This was the worst recruiting process I have ever went through. Multi-stage interview process based on tests/assignments. Each interview increases in difficulty. All interviews done remotely. I went through to the last stage and was given a live case to prepare. The case consisted of a stock analysis based on 10-15 parameters they provided in advance. It was my second attempt so I prepared thoroughly, analyzing every single parameter inside out. Besides the financial ratios and statistics, my analysis included excel simulations for testing optimal capital structures, heavy competitor/industry research, multiple trips to the library to access the Bloomberg terminal, scrubbing Bloomberg data manually by checking it vs. company filings, adjusting all numbers/ratios to exclude one-off events and acquisitions for apples-to-apples comparison. All in all I spent more than 50 hours. At the end, none of it mattered. I don't think a single number was checked. Data integrity did not matter. I could have pulled my numbers from thin air. During my 45 min presentation out of all the questions, I could not answer 2 (what's behind the no dividend policy, and what's behind the choice for low debt). That was the reason I did not go through. I used to work as an equity research analyst doing just that - research on stocks. During our meetings, it is normal for the analyst to not know all the answers. Usually 20% of the questions are answered after the meeting as a follow-up. What TopTal is doing is not normal. They try to mimic real world environment, but that is not how things work in the real world. Its not like I am stupid, I have a CFA Charterholder and I have an MBA from Yale. True, it does not guarantee anything without preparation, but I did put in my time. Would not recommend TopTal to a friend in a million years!