CQ_Finforte | Anmol Bansal| Alphagrep Quant
Interviewer- Hello everyone, today we have Anmol Bansal who is placed at Alphagrep Securities. So we are here to interview him regarding his preparations and strategies to crack the interview of this company.
Firstly, can you brief us about the role you have been assigned in your company and something more about your professional experience to date?
Anmol- I have done 3 internships, among which 2 were in startups and 1 was in Amazon as a research scientist in the Amazon Alexa division. Currently, I have been placed as an analyst for quant research and trading role in Alphagrep Securities.
Interviewer- Can you share some insights about the recruitment process and general advice which will prove helpful to the aspirants aiming for this profile?
Anmol- My role was more focused on Quant profile wherein you’ll be working through the stock market but you don’t need any prior knowledge for its recruitment process.
My placement process was divided into 2 rounds, I initially had a test which was a combination of both software and quant, followed by a 2-hour interview where they asked questions related to ML, probability, statistics, and coding. The test contained 4 coding questions and some questions related to Probability and Statistics. Also, there wasn’t much focus on HR rounds for this role.
Interviewer- Moving ahead, How can a pre-final year student maximize their chances, and what resources and suggestions do you want to give to them?
Anmol- Make sure you revise your Probability and Statistics notes. Also, you can solve problems from books like ‘Heard on the Street’ and ‘Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability’. During the interview, you are checked upon your approach to a question. Try solving 1 or 2 questions daily for coding from ‘Interview Bit’ and ‘LeetCode’. You can refer to ‘GeeksforGeeks’ for Machine Learning. Good knowledge of DSA is always preferred. For DSA, you can opt for courses offered in our college.
Interviewer- Can you with us your preparation strategy for this entire process.
Anmol- It was not that I was completely focused on the Quant profile, I was also preparing for software, ML, and consultancy roles. I solved problems regularly from 450dsa.com, it has a good collection of questions from Gfg and Lead code. Furthermore, I solved problems using both C++ and Python, but generally, C++ is preferred for this role with more focus on DSA, linked lists, graphs, DP, and heat map. Also, a good grasp of Maths is highly beneficial.
Interviewer- How important are PORs for such profiles or specifically your role? Do they help during placements?
Anmol- Since I had a good POR, it gave me a better chance to present myself, but particularly in this role you don’t require any PORs. But in general, having a good POR defines your personality.
Interviewer- Can you tell us something more about your internships, and what role did they play during your placements?
Anmol- One of my internships in the startups was virtual and the other was on-site. These were in the field of machine learning and they gave a start to my professional career and I got to know about the working of the corporate world. In Amazon, I had research work wherein I also published a paper and also got a patent. In the interview, I was not asked much about my internships.
Interviewer- As we are towards the end of the interview, any more points you would like to add on or share with your juniors?
Anmol- Just stay calm during the whole placement process. Stay focused on your roles and their preparation. Keep solving problems and try out different approaches to a solution. During the interview, try to speak your mind while answering a problem because the interviewer is more interested in your approach and judges you more upon your critical thinking ability. Maintain a CGPA within the range of 8–8.5 as you would be eligible for most of the companies.
Interviewer- Thank you Anmol for giving your precious time for this interview to Communiqué, IIT Kharagpur. I hope your interview will help the students in their endeavors and we wish you all the best for your future achievements.
