The interview process consists of several steps that evaluate technical and soft skills, as well as cultural fit. The rounds I did were:
1. Online application. Fill required fields and share CV. Had to think about a recent weather event and how it affected energy prices.
2. Online test. Logic/math test with pattern recognition, math operations, and sequences.
3. HR round. Short chat with HR with some behavioral questions and also questions about my biggest achievements
4. Research project. Was given a topic to research for one week and produce a report with trade ideas.
5. Mental math (things like 15% of 300) and brainteasers (typical probability problems, not high difficulty) round with an interviewer.
6. Was given some study material about UK energy market and one week to go through it. Then talked with a trader who tested my understanding of this material and how it applies in real life. Definitely the hardest round, especially because I got asked questions that are not directly covered in the material. But after they explained, I was able to work out the following questions combining the newly acquired logic with the prep material.
7. Cultural fit round with trading manager. Talked about my background, my path, what I want to achieve, motivations, etc. Also explained the company ethos and aspirations.
7. Chat with the CEO. The CEO asked me to speak about anything I like. We discussed for around 40 minutes and basically he wanted to understand how I reason, what are my intellectual interests, and what drives me.
Overall, the process is long and intense. Each individual round is fairly easy on its own, but the approach is holistic so you need to be well-rounded and also keep the spirit up throughout the process, which took around one month in my case.
