Morgan Stanley’s securities business is divided by type of client: institutional or individual. The individual securities business is then divided into investor advisory services, independent investor services, and private wealth management. Investor advisory services and independent investor services are the brokerage part of the business, serving almost 4 million clients with a sales force of nearly 10,000 brokers.

Private wealth management (PWM) is a separate group specializing in financial advice and services for high-net-worth families and foundations. The role of a PWM investment adviser is to build relationships with wealthy individuals (often senior management of the firm’s corporate clients) and then manage their assets using Morgan Stanley’s range of securities investment and trading services, complex hedging strategies, and in-depth research products. After training and certification exams, analysts work both as a group to support general PWM projects and individually as apprentices to senior PWM professionals. All new PWM associates start with a 4-month classroom training program in New York. After training and certification exams (Series 3, 7, and 66), associates join their particular office, are assigned to work with experienced investment representatives, and immediately begin to build a book of business.

A Day in the Life of a PWM Associate

• 4:00 Alarm goes off. No time to snooze.
• 4:45 Drive to work. Parking is expensive, but it’s worth not waiting a half hour for the bus at this time of the morning.
• 5:00 Got milk. Eat cereal at desk while listening to morning research call from New York. (It’s 8:00 a.m. there—this is when you really pay the price for living in San Francisco.)
• 5:30 Scan the Wall Street Journal for leads. Pay particular attention to CEOS retiring and to buyouts of companies that leave executives flush with cash. Then check Bloomberg for any morning stories that aren’t in the Journal.
• 7:30 Plan to-do list for the day. Never very realistic, but it’s good to have goals.
• 8:00 Start making calls to prospects. Always try to make calls in the morning and late afternoon, because that’s when most people are at their desks.
• 9:30 Do research on leads gleaned from papers this morning. Check to see if another Morgan Stanley investment adviser already covers any of the prospects. I can’t start calling a prospect if they’re already covered by one of my colleagues. If no one’s on them, get approval to approach the client.
• 12:00 Lunch: PB&J sandwich at the desk. Tweak the to-do list.
• 1:00 Write letters to prospects who aren’t responding to phone calls. Thankful for the letter-writing workshop during training it’s hard to stand out from the crowd on paper.
• 4:00 Good time to make phone calls again. Prospects are at their desks, wrapping things up for the day. They may even answer the phone themselves.
• 5:30 Time to think about heading home, considering it’s been more than 12 hours. One day, there will be dinner out with clients to look forward to. But for now, it’s back to the homestead.
• 9:00 Time for bed. Put in tape of last week’s Everybody Loves Raymond episode to watch. Will probably be asleep before it’s over.

Source: Morgan Stanley WetFeet Insider Guide

If you’re getting ready for a Facebook data scientist interview, they will ask you an analytical case study.

Here’s more information about what you’ll receive from their HR team:

Analytical Portion (10-20 minutes)

The analytical case study will focus on questions to gauge your product sense.

For the analytical questions, the interviewer is trying to understand how you solve business questions and problems, as well as how creative and articulate you are at thinking through these problems while solving them. It’s not about the arriving at the perfect, or correct answer, but how you engage with the problem.

Spend some time engaging with Facebook products less as a user and more as someone who is tasked with improving or developing these products. The link below outlines what we consider a “Facebook product” [Ads, Mobile, Timeline, News Feed, Messaging, etc.].

Analytical Resources:
Facebook Products
Facebook News

Put yourself in the shoes of the product team who built the product / feature

• Why do you think they made certain decisions about how it works?
• What could be done to improve the product?
• What kind of metrics you would want to consider when solving for questions around health, growth, or the engagement of a product?
• How would you measure the success of different parts of the product?
• What metrics would you assess when trying to solve business problems related to our products?
• How would you tell if a product is performing well or not?
• How would you set up an experiment to evaluate any new products or improvements?

Institutional salespeople at Morgan Stanley sell the firm’s security offerings to large institutional clients such as pension funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies. Associates enter either the institutional equity or fixed income division and then join a product specialty (or desk) within that division. Candidates are usually expected to have at least their Series 7 and Series 63 licenses. At the beginning, associates usually work with a senior salesperson and share responsibility for a specific group of institutional client accounts.

