to the variety of strengths it has, as well as its world-class economics, chemistry, and business programs.

Question 5

What do you do for fun?

Answer 5

In my free time I like to listen to/produce hip-hop music, watch football/basketball/world soccer, keep up with the advancements in chemistry/physics/space exploration, play video games, work out, play drums, and hang out with my friends

Question 6

What was your favorite class in college?

Answer 6

My favorite class so far was organic chemistry. It really challenged my way of thinking and wasn’t based on memorization/regurgitation as other classes, being based on understanding and application instead. Even though the material was difficult, I had fun engaging with it and the professor made the material come to life as well.

Question 7

What are your favorite movies/books?

Answer 7

• My favorite movie is definitely Interstellar. It was amazing to see a field I’m so interested be done justice in a cinema setting. I also love that the simulations done in the movie required verification by leading physicists in order to ensure their accuracy, which I think is really awesome.
• My favorite book is probably Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I had to read it as part of a philosophy class and I anticipated dreading it, but it changed my entire worldview. The takeaways from that book have had a huge impact on the way I approach my life.

Question 8

Tell me something about you that’s not listed on your resume.

Answer 8

I’m a huge fan of horror movies. I don’t really enjoy the jumpscares, but I enjoy how each director constructs the horror feeling through various elements as the film progresses.

Question 9

Tell me about a time you failed to honor a commitment

Answer 9

Bring up the failure briefly, then discuss what you’ve learned and how you’ve improved since then

• During freshman fall semester, I had to meet with a partner early in the morning to work on a project together.
• I wasn’t able to wake up early enough and missed it
• I’ve learned to try to stay away from making commitments that I’m not as likely to meet, and at they very least, start each day thinking about what I need to do that day and about the commitments I’ve made that day
• Since then, I haven’t missed any time-related commitments as I’ve set up calendar alerts and alarms to ensure I almost never forget about my commitments