I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Deutsche Bank (Pune) in Sep 2015
Interview
It was an interview drive in Pune. I reached early morning, right on time as per the slot given to me, only to find out many others with 14-18 years of experience already waiting for their first round. The HR didn't bother to ask coffee or water, and when enquired how long it would take to get my first round, they kept on saying "just wait". That "just" wait went on for 5 hours, and finally I got my 15 minute screening round on VC with some guy sitting in Bangalore. Would you believe it? Extremely mismanaged. There were around 50 candidates for VP, and 60% didn't even know if they were the right fit for the job. Some had program management background, Some had product management with no development experience, while some others had technical management background. When probed further, I found out that these are common scenes during their drives.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Tell me about you. 2. Challenging situations 3. What do you expect from the company.
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Deutsche Bank (New York, NY)
Interview
The interview was panel style. I was asked very detailed questions about specific technologies. As a database modeler, they threw all sorts of scenarios at me. The bottom line here is that if they are looking for technical expertise, then you better have deep knowledge and experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I was asked to draw a diagram of a self referential master detail relationship and explain when such a structure would be appropriate
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Deutsche Bank (Jersey City, NJ) in Feb 2009
Interview
A friend of mine referred my resume to the Bank Recruiter for a Senior IT Project Manager position and coincidentally, there was an open position in the firm. Within a week, the recruiter called me and I had a 20-minute phone interview with her. She then set up a 1-on-1 in-person interview with the Hiring Manager. The hiring process was very well organized by the recruiter. One of the things I would say to folks looking for a job, especially in this tough condition, is not to be lax. Prepare well ahead of time even for a telephone conversation with a recruiter. This recruiter asked probing questions about salary, bonus, experience, position-specific skills, fit for the organization, etc. Be prepared with appropriate answers to the possible questions the recruiter might ask. Don't underestimate the knowledge and skills of the recruiter. Only if he or she feels that you have the qualifications for the open position, then he/she would take the next step and setup an interview with the hiring manager.
When I interviewed with the hiring manager, she was really ready and thorough in her preparations. She had all the questions prepared. Also, I am not sure about other people. This interviewer (hiring lady) was fairly good looking and came to the interview with body parts shown and it was extremely difficult for me to focus on the interview and keep my eyes focused on her face. I regrouped in 10 seconds and everything was OK from that point onwards. Something to think about before getting into a 1-on-1 with somebody for an interview when you desperately need THAT job.
Be prepared to follow all the basic rules of the interview. Shake hands well, prepare your introductory hello, walking behind the interviewer, opening the door for him/her, sit on the chair when he or she says so, etc. Say hello to the receptionist and follow all the etiquettes rigorously. Since this was an IT department, people were dressed casually and overall, everyone I met was very good.
In the interview, the hiring lady threw a curve ball and details in the next section.
Interview questions [5]
Question 1
1. How many people have you managed at your present work? What are the challenges you faced and how did you handle them?
2. She asked examples of specific IT projects that I managed (mentioned in the resume) and asked me to go through individual components of the project phases. There were follow up questions to this and we spent about 15 minutes on this.
3. She asked me about the largest project I managed, scope of work, what were the challenges, lessons learned, what were the lessons learned / feedback from the customers and what would I do differently in this project?
For the same question, she asked about the Finances relating to the projects. She was also looking for numbers in terms of servers built, applications deployed, etc. Also, details about cost, time, scope, and savings.
4. If my boss were to say anything about me, what would he/she say? Would he complement my work or would he provide mediocore reference or bad review about me?
5. Follow up question: What would my customers say about me?
6. What do you know about the organization?
7. Since this was IT Project Manager position, there were several questions about how you would make decisions, handle situations, manage/coach/mentor team members, perform reviews, and guide the team.
8. This is important. Everybody asks this question in interviews. She asked this in my interview as well. "What is your style of management?"
9. She asked questions about handling requests coming in from multiple customers, and how I would handle them.