A Day in the Life of a Salesperson

• 6:45 Arrive at work with coffee and the Wall Street Journal.
• 7:30 Tune into the equity division’s morning meeting. Analysts comment on companies that have reported earnings. Then they change their buy and sell recommendations (usually they just add or delete an adjective; they seldom change the actual verb). Lots of chat about newspaper articles that might raise questions from clients. A capital markets rep talks about the progress of certain corporate finance deals, the shape of the subscription book, and the timing of a certain issue.
• 8:00 Fixed income’s morning meeting. Here, the analysts comment on economic data releases and the bond market’s likely reaction. They also have lots to say about new offerings in municipals and corporates. Jot down the stuff on the corporates.
• 8:30 Back at the desk. Start calling certain clients with this morning’s news, in hopes of being the first to relay it. (Note: Traders and salespeople need to know much of the same information, which is why both often attend the morning meetings.)
• 9:30 Market opens. I’m hoping clients will remember my charming face, competence, and excellent service, and will correspondingly direct all their trades through this desk. Sometimes they call with orders; usually they just call the trader directly. Continue making less time-sensitive calls throughout the morning.
• 12:00 Road show luncheon at the Plaza. With Morgan Stanley’s guidance, the management of this company has streamlined its presentation on strategy, past performance, and future growth prospects, shortening it from 3 hours to a little more than 30 minutes. Know with a sinking heart that the sales pitch is still too convoluted to get investors excited about buying shares in the upcoming IPO.
• 1:15 Share these thoughts with other people on the desk. Get stuck with writing the first draft of a memo aimed at shortening the presentation even more.
• 1:30 Spend afternoon making maintenance calls, arranging a one-on-one meeting with the IPO company on behalf of a client, and finding out from the trader how many clients executed trades today.
• 4:30 Clean up four-by-four area of desk. Call a client to confirm plans to see the Knicks game tonight.
• 5:15 Run to the gym for a quick workout before schmoozing.
• 6:00 Grab dinner before heading to the Garden. Maybe these good seats will convince the client to buy on the IPO after all.

Source: Morgan Stanley WetFeet Insider Guide

This category includes traders and sales-traders in equity, fixed income, and worldwide markets. A salesperson does what you might expect: sells ideas (stocks and bonds to buy) to institutional customers to generate business (and commissions). A trader will buy and sell securities for a client or for the firm’s own account (this is called proprietary trading). A sales-trader acts as a liaison between the institutional salesperson and the trader. It’s up to sales-traders to help clients buy and sell larger quantities at advantageous prices. Some traders function as market makers, buying and selling securities out of the firm’s inventory to facilitate trades for customers in OTC (small, over-the-counter) securities where markets are less liquid than on the exchanges. In the fixed income area, a market maker may be referred to simply as a trader.

