Optiver's been around since 1986. Global proprietary trading firm, 1,600+ employees worldwide. If you're into cutting-edge tech or data science, this is basically the dream company.
One of our AlphaMaker candidates just landed the Quant Trader Intern role there. Here's what worked for them:
Q1: What do you think helped you pass the resume screening?
A1:
What got me past resume screening? Probably my major and previous experience. I'm studying Computational Finance at CMU—fits the role perfectly. And I'd already done a quant trading internship last year, so that was on my resume too.
From what I've seen, Baruch's Financial Mathematics program is also highly respected—I almost applied there. For research positions though? You'll want a master's. Berkeley's MFE is a great example.
Q2: So, you had already decided on your career path before starting university?
A2:
Yeah, totally. These days, there's so much info online about different career paths—it's honestly smart to take advantage of it. Your WeChat public account, AlphaMaker, posts a lot of great stuff about quant finance, and that's been super helpful for me.
Quant finance is pretty well-known now as a field that pays well and pushes cutting-edge tech. A ton of people from CS, physics, stats—they all make the jump. And the work itself? Super challenging. That's exactly what draws me to it.
Q3: Thank you for the kind words! How did you prepare for the interviews?
A3:
Honestly? Just grinding problem sets. I worked through Green Book, Heard on the Street—the classics. Also did a bunch of brain teasers. If you don't have work experience yet, pounding through problems is really the way to go.
Q4: What did the interview process look like?
A4: There were four rounds in total.
- First round: Online assessment, mostly math-based game-style problems.
- Second round: An HR phone screening, covering basic background and, I believe, assessing communication skills, personality, and behavioral traits.
- Third round: A technical phone interview, which was more in-depth and tested foundational knowledge. The Green Book was particularly useful for this stage.
- Fourth round: The final round, which included technical questions but primarily focused on problem-solving abilities in a comprehensive manner.
Q5: What foundational knowledge do you think is essential for passing these interviews?
A5:
Definitely the stuff I learned in school—probability, stats, data science, machine learning. That core foundation is key. But beyond that? I'd say supplement with online courses or even dive into some cutting-edge research papers if you have time.
It's really about depth and breadth. Depth means solid technical chops—knowing your shit. Breadth means keeping up with what's happening in the industry, learning from other people's experiences, and staying current with new research.
And yeah, reading the classics helps too—C++ development, quant trading, stats, ML. There are some books you just gotta get through.
Q6: How did you prepare for the interviews?
A6:
Since I'm still an undergrad, my options are a bit limited right now in terms of internships. But once I'm in grad school? Definitely planning to go for research-focused roles.
Q7: Do you have any insights into interview preparation for other roles?
A7:
Yeah, the prep really depends on the role. If you're going for Quant Developer, you wanna be grinding algorithmic problems—LeetCode, HackerRank, all that stuff.
For Quant Trader? Different ball game. Mental math, probability questions—Brainstellar's actually pretty solid for that.
And if Quant Researcher's your target? Then it's all about stats, machine learning, and pricing models.
Q8: What advice would you give to other applicants for Optiver internships?
A8:
My biggest piece of advice? Nail the fundamentals. The hardest part of interviews for me was getting thrown problems I'd never seen before. And honestly? The worst is when you get stuck not because the problem's that hard—but because your probability or stats foundation just isn't there.
Look, there's an endless supply of weird problems out there. You can't memorize them all. So yeah, solid fundamentals are everything.
Q9: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A9: Be sure to format your resume properly—keep it clear and concise. Resume coaching, like what you offer, is definitely helpful in this regard!
That wraps up the interview. We hope these insights help you better prepare for Optiver’s Quant Intern application process and increase your chances of success!
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