如何准备对冲基金公司的面试？

    杰克•魏的回答，对冲基金负责人

    我曾参加过许多家对冲基金公司的面试，所以，但愿我能够给你提供一个面试者的视角；尼克从面试官的角度给出的回答是正确的。以下是我为面试所做的准备：

    知己：面试时常被问到的第一个问题是：“请描述一下你自己。”你为什么对买方业务感兴趣？你有哪些经验？你为什么想要跳槽？你希望获得的薪酬是多少？

    我认为，求职者的兴趣和经验是最重要的。由于丰厚的报酬，大多数人，包括银行业者在内，都希望进入这个行业，但令人意外的是，许多人对如何评估股票的价值一无所知。如果你对这个行业充满热情，就应该在闲暇时间给自己充充电。

    知彼：最常被问到的第二个问题是：“你对我们了解多少？”（提问者通常以一种冰冷的语调提出这个问题）。基金旗下管理的资产有哪些？战略？重点行业？他们的负责人分别是谁？他们的投资者群体又是谁？绩效？文化？两年前，是否有人因为让他们的印度朋友抢在公司之前交易而被解雇？

    记住基金网站的内容。在《华尔街日报》网站 (WSJ.com)和谷歌（Google）上进行查询。查找该基金在彭博社（Bloomberg）和研究公司Factset上的信息。尤其是要仔细研究他们的13F表格。我通常会查找出过去四到八个季度的数据，将它们输入Excel，然后按照部门、规模和仓位变化，对每一支证券进行分析。

    如果你对这份工作垂涎三尺，你就应该知道公共领域内可以找到的所有信息。曾对我进行面试的一位投资组合经理披露，他们卖出了仓位。我注意到，这并非公开信息。后来当他与我意见不一致，并且认为我的调查不够仔细时，我有些迷茫。他考虑了一会儿，然后意识到事实并非如此，于是向我真诚地道歉。

    准备股票介绍：我通常会准备得非常充分。我个人的原则是五支做多股票和五支做空股票。我采用了一个系统的流程，我会翻阅过去八个季度的SEC（美国证券交易委员会）文件以及电话会议记录。阅读同一时期每一位分析师的报告。为所有股票构建财务模型。在WSJ.com上进行搜索。如果有必要，了解投资者关系和卖方。它们关键的驱动力是什么？竞争对手是谁？优点是什么？缺点是什么？你的优势是什么？此外，可以写一篇论文。为所有观点提供依据——他们喜欢数字。

    正如尼克所说，不要选择已经广受媒体关注的股票。因为这会让面试官认为你缺乏创意。如果能谈论一些宏观事件，也会对面试有所帮助。如果你拥有多年投资经验，这肯定不是问题。

    像了解自己最好的朋友一样了解公司。要能在一分钟之内介绍一支股票，包括上面提到的内容。你必须知道所有问题的答案，不论这个问题多么刁钻。

    准备一份“小抄”：在小抄的两面，列出前三个谈话要点。牢记这些要点。你的陈述应该毫无瑕疵，不能口吃，不能犹豫。根据我的经验，10到20小时的练习便可以达到理想的效果。当然，如果你为前三条准备的答案不够可靠，即便小抄也无法帮你搞定面试。

    Answer by Jack Wei, principle at a hedge fund

    I’ve interviewed with a number of hedge funds, so hopefully I can provide you a view from the interviewee’s perspective; Nick’s right on from an interviewer’s stance. This is roughly what went into my preparation:

    Know yourself: The first question I always got asked was, “Tell me about yourself.” Why are you interested in buy-side? What sort of experience do you have? Why do you want to relocate? What kind of compensation are you looking for?

    I think your interest and experience are of utmost importance. Most people, including bankers, want to get their feet in the industry because of the generous compensation, but are surprisingly clueless about how to value stocks. If you are passionate, you should probably brush up during leisure.

    Know the fund: The second most common question I get asked is, “What do you know about us?” (Often asked in a very cold tone). What’s their asset under management? Strategies? Sector focus? Who’s their head guy? Who’s their investor base? Performance? Culture? Did someone get sacked two years ago for having their friends in India front-run the firm?

    Memorize the content on their Website. Conduct queries on WSJ.com and Google. Pull that fund information on Bloomberg and Factset. More specifically, dig through their 13F filings. I’d typically pull up data from the past four to eight quarters, input them into Excel, and then analyze every security organized by sector, size and position change over time.

    If you’re drooling over the job, you should know everything within reach in the public domain. One portfolio manager who interviewed me disclosed they had sold out of a position. I noted it wasn’t public information. When he disagreed and thought I was careless in my research, I looked perplexed. He pondered for a minute, then realized it wasn’t and issued a kind apology.

    Prepare stock pitches: I typically over-prepare. My personal rule is five longs, five shorts. I employ a methodical process whereby I flip through the past eight quarters of SEC filings and conference call transcripts. Read every single analyst report in the same time period. Construct financial models for all the names. Conduct a search on WSJ.com. Reach out to investor relations and sell-side if you must. What are the key drivers? Competitors? What’s the upside? Downside? What’s your edge? By the way, have a thesis. Back everything up – they love numbers.

    As Nick pointed out, don’t pitch names that have received extensive media coverage. It signals a lack of creativity. It also helps if you can talk about macro events. If you’ve been investing for years, this should be no problem.

    Know the companies like you do your best friends. Be able to pitch a stock covering all of the above in one minute. There shouldn’t ever be a time when you don’t know the answer to any question, however obscure.

    Create a cheat sheet: Combine the key talking points from 1 to 3 onto a two-sided cheat sheet. Memorize it well. Your delivery should be flawless. No stuttering. No hesitation. From my experience, 10 to 20 hours should do the trick. Of course, the cheat sheet won’t help you seal the deal if your answers for 1to 3 aren’t already rock solid.