Used their corporate website, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Vault and the Wall Street Oasis interview question vault to prepare for the interview. I applied online, contacted a corporate recruiter about 3-weeks later, and was scheduled for a 30 minutes phone interview.
The interview started with the basic “tell me about yourself question” and then drilled down to get a better understanding of my background and experience. As a non-traditional candidate (i.e. <1 year research experience; non-target school; etc.), a lot of attention was placed on my resume and the interviewer really wanted to understand my timeline, why I transitioned into investment management, my prior investment experience, and what I look for quantitatively and quantitatively when analyzing companies. Remember, these people analyze the capital market so expect the interview to be structured in a way that analyzes your strengths and weaknesses, without asking it that directly, and have prepped responses to your problem areas. Towards the end I was asked to pitch a stock, where the interviewer was please with the thoroughness of my analysis, but oddly enough I wasn’t asked to defend the thesis. Shortly after the pitch, the interviewer asked how many other companies I analyzed to the same extent and based on his/her response, it seemed like he was dissatisfied with my answer. In hindsight, I think they were looking for someone with more experience. Overall, I think the interview went well, but I walked away feeling like the interviewer questioned my ability to work the long hours that the position requires.
For anyone looking to go into buy-side investment management, T. Rowe is a premier shop and their interview process reflects this. From an inside connection the firm is very corporate (read: conservative), so be professional and get to the point when answering questions. They have a highly skilled research team and are looking for Associate Analysts who are essentially “stock jockeys”/ “market heads”. How I would imagine most people watch Sunday football and can tell you the stats of their favorite players and who is likely to win Sunday’s game, this position is looking for someone who holds that same passion for the capital markets and company analysis. If you can show your tangible passion for the position (i.e. publishing research, managing a private account, obtaining an equity research internship, clearing levels of the CFA exam, etc.) you can get this firms attention, but again there are no guarantees because the competition is steep. My advice, gain experience first and then try to break in here.
