Interviewing at a proprietary trading firm like Old Mission Capital can be an intimidating experience. With their reputation for asking brainteasers and probing candidates’ thinking it’s easy to feel unprepared. However, going in with the right mindset and preparation can set you up for success. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common Old Mission interview questions provide sample answers, and share tips on how to get ready.
What to Expect in an Old Mission Interview
The Old Mission interview process typically consists of 1-3 rounds, starting with an initial phone screen. This is followed by 1-2 rounds of more in-depth interviews, either over the phone, online video, or in-person.
Here are some key things to expect
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Brainteasers and puzzles: These make up a significant portion of the questions. They want to see your comfort with numbers, probability, and logic.
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Market simulation and trading scenarios: You’ll be presented with hypothetical trading situations to analyze. They want to understand your decision making process.
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Technical questions: Expect some questions on programming languages or other technical skills listed on your resume. Make sure you brush up beforehand!
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Behavioral and fit questions While less emphasized than the quantitative questions, you may get asked about your motivations, teamwork, etc
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Careful evaluation: The interviews are seen as an audition, so bring your A game. Stay cool under pressure, explain your thinking, and show enthusiasm.
8 Common Old Mission Interview Questions
Let’s look at some of the most frequently asked Old Mission interview questions, along with sample responses:
Quant Brainteasers
Q: You have an 8 oz glass and a 3 oz glass. How would you use them to measure out exactly 4 oz?
A: Fill the 8 oz glass. Then pour from the 8 oz glass into the 3 oz glass until the 8 oz glass is empty. There will now be 5 oz in the 3 oz glass. Empty the 3 oz glass. Then pour the remaining 3 oz from the 8 oz glass into the 3 oz glass. This leaves exactly 4 oz in the 3 oz glass.
Q:Estimate how many golf balls would fit inside a 747 airplane.
A: We need to break this down into steps:
- The cargo hold of a 747 is roughly 5,000 cubic feet.
- A golf ball is about 1.5 inches wide. Accounting for spacing, let’s assume we can fit approximately 3 golf balls per cubic inch.
- So in 1 cubic foot we could fit (12 in x 12 in x 12 in) x 3 balls = 5,184 balls
- In the whole 5,000 cubic foot cargo hold that would be 5,000 x 5,184 = 25,920,000 golf balls.
Market Scenarios
Q: If you observed a spike in trading volume for a particular stock, how might you take advantage of this?
A: I would look closely at the news around that stock and see if there are any catalysts for the volume such as an earnings announcement. If not, it likely means there is increased volatility that day which presents an opportunity. I could trade more aggressively on both the long and short side, scaling into positions with the momentum. If the volume spike consolidates by midday, I’d look to take profits on those trades.
Q: You notice the S&P 500 suddenly dropped 25 points. What analysis would you do and how might you trade this?
A: My first step would be to immediately check if any major news just broke that could be moving the broader market. If the drop appears to be a technical selloff without a catalyst, I’d look at the price action intraday to gauge if this is a temporary dip to buy or the start of a larger decline. I’d look at trading volume, breadth, and technical levels. If it seems to be contained, I’d look to get long via options or an ETF like SPY. If it’s breaking down through support, I’d wait for the decline to consolidate before positioning short.
Programming and Technical
Q: How would you go about testing a piece of software you developed?
A: I would first create unit tests to validate that all the individual functions and components work properly in isolation. Next I would do integration testing to make sure the pieces interact and communicate properly when assembled together. Finally, I would do end-to-end system testing simulating real user scenarios to catch any bugs that arise at scale before deployment. I would use a mix of automated testing and manual QA to cover all possible paths. Throughout, I would use logging and monitoring to gain visibility into the system.
Q: What is a hash table and how is it useful in programming?
A: A hash table or hash map is a data structure that maps keys to values using a hash function. It allows for highly efficient insert, lookup, and delete operations. Some key advantages are:
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Fast lookups – on average gets items in O(1) constant time by generating a unique hash for the key to index the values.
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Flexible keys – hashes can use any immutable data type as a key like strings, numbers, tuples etc.
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Efficient use of memory – avoids storing keys explicitly like arrays so uses less memory.
Hash tables are ubiquitous in programming for caches, object lookups, sets, and more. Languages like Java, Python have hash table implementations built-in.
Behavioral and Fit
Q: Why do you want to work as a trader at Old Mission?
