JPMorgan Chase & Co. Junior Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Topics to prepare for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Junior Analyst interview:

• Financial Accounting
• Financial Analysis
• Aptitude
• Communication Skills

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Do some courses on financial accounting/financial analysis/excel from Coursera and udemy

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Basic HR questions

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: Basic finance questions

College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Around 50 odd resumes will be shortlisted. They shortlist people with good finance background

Round: Test
Experience: There were totally 3 questions
1) Why Finance
2) Changes in educational system or something (Not sure of this)
3) How far do you think Machine Learning can go.

First one is compulsory and there is a choice between the 2nd and the 3rd question. I chose the third one. So I don't remember the exact qn

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Technical questions will be based on what you have done till now. The interview is very intense. Your finance knowledge will be tested
Tips: If you have done some finance courses be thorough with that

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: Similar to the Round 3. This round will be more tech intense

Skills: Finance, Knowledge On Current Affairs, Knowledge Of Your Resume Points, Communication, Passion
College Name: IIT Madras

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: I had done a couple of finance projects, one internship in a VC firm and published a paper at IIM Calcutta. All this excited the interviewer and he started grilling me about various questions related to the course projects, generally about basic terms in finance and about my internship. These answers I had well prepared and hence were smooth to answer. But what was unexpected is where it would lead to once you answer the initial set of questions. I was asked to explain Eurozone debt crisis in simple language. I had also given CFA and FRM level 1 exams and there were a few questions related to risk management and portfolio investment.

PS: Please note that since I had done so many things related to the core work at JP Morgan I was asked a lot of questions in core finance. IT IS NOT AT ALL NECESSARY that you will be asked the same questions.
Tips: Know the basics really well. It goes a long way if you know the concepts crystal clear. You can watch a few videos that explain the various crises and why they happened on Youtube. ( I have put up the links in the preparation material section). Be confident and if you don't know the answer, be straightforward to tell that you are not aware of that or maybe even have forgotten at the moment. Honesty helps! The interviewer can always guide you if you are stuck somewhere so ensure you attempt to answer or atleast get closer to the answer. Many a times they want to look into or analyze your thought process rather than getting the correct exact answer itself!

Round: Problem Statement
Experience: It should be easy if your fundamentals are really clear. The case as such does not matter much since the positives and negatives of different valuation models are pretty much well known. I showed on how i arrived at the number using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Valuation model and Comparative Comparison Valuation model. They also wanted to check on how well you write and are able to put out on paper as this was a Junior Analyst interview for a Equity Research Analyst role.
Tips: Revise the various types of valuation models well and know the assumptions correctly. Models could get really complex sometimes but you should be clear with how you get at the final number and be able to explain it easily. Conceptually this is very interesting. This pretty much forms the basics of a lot of concepts in finance.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: This was a simple round. Usually you know the HR round questions already and hence you know how you could answer and even manipulate and steer the interview in your favour. Ensure you are clear with basic questions about how you got interested in this field and why you would like to pursue finance as a career option and not your core field (in my case it was civil engineering). A clear and simple story with facts shows that you have prepared well for the interview and have something concrete to say. So do prepare for these kind of questions and don't take them lightly.
Tips: Practice out loud alone and with your friends and take feedback. Most of the times you would yourself realize that you have not answered in the best way possible. But at the same time do not push yourself so much that you get confused at the end moment. Keep a good balance. Try writing down points on a piece of paper and then frame them accordingly on the spot. It always better to know the important points instead of "mugging up an answer". A good interviewer can always tell the difference.
Preparation for this round actually helps you connect with your inner self and you start to ask yourself why you think you deserve this job and why this is a very good bet as a career option. Hence do go through this exercise atleast a few times! :)

General Tips: In my case I had prepared a lot from various resources. I have put it out in detail in the previous section section.
CFA and FRM exams helped a lot for building a strong foundation but more importantly you actually need to be passionate about financial markets, how investment banks function, know the work details about your job profile and be excited about finance in general.
Do not try and put things in resume that you think will "look" very good but you wouldn't be able to explain it thoroughly. The job is very demanding and requires long working hours, so be prepared for it. Know some basic numbers like GDP of top economies, population, interest rates, valuations, etc so that even if you guess things it should sound reasonable.
Skill Tips: The best way to prepare would be actually building financial models, doing an internship in a financial services firm and getting a first hand experience of all the above. Theory part can be understood through CFA or FRM Level 1 books which pretty much cover the basics of finance.
Skills: Financial Modeling, Valuations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Basics of stock market, Portfolio Management, Risk Management
College Name: IIT MADRAS
Motivation: I was very keen to work at an Investment Bank. I had given CFA and FRM Level 1 and it had got me very excited about financial markets in general. I was trading part time and thoroughly enjoyed it. JP Morgan being one of the largest and most reputed Investment Banks I thought would give me exposure to various facets of equity research and thus improve my knowledge and understanding about markets. Also I was referred by my senior Kartheek Konanki who was an alum of IIT-Madras and the idea of having working with a lot of colleagues from various IITs excited me.
Funny Moments: I was asked a lot of questions about the movies I had seen like Wall Street, Boiler room and was asked to explain what happened to which character and why ? and that was not expected :P But they did make me comfortable and referred me other movies and books that would make learning all the more interesting. Net-net I think the interview had its fair share of ups and downs :D