A Day in the Life of a Trader

• 6:15 Arrive at work. Spread the paper out and reread the interest rate article that didn’t make sense on the half-awake ride downtown. Drink another cup of coffee.
• 7:00 Listen to the equity division’s morning meeting while checking Bloomberg for any big movements in the overseas markets. Soon after, get a cheat sheet that summarizes important meeting highlights. Tape up sheet so it’s visible all day.
• 7:30 Drink another cup of coffee. Attend morning meeting for fixed income. Analysts drone on about economic data releases and the bond market. Then they all weigh in with comments on the new municipals, corporates, and treasury auctions.
• 8:00 Everyone back at their desks and phones. Don’t want to miss any important news. Minutes count—sometimes even seconds make the difference.
• 9:30 Gulp a warm Coke, consult trade research reports, finish the Coke the broker screen. Execute orders given “on the open.” Call clients with trade executions. Receive order to buy 200,000 shares of a stock “not held.” Make announcement to the rest of the floor and try to shop the order around. Maybe the firm would sell some out of its own account? Someone several seats away impolitely disabuses everyone of that notion.
• 10:00 Drink another Coke. Place part of the order with a client at the current market price. Start buying the balance in smaller lots. 10:15 Talk to a friend to arrange dinner plans. Hang up when someone yells that he has a seller for 50,000 at my price. 10:25 Think about calling friend back. In midthought, four people start barking in my direction at the same time. Scramble to make sense of what they’re saying. Traders don’t like to repeat themselves. Answer them, never really disengaging from the ongoing stream of numbers on the broker screen.
• 12:30 Complete order. Lunch delivery arrives. Try not to spill ketchup on keyboards.
• 1:30 Crisis as new kid on the desk confuses “buy” with “sell.” Drink another Coke. Correct the situation and even make a small gain. Impress upon kid how rare a save like that is. (In truth, feel sorry for him—everyone’s been there.) Guide him through the trade research reports, but not for long. Need them for this next trade. 3:00 Call friend back to arrange dinner plans. Hang up on friend again. Make several calls to confirm “good till cancel” orders.
• 4:30 Make sure all confirms match tickets. Heart palpitations resume. This time it’s not the caffeine. Check the floor to see if the confirm on 50,000 of the 200,000-share buy order fell under the desk. There it is. Resume breathing.
• 4:45 Clean up mess on the desk. Enjoy a quiet, uninterrupted phone call to my cellular phone company. Patiently explain for the 13th time why the calls to Belize shouldn’t be on the bill.
• 5:00 Head to the gym for a much-needed endorphin release.
• 5:45 Return to desk, make a small dent in mountain of mail and literature, and wrap up the day.
• 6:30 Head out the door.

Source: Morgan Stanley WetFeet Insider Guide

Introduction

A few months ago, I penned a teaching note that:

• Details the six different “execution question” categories
• Shares my secrets on how to approach each one
• Recommends relevant practice problems

A small group of former clients and students have seen this teaching note. I’m now making it available to all of you.

Sign up below, and you’ll receive an email with the teaching note shortly.

Troubleshooting

If you do not see the email sign-up box below, either:

1. Clear your browser cookies and try again.
2. Open this URL in a new Incognito browser window.

Interview Coaching Online

A prospective client recently asked, “Does Impact Interview offer interview coaching online?”

The answer is YES!

Thanks to the video conferencing technologies like Skype, we’re able to offer our award-winning interview coaching to anyone around the globe. In fact, we’ve had clients from Europe, Asia, and even the Middle East.

Online interview coaching has many advantages that face-to-face interview coaching does not have including:

• Quality and Expertise. We’re one of the few coaching firms with 10 years of expertise, with specialized interview coaching for particular industries, functions, and interview types. And read why our customers absolutely love us and refer us to their friends.
• Time Saver. Online coaching saves you from having to waste time with traffic and parking.
• Environmentally Friendly. We’re just happy our online interview coaching makes a positive impact on the planet. ♻️🌍🌲

Many clients ask if online interview coaching is not as effective as face-to-face coaching. Our feeling is that there’s minimal, if any, impact. Why? Our interview coaching is focused on improving your interview answers and content. We can do that effectively via Skype or face-to-face.

Face-to-face coaching can help us observe your body language, eye contact, and posture. While those tips are helpful, we feel that you can easily get body language tips on the Internet or rehearsing with a friend. However, helping you customize your interview answers to your individual situation, that’s only something Impact Interview’s expert coaches can do.

To learn more about our interview coaching packages, refer to our interview coaching detail page or request a free 15 minute interview analysis.

Photo Credit: Kennisland

Thank you for all the positive support for this blog post! We’ve added more material and updated it with the latest information and research on the Amazon Leadership Principles interview. You can find the article’s new location here:

Amazon Leadership Principles Interview

Introduction: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

Interviewing software engineers can be very tricky, especially for recruiters or interviewers without a technical background. Without a computer science degree or prior software engineering experience, it’s hard to identify superior candidates.

Have no fear. Use the technical evaluation form below to assess software engineers, accurately, without a technical degree or experience. Your interview assessments will become more thorough and comprehensive, giving you a competitive edge.

