Graduates recently submit real-life interview questions and responses to eFinancialCareers.com's Student Centre. Read on to find out what it's like in the hotseat at some of the world's biggest financial beasts.

Morgan Stanley: Investment banking

Q: In the current market conditions, why investment banking?

A: Having really thought this decision through, I came to the conclusion that IB has all the aspects that I’m looking for in a job: you need to know international politics, know how people think and act, be creative, and numerically apt.

It’s the only job where I feel I could use my diverse range of skills fully. It is extremely intellectually challenging. Why in the current market conditions? It’s not about the market – it is about my personal goals.

IB is my first choice, and if I am unable to enter the industry, I will look at alternatives. But if I do succeed, I will have achieved exactly what I want. Job security is not something I am concerned about because I am confident that I can get many jobs with my education and skill set. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers: Assurance

Q: Have you ever been asked to do something that you felt was wrong?

A: I used to tutor a younger pupil at my school in mathematics, and was once asked by her father to help her to complete some GCSE coursework, which I felt was morally wrong.  

I therefore declined to help with the actual coursework, but instead explained in detail the concepts that she would need to use to complete it.

ICAP : Voice trading

Q: What is the greatest asset you could bring to this firm, and how would you create value? 

A: In an industry that is highly dependent on client relationships I feel that my ability to form strong bonds with people based on trust would be my greatest asset. I find it very easy to strike up relationships with clients and really understand the situation they’re in as well as what they want to achieve.  

I think the approach of being honest and genuinely interested in a client lets them understand that you’re working hard for them. 

Credit Suisse: investment banking

Q: You are working for a company that consumes oil for whatever they are producing. You have to buy oil, but the payment can only be made 12 months later.  

You have three options for the payment:

(1) You can choose not to do anything, and pay the cost of the oil you have bought, using the price of oil at the time of payment (ie, 12 months later).

(2) You can fix the price of oil on today’s price, and then make the payment 12 months later, using today’s price of oil.

(3) You can choose to go for a “call option”, where if the price of oil 12 months later is LESS than today, you pay at that price; if the price of oil is MORE than today, then you pay at TODAY’s price. The catch is that you have to pay a premium to another company to sort this out. What would you do?

A: Definitely not the first option, so I highlighted the benefits of options 2 and 3. I was told I was right for not going with option 1, and that the ideal answer would be to use both option 2 and option 3 together: some of the oil at a fixed price, some with a call option. This way the risks are minimised and in general companies want to minimise risks and avoid paying too much of a premium. 

Thomson Reuters: Business graduate programme 

Q: What is the biggest trend to impact Thomson Reuters’ business? 

A: I said the most important trend will be the merger of Reuters with Thomson Financial in many different ways, but since I felt it was probably too common an answer among other candidates, I decided to add that the increasing trend for electronic trading of commoditised products will have a big impact on Reuters’ business and it is important the firm adapts to the current developments in this area to be prepared for the competition on the market.

Macquarie: Oil and gas team

Q: If you were given £1m how would you spend it in the stock market?

A: I mentioned that I would identify three prosperous industries first, and then in each one I would figure out which companies have been performing pretty strongly in the past with the least volatility in their share price. 

So I would build a portfolio of those best performing companies in three sections that I am quite familiar with and then invest that £1m in them.

UBS: Sales and trading

Q: Do you prefer sales or trading?

A: Both are important areas in the banking industry, but I would choose sales in considering my own situation, mainly because I have some internship experience in the wealth management department of Standard Chartered Bank. I learnt lots of principles in meeting with clients and in dealing with crises there. I think an excellent salesperson should know what the clients need first before polishing his product, thus I would choose to be a sales person. 

Royal Bank of Scotland: Operations

Q: Why operations?

A: Operations is the engine room of the corporation, it oversees all systems, progress and technology. I tackled the question with two main points, the first being how starting in operations provides a unique angle to see how RBS is structured, and secondly how it would provide me with great financial grounding.