The interview process consists of several case interviews (all primarily quantitative) with one behavioral-based interview.
I was interviewing for a Business Analyst Manager role, and my interviewer was a Senior Business Analyst, which is one level below the Manager, and seemed to be an inappropriate choice.
The interview was very straightforward. I was asked one question about my background (“tell me about your background”) and then the case interview commenced. The interview lasted one full hour, which was plenty of time.
The case was straightforward, but there was a language barrier on the interviewer’s part and the questions were oddly stated. I think this caused me to misunderstand some of the interviewer’s questions. The problem was simple enough (solve for profit margin and then apply the margin to a new profit scenario to break even), but the interviewer kept interrupting to understand my thought process and the problem took on an additional level of complexity.
My primary issue with the interview experience was that the interviewer expressed a lot of negativity and was somewhat condescending throughout the process, which added to the misunderstandings caused by the language barrier. Despite solving for the correct answer, I believe the many misunderstandings and negative interaction are what led the interviewer to decline my candidacy.
At the end of the interview, I had a chance to ask questions. I asked the interviewer what makes her job enjoyable (“I like working 9-5, unlike consulting”) and what her future aspirations were (“I like trying new things, so I move from business unit to business unit”). She had been with CapOne for five years and had only moved once, with no promotions, so this answer seemed strange to me.
I asked the interviewer at the end of the interview how much of her role was quantitative, to which she replied, “almost none.” I thought this was odd, given the quant focus of the interview.
At the end of the day, I think the role wasn’t for me, given the lack of mobility and strategic focus.