Barclays Barclays Analyst Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - They check communication, prepare well and speak confidently

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Learn basic fundamentals

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Revising basics of SQL and DBMS concepts should be enough

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be confident.. If u are a fresher no technical questions will be asked just one on one conversation will be there and few basic questions regarding the company will be asked..

Round: Test
Experience: They were very similar to CAT type questions.
Cut-off is very low compared to mock-CATs. So if there are about 35-40 questions, answering 18-20 correctly should suffice. Soft skills play an important role here.I think there was no negative marking. Build a strategy how you are going to mark the questions you couldn't attempt.
Some questions are tricky. Don't fall for them.
Tips: Preparing for CAT will help anyone to clear the written test.
Total Questions: 40

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: All the shortlisted students were given some 5 topics to prepare for. They were the current financial issues across globe.
Tips: This was different from last year.Never ask any questions about work life-balance, work hours or get too much into detail about their project (asking about their risk management practices, etc).

Round: Behavorial Interview
Experience: Two MDs took my first round of interview. My interview was about 50 minutes (30 mins is average). Reason for lengthy interview was one of my financial projects. I explained at length to them, which itself took about 25 minutes. Otherwise they concentrated on some basic questions like what is CDF and its properties? Integrate arctan(x). Bayes theorem based problems.
Tips: Some of my friends were asked puzzles. Substantiate everything on your CV. Read the basic concepts of your branch. Prepare for some HR questions - have unique and different answer. Avoid using words like passion, etc.
Read some basic subjects - no matter what department you are in.Avoid bookish answers for HR questions. Rather relate them to your past and answer.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Rest of the content of my CV was covered.More questions were asked about subjects, certifications, projects etc.

General Tips: Puzzles are very important for non-finance people.
One important note : Certifications ( CFA, NCFM, FRM, PRM or actuaries) doesn't fill all the voids in your profile. A good profile without CFA will get you the shortlist but not the other way.
Completing 1 or 2 financial projects is beneficial. Make sure you know everything about the project and beyond. What more could have been achieved? What is the expected result?
Anyone with low CG should be involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities and elaborate how the experience will help in the financial industry.
College Name: IIT KHARAGPUR

Round: Round 1
Experience: My first interview started off with a quick chat with a VP on Ideatrics (which was indeed a confidence-booster, showing that they had done their homework). There were 2 other interviewers on the panel, one of which didn’t pose any questions throughout the interview. Thereafter, a couple of quick questions were asked on cities which I enjoyed travelling to while I was in Europe. This was followed with a composition of a 30-second ad campaign for Tourism Barcelona. Hence, I was all softened up for the rigors ahead. What followed was a barrage of puzzles from an IIT-K alumnus, who fired approximately 10-12 puzzles in a 7-8 minutes span. She made sure to test most of the areas. Though I was able to do them, the time given to come up with a complete solution was pretty short. Hence, it was imperative to give a gist of the solution and explain the approach in a concise manner. One thing which was visible was that the puzzles had some variations or provided incomplete information (though I am not very sure that was intentional or not). So, you are required to ask questions which fill up the gaps. This also acts as a check to see whether the candidate is reproducing mugged up solutions or not. I was well prepared for this, hence this round passed off on a positive note despite its pace. With things such as current affairs and finance still untested, I was pretty upbeat.

Round: Round 2
Experience: I waited a bit for my second round and interviewed with Opera in the meantime. The panel at DB this time comprised of 4 people, with another one who kept moving in and out. This round was on basic prob. and statistics, with questions on skewness and kurtosis, wherein I was asked to draw and compare their plots for securities with different characteristics. A couple of puzzles were asked as well, though there was nothing out of the blue regarding puzzles. A 4-person panel was indeed daunting, with constant challenges being raised on the solutions provided by me, probably to ruffle me up a bit. Again, working up from the basics helps in this case to illustrate the correctness of your solution.
After this round, I was slightly less confident. I was informed that I would not be having any more interviews
and I approached to interview with Diamond.
One thing which bothered me was the fact that no questions were asked on current affairs, neither on economics nor on finance. This was my strongest point as I had done enormous amount of research on everything ranging from DB to markets in general. Even the CFA L1 material was hardly touched upon. Before I was presented with the offer, I was asked some questions on my strengths and weaknesses and why I wanted to join DB. I was adequately able demonstrate my interest in DB and that was the end of it.

General Tips: Campus Placements can be an excruciating experience, but an in-depth analysis of your strengths and
weaknesses beforehand can help you focus on your goals. I had an inclination towards Finance since the
beginning of my program at IIT Kanpur, illustrated by the fact that I have done all my internships in related
fields. Time spent in Munich strengthened my belief and I decided to pursue opportunities in Finance, both in campus and off-campus. But as there are a significant number of consulting companies which visit our campus, I decided to undertake a 5-month internship at KPMG, which provided me with a flavor of both the worlds in an international setting.

General Prep.:
Being an economics student, the options have been neatly narrowed down for you. One can apply in companies which are only open for all the students; hence Finance, Consulting and Analytics (as they are known at IITK) were the fields where I had to concentrate upon. I started preparing solely for finance, with Deutsche Bank and Capital One topping the charts on my list. Preparations were focused on preparing for the aptitude tests taken by most of the companies. Reference materials comprised of the CAT preparatory material and a few websites for puzzles. Apart from that, constant feedback and review of the CV was an ongoing process. Appearing for some mock tests arranged for by the SPO was indeed helpful.
Skill Tips: I was interested in DB, having done some research on the company in general and the profile they offered at IIT Kanpur in particular. DB conducted a white-paper challenge by the name of ‘Ideatrics’ during August-September. This provided me with an opportunity to visit CIB Centre, Mumbai in person. I feel that this experience motivated me further towards preparing for placements in general and DB in particular. Being selected as the campus winner proved to be an icing on the cake. I would advise you to actively take part in such activities if time permits. Apart from the obvious brownie points which you earn on winning the
competition, it gives you an insight on the day-to-day work which you may be doing if recruited.
College Name: IIT KANPUR