Prep pack
Interview prep: Finance and financial services
Banks, insurers, investment firms and finance teams within other organisations.
These packs describe general patterns for a type of organisation. They are not about any specific employer, and processes vary a lot. Always follow the instructions you are given for your own interview.
What interviews can look like
- Questions about accuracy, risk, controls and ethics.
- Technical questions on the core skills of the role, sometimes with a numerical or analytical exercise.
- Motivation questions: why this area and why this type of organisation.
What to show
- Precision and checking your work.
- Reasoning about risk and trade-offs.
- Integrity when under pressure.
- Explaining numbers or complex ideas simply.
How to prepare
- Brush up on the core technical concepts the role needs and practise explaining them plainly.
- Practise numerical reasoning aloud, stating assumptions.
- Prepare an example of catching an error or raising a concern.
- Be ready to explain your interest in the area with a concrete reason.
Questions you could ask
- How does the team review and check its work?
- How are risks escalated?
- What does training look like for new joiners?
- How do teams work with compliance or control functions?
Watch out for
- Guessing figures. If you estimate, say so and show the method.