I interviewed with a team in New York who handled various aspects of Citi's trading applications. The multi-disciplinary crew asked me technical questions and some specific syntax questions. The tech test covered: Sybase: triggers, where vs. having, joins, how to find what database you are in. Unix: crontab, use of grep and sed with tokens Problem solving: probability of rolling a specific number; the 10 bags with 10 coins, one of which has fakes that can only be determined by weight...and then something about your favourite super powers. I found the corporate culture to be very receptive to individuality and openness based on the people I met on the trade floor prior to the formal interview. I think the interview fell into the trap of testing people too hard for things that won't be required to become a superstar at the role. My advice is you is to bone up on the specifics of anything you see in the "Skills" section for the test and have some clear examples handy to speak about successful situations from your older jobs .

I had an interview scheduled with two people, but the panel actually included five. They asked many challenging questions, and I did my best to answer them. A week later, the recruiter called to say I was being offered the job and began the process for the offer letter. I was asked to upload my photo and complete some questionnaires. After the long weekend, the same recruiter called and said they had decided to move forward with another candidate. It’s disappointing to receive an offer and then have it withdrawn. I wish the decision-making process had been more thorough.