Morgan Stanley Deputy Vice President Interview Questions and Answers

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Know your resume well..emphasize on your strengths which are as per the Job discussion of the hiring organization. Let them know what you bring to the table

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Please work on resume to get short listed
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Round: HR Interview
Experience: 1. At First, I missed the Credit Suisse GD since I hadn’t brought along a portfolio manager (one who handles your interview schedule and attends to the ever-ringing mobile phone).
2. I proceeded to Credit Suisse, and requested their HR contact to give me a chance since I could not turn up for the GDs.
3. It was here that I handed over my mobile phone to my friend Apratim Tiwari, who was managing the Credit Suisse procedures, and requested him to pursue the HR guy to schedule an interview, and also handle my phone when I was interviewing and he had successfully managed to get me an interview with Credit Suisse.
4. The interview went well. They were apparently quite impressed.
5. Two more rounds of interviews, and the HR guy made me an offer.
6. But, since Deutsche Bank was my dream company, I was also interviewing with them and got selected.
Tips: You would need to focus on three broad areas for a comprehensive preparation:
(a) HR questions: This is the most important part for any interview. In companies like DB, your communication skills coupled with your preparation of such questions account for more than 70% of a candidate’s selection. Answering questions about your career goals, interests, and your career thus far should become second nature by the end of November. You must also know the firms and job profiles inside out. I worked on this specific area, and by the end of the placement session, I had gained a reputation among my wingies for my expertise at answering HR questions.
(b) Puzzles: Since this is a non-core sector, puzzles are the only way to objectively test the ability of candidates with diverse backgrounds. Look up braingle.com and techinterview.org. These two should suffice. Also, whenever you come across a puzzle that you’ve already encountered, pretend as if you’re going through it for the first time. Don’t rush through. This is your opportunity to impress them. Do not squander it away!
(c) Finance and economic affairs: If you have a comprehensive knowledge of the financial markets, national economy, and international affairs, in addition to the above two, it is highly improbable that you won’t be selected. For brushing up these, read the Economist (print or online), and read through the opinion pages of Economic Times or the Business Standard for 2-3 months leading to the Placement season. You must also regularly read a newspaper like the Hindu or Indian Express to keep yourself abreast of the latest events which frequently become a focal point of group discussions (for Credit Suisse). You CANNOT afford to walk into the interview ignorant of terms like European debt crisis, global financial crisis, fiscal cliff, QE, and basic finance like options, hedging etc. Wikipedia, Investopedia and J.C.Hull (first few chapters) are great sources to pick up these.

General Tips: 1. If you are a B.Tech. student, do not be under the wrong impression that you can target all sectors- core as well as non-core. It is really difficult to prepare comprehensively for all companies, especially if you are in the B.Tech. program owing to time constraints.
2. The Dual degree students have an edge over you for precisely two reasons. Firstly, they get more time to prepare for the placements, and have learnt vicariously from their B.Tech. batchmates' experiences. Secondly, they tend to have higher retention rates (good for the companies).
3. Work on your English communication skills which are crucial for performing well in interviews and GDs.
Let neither of these become an obstacle by leaving no stone unturned in the course of your preparations.
4. You can’t appear for more than 4 companies in the first slot. It is not realistic. Hence, decide beforehand. I knew I hadn’t prepared enough for consulting or core, hence I opted out of ITC and Opera.
5. If you are shortlisted in multiple companies, ask a reliable friend to accompany you to the interviews, and handle your mobile phone (“managing one’s portfolio”). You’ll thank me someday for this advice.
6. I was happy that I prepared as much as I did, neglecting my college academics in the process. It is a decision I am proud of.
7. My Morgan Stanley internship distinguished me from scores of other candidates. I had never truly appreciated its importance till then. That also goes to show how important it is to get a good internship.
Skill Tips: 1. I scored a 100 percentile in CAT and the preparation made a huge impact on preparing for any of the interviews.
2. I also interned at Morgan Stanley which was further a plus for me.
3. I had received Honda YES Award, University of Tokyo-IIT Scholarship and my academic background was quite good.
Skills: Problem solving skills, Finance Basics, Basic HR questions, Economic affairs
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: They didn't had any aptitude test, only resume based short-listing.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There were 10-15 students. There was 3 mins thinking time and 10 minutes discussion time. After the discussion each student was asked to conclude the GD and express his/her viewpoint.
Tips: 1. Jot down your point during the three minutes. 
2. During the GD make sure that you express your opinion coherently. 
3. Also make short notes during the GD which will be helpful in concluding it. 
4. While concluding the GD, ensure that you cover all the points discussed during the GD (notes will be helpful here) and in the end express your own stand.
Duration: 10-15 minutes

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was a HR + Puzzle round. Panel was of Some junior management and the duration was of 30-40 minutes. By the end of this round, they were quite impressed and sent me for the second interview immediately.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: This round was based on Current Affairs and Finance and lasted for 20 minutes. And, I asked them a few questions about CS and job cutting etc. After this interview they had mentioned that they were quite positive on me and that I had to just interview with one more senior manager. This really boosted my confidence.

Round: Other Interview
Experience: It was also based on finance and current affairs. Panel consisted of the Senior most employee who had come for recruitment. After this round I was informally offered the job.

General Tips: 1. Even when you are unable to answer questions, don’t get bogged down or disheartened remain calm. DB quite often takes stress interview. Just keep your cool and smile while answering questions. 
2. If you do not know any answer, there is no harm is admitting that.
3. Be confident. Know your resume inside out. 
4. Practice a few HR interviews before the actual one. 
5. Also, communication skills in English are very important.
Skills: Probability and Statistics, Basic Finance, Puzzles, Newspaper and current affairs, Major events in the financial world over the past 5-6 years
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: My strong resume aided in getting shortlisted for Credit Suisse.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The GD went well as I did not haste into my chance and was calm throughout.

Round: Other Interview
Experience: The interview was with an alumni who told me that my GD performance was good, and asked me a puzzle. It was followed by some questions on my resume, mainly my internship.
Another puzzle followed, which I took some time to solve. I was able to solve the next one instantly,
Then I was asked to sell a crumbled piece of paper innovatively.

Round: Other Interview
Experience: This round was with a senior member in the company who asked about my resume, stay in campus, post of election officer and some tricky questions, which I answered well. A question on probability was asked. A few more puzzles followed, along with some questions on finance. He also mentioned that he did not expect me to answer these as I had no background in finance. But i was able to answer them.
I was then asked to leave and HR was called inside. I also had an interview with Diamond. The HR came to me and told me that they were interested in and asked me to stall my interview with diamond for a while.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was with VP and continued for 45 minutes with no puzzles, finances or cases. It was more of a discussion on all fields ranging from campus life to UP politics to Sachin's retirement, etc.
I was asked about my internship experience and the reason i wanted to join their company .

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It was with the Director, who said that he had a sore throat and hence would not say much. he said that they wanted to hire me and that I do not interview with any other firm. I was more than glad! I was the first person to bag an offer in the placement season.

College Name: IIT KANPUR