Excel and Word Versions: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

In addition to the text version featured below, you can also download and customize Word and Excel versions of our technical interview evaluation form:

• Technical Interview Evaluation Form: Word
• Technical Interview Evaluation Form: Excel

How the Form Works: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

• Experience level. Software engineering requires specialized knowledge and skills. In order to be successful designing, developing and implementing software solutions, an academic background in Computer Science and significant hands on experience are almost always necessary.
• Technical interview questions. Aside from a technical assignment, technical interview questions are the best way to measure technical ability and expertise. These questions should address a candidate’s experience with software, as well as his or her approach to relevant problems and tasks.
• Technical assignment review. Technical assignments are important for more than just assigning each candidate a score. They are also useful tools for evaluating a candidate’s way of thinking and allowing creativity and innovation to shine through. The best way to do this is by reviewing a candidate’s process and approach to the assignment during the interview.
• Resume review. While technical knowledge is important, what matters most is how candidates apply that knowledge on the job. Scrutinizing past projects and examples from a candidate’s resume is the best way to understand how relevant and applicable a candidate’s knowledge and experience is to the position at hand.
• Behavioral questions. The best candidate will bring something new to your company by inspiring internal growth and learning. Behavioral questions allow hiring managers to get a better idea of a candidate’s innovation and passion. The way that a candidate answers these questions is indicative of what they will bring to your company on a more human level.

INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM FOR TECHNICAL CANDIDATES

Candidate’s Name: ________   Date: __________________________

Interviewed By: ______________________________

Scoring

Candidate evaluation forms are to be completed by the interviewer to rank the candidate’s overall qualifications for the position. Under each heading, the interviewer should give the candidate a numerical rating and write specific job related comments in the space provided. The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5 – Exceptional   4 – Above Average   3 – Average   2 – Satisfactory   1 – Unsatisfactory

 ________________________________________________________________

Experience                                                                                                    

Educational Background – Does the candidate meet the education requirements to hold a software engineering role at this company? Does the candidate hold a degree in Computer Science or a related field?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Certifications – Does the candidate hold the desired software engineering certifications and training?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Relevant Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant software engineering experience?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Technical Questions                                                                                      

Programming Languages – Is the candidate familiar with the necessary programming languages for this role? What are the candidate’s favorite programming languages?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Troubleshooting Process – How does the candidate describe troubleshooting bugs?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Improvement Experience – Has the candidate had experience implementing significant improvements? How did the candidate go about implementing them?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Technical Communication – How well can the candidate present and explain technical details to a non-technical audience?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Approach to Quality – How does the candidate ensure that his or her programs run smoothly and quickly?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Code Quality – Which tools is the candidate familiar with for testing code quality?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Design Patterns – How familiar is the candidate with design patterns?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Technical Assignment Review                                                                       

Approach – What was the candidate’s approach to the technical assignment and how would he or she have changed that approach if given more time?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Time Management – Which features of the assignment did the candidate prioritize? What does the candidate prioritize when under a strict project deadline?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Resource Utilization – What resources did the candidate use to complete the assignment? Did the candidate write an efficient algorithm?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Resume Review                                                                                             

Software Experience – Has the candidate built relevant software in the past?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Teamwork – How has the candidate worked with others during past projects and what were his or her specific contributions to the team each time?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Growth – What did the candidate take away from each relevant experience and how did he or she use this to grow as a software engineer?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Behavioral Questions                                                                                    

Owner vs. Participant – Did the candidate play a primary or marginal role?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Good vs. Great Achievement – Was the achievement impressive? Were the results largely due to the candidate’s impact? Or would the results have occurred, even without the candidate’s achievement?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Communication Skills – Is the candidate’s story easy-to-follow and memorable? Was it a struggle to extract information from the candidate? Did the candidate provide a response that is well-organized?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Problem Solving – Did the candidate take an unfamiliar, unambiguous question, problem or situation and provide a plan as well as compelling leadership?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Industry Knowledge – What has the candidate recently learned about programming from a book, magazine or website? How does the candidate keep up with an ever-changing and evolving industry?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Photo Credit: Pexels

Introduction: Interview Evaluation Form for Managerial Positions

Hiring the best possible managers is very important to the success of any company. Managers not only affect performance, but also culture, work ethic, internal development and company standards.