A: I’m extremely passionate about markets and drawn to the fast-paced, high-intensity atmosphere at proprietary trading firms like Old Mission. The idea of having autonomy as a trader while competing in the global markets is highly appealing to me. I also love the meritocratic culture where hard work and results are rewarded. Trading leverages my strengths in data analysis, decision making under pressure, and risk management. I’ve been trading my own accounts for years and consistently profiting. So getting to do it full-time with the resources of Old Mission is an opportunity I’m excited for.
Q: Tell me about a time you faced a conflict with someone on your team. How did you handle it?
A: In one project at school, I had a disagreement with a teammate over the direction of our design. Rather than argue our sides, I suggested we first list out the pros/cons of each approach objectively. This diffused some of the emotion. We then found a compromise solution that integrated pieces of both our ideas. Defusing tension through data and facts helped us reach a solution focused on our shared goal rather than individual egos. In the workplace I’d follow a similar approach of hearing both sides, then identifying solutions that address everyone’s key concerns.
Tips to Prepare for the Old Mission Interview
Here are some key strategies to prep and make yourself stand out:
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Practice brainteasers – Work through sample quant questions and practice explaining your thought process out loud. Master basic probability, combinatorics, estimation.
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Brush up on technical skills – Review any programming languages, Excel modeling, statistics you may be asked about.
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Read about markets – Understand current events, market fundamentals, trading strategies. Show passion for the field.
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Do mock interviews – Replicate the high pressure Old Mission-style questions. Get feedback on your responses.
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Review your resume – Refresh yourself on all the details from your education, experience, projects, skills.
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Learn about the company – Understand their history, business model, leadership. Show why you’re a cultural fit.
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Get a good night’s rest! – Interviews are mentally grueling. Being well-rested will help you focus sharply.
Preparing for the intellectual sparring in an Old Mission interview takes time and dedication. But going in ready to showcase your potential can help land you the job at this prestigious prop trading firm. Use these common questions and tips to understand what they look for and be ready to succeed. You’ve got this!
Old Mission CapitalProprietary Trading
Based on the Interview Insights at this company, the Interview Experience is a score between 1 star (very bad) and 5 stars (very good).
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. If you move your mouse over the different parts of the doughnut, you’ll see exactly how each score was calculated.
The title percentile score is based on an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates that is applied to the whole Company Database. This is done to account for companies that don’t have many interview insights. The confidence in a “true score” rises as more reviews are given about a business. This causes the score to move closer to its simple average and away from the average of the whole dataset. 3. 5.
Based on the Interview Insights at this company, the Interview Difficulty is a score that goes from “very difficult” (red) to “very easy” (green).
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. This doughnut has different parts that, when you move your mouse over them, show you the 20% breakdown of each score given.
The title percentile score is based on an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates that is applied to the whole Company Database. This is done to account for companies that don’t have many interview insights. That is, as a business learns more, it becomes more sure of a “true score,” which moves it closer to its own simple average and away from the overall average of the data set. 3. 6.
Based on reviews at this company, the 20% of interns getting full-time offers chart is meant to give you a good idea of how the company hires people.
The number in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the mean of all these scores. This doughnut has different parts that, when you move your mouse over them, show you the 20% breakdown of each score given.
It uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates to account for companies that don’t have many reviews, which is how the percentile score in the title is found. To put it simply, when a business gets more reviews, the “true score” becomes more likely to be accurate. This makes it move closer to the simple company average and away from the average of all the data points. 60%.
How to Answer “What Is Your Greatest Achievement?” Interview Question!
FAQ
What questions are asked in a mission based interview?
What is your vision and mission interview question?
How did you interview at Old Mission?
I interviewed at Old Mission (London, England) online tests (maths/coding), hr interview with brainteasers (easy), onsite interviews (this time more difficult brain teasers, market making game, a game where you play against other candidates), final round with a partner (general fit questions) I applied online. I interviewed at Old Mission
How do you apply for a job at Old Mission?
online tests (maths/coding), hr interview with brainteasers (easy), onsite interviews (this time more difficult brain teasers, market making game, a game where you play against other candidates), final round with a partner (general fit questions) I applied online. I interviewed at Old Mission Quick video call with the recruiter.
What questions do missionaries ask in interviews?
And as a result, missionaries raising support are often asked rather superficial interview questions that fail to capture the heart of their assumptions about the gospel, the most biblical methods of ministry, the nature of the local church, and so forth.
