Northern Trust Senior Analyst Interview Questions and Answers for Experienced

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Be confident and don't speak lie.

Round: Test
Experience: 30 questions, 30

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Tell about myself
Tips: Need to talk. So they can get to know about are communication

Round: Test
Experience: It's a aptitude test of English and finance related questions askef
Duration: 1 hour
Total Questions: 80

Round: Test
Experience: Easy, time was sufficient, Mostly Quantitative Aptitude
Tips: Chill and steam on till the end
Duration: 45 minutes
Total Questions: 15

Round: Puzzle Interview
Experience: Question was simple I forgot to take into account a factor in my equation but was able to correct my answer immediately upon given a hint

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Nothing special routine HR Questions

General Tips: Relax know yourself and your resume back and front
Skill Tips: A programming background helps
Skills: Quantitative Aptitude
Duration: 2
College Name: IIT Madras
Motivation: To get PPO and pursue an MBA abroad also the stipend is not bad
Funny Moments: When he asked me how much I wanted AmEx I told him that I told the Microsoft Interviewer that I would take an offer from AmEx irrespective. This was before I got interviewed for Microsoft.

PS I got offers from both AmEx and Microsoft

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: 20 students were shortlisted on the basis of the resume.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The interview was a mix of HR and technical interview.

The HR interview was based on simple HR questions – questions about me, my motivations in life. My strengths and weaknesses and work preferences. A major part of my interview focused on questions related to my internship.

In the technical round they asked me questions related to the bank reconciliation statement, effect of various entries on passbook and cashbook and questions related to contra entries.
Tips: My advice is that one should be prepared for any question about their resume. In case you have mentioned any subjects in your resume you should be prepared for the same.

College Name: Lady Shri Ram college

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Resume was the key criteria in the selection procedure. All students were asked to submit their resume to the placement cell and on the basis of it 10 students were selected.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: There was no written test and there was directly an interview round. In the interview they inquired about me and my family. They also inquired about my interests to which I replied politics. They were looking for a person who has views about different things happening in the society rather a person who remains in his/her shell.

College Name: Lady Shri Ram College

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