To get the strongest and most effective leadership for your company, use the interview evaluation from as checklist for the most important qualities in managers including:

• Leadership skills
• Problem-solving approach
• Motivational aptitude
• Goal setting and tracking
• Communication

Excel and Word Versions: Interview Evaluation Form for Managerial Positions

In addition to the text version featured below, we have both Word and Excel versions that you can download to your computer and customize on your own:

• Manager Interview Evaluation Form: Excel
• Manager Interview Evaluation Form: Word

How the Form Works: Interview Evaluation Form for Managerial Positions

This form allows hiring teams to score managerial candidates in four different ways:

• Experience level. Management level positions require experienced candidates with deep knowledge and understanding of your industry and objectives, as well as managerial best practices.
• Behavioral interview questions. Communication skills and motivational ability are integral to effective management. Behavioral interview questions allow hiring managers to identify these qualities in relevant, work-related scenarios.
• Leadership. Effective leadership involves more than simply taking charge. There are complex and multifaceted traits that make the best leaders stand out from the rest. This holistic leadership checklist evaluates leadership ability from a variety of angles.
• Intelligence. The best managers generate growth and development within their company. When looking for new leadership, it is important to consider not only performance and numbers, but also internal growth and learning. The ideal manager inspires creativity and innovative thinking in fellow employees.

INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM FOR MANAGERIAL POSITIONS

Candidate’s Name: ____________     Date: ________________

 Interviewed By: ______________________________ 

Scoring

Candidate evaluation forms are to be completed by the interviewer to rank the candidate’s overall qualifications for the position. Under each heading, the interviewer should give the candidate a numerical rating and write specific job related comments in the space provided. The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5 – Exceptional   4 – Above Average   3 – Average   2 – Satisfactory   1 – Unsatisfactory

Experience

Educational Background – Does the candidate meet the education requirements to hold a management level role at this company?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Certifications – Does the candidate hold the desired management certifications and training?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Management Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant management experience?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Behavioral Questions

Owner vs. Participant – Did the candidate play a primary or marginal role?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Good vs. Great Achievement – Was the achievement impressive? Were the results largely due to the candidate’s impact? Or would the results have occurred, even without the candidate’s achievement?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Communication Skills – Is the candidate’s story easy-to-follow and memorable? Was it a struggle to extract information from the candidate? Did the candidate provide a response that is well-organized?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Problem Solving – Did the candidate take an unfamiliar, unambiguous question, problem or situation and provide a plan as well as compelling leadership? 

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Leadership

Leadership Skills – Did the candidate demonstrate abilities and accomplishments as a leader? Did he or she demonstrate an ability to build trust, provide feedback and develop the skills of direct reports?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Decision Making Skills – Did the candidate demonstrate an ability to make timely and informed decisions?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Motivational Ability – How does the candidate use feedback and acknowledgement to inspire productivity?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Supervising Others – Can the candidate effectively direct the actions of others, assess workload needs, maintain a productive working environment, and resolve conflicts or problems?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Flexibility – Can the candidate shift gears and change behavior according to the situation? Can the candidate reassess priorities and come up with new ideas when needed?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Performance Management – Does the candidate provide an effective process for performance management? How does the candidate provide employees with measurable goals? How does the candidate control and verify the accomplishment of work and department goals?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Delegation – How does the candidate go about identifying employees’ strengths and weaknesses to assign duties?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Communication Style – Does the candidate value and encourage open communication among team members? How does he or she encourage others to express concerns and ideas?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Integrity – Does the candidate have experience handling confidential information? How does the candidate manage work relationships and follow company policies to set a good example for his or her team?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Intelligence

Thoughtful Insights – Did the candidate provide thought-provoking insights? Did you feel smarter after talking to the candidate?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Creativity – Did the candidate show vision and imagination?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

Photo Credit: Pixabay