Q: Tell me about yourself

This is one of the most popular interview questions. It allows the interviewer
to assess how you react in an unstructured situation and you answer provides an
insight to what you think is most important.

Tip � focus on what will be of most interest to the interviewers. Ensure your
answer is structured, brief and highlights your most important achievements.

Follow up questions may include:

Why did you choose your place of study?

What courses have you most / least enjoyed and why?
Talk me through your internship experiences
What are you interests and hobbies (outside academic)?
What are the most important things to you in a job?

Q: Why Banking?

We look for people who have a strong interest in investment banking. Interview
Questions will determine how motivated you are and your rationale behind your
decisions.

Why do you want to work in investment banking?

What do you think an Analyst does on a typical day?
Why are you interested in this division?
Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
Explain the financial crisis
If I gave you a million dollars today, how would you invest your money?
Which business publications do you read and why?

Q: Why Nomura?

We want to employ graduates who are passionate about joining Nomura and
representing our brand

Why do you want to work for Nomura?

What differentiates us from our competitors?
What is the share price of Nomura today?
What do you hope to get out of a job?
What other banks are you interviewing with?

Q: Skills

Your interviewer�s want to understand what sets you apart from the competition
- sell yourself.

Why should we hire you?

What skills have you got that make you suited to the role?
What are your strengths/development areas?
What is your greatest achievement and why?

Competency Questions
 Show us proof that you are the kind of graduate we are looking for. Give
concrete examples from any aspect of your life that show where you have personally
made a difference.

Tell me about a time when you were creative

Tell me about a time when you had to manage conflicting priorities
Tell me about when you have missed an important deadline
What has been your biggest failure, professional or personal - and what did
you learn?
Describe an occasion when you have had difficulties working in a team
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?
How would you deal with a difficult client that puts you under pressure?
If a client told you that they wanted to improve their portfolio
performance in the next 12 months, what would you suggest as potential strategies

Tips from our Graduates

Understand how the bank operates, the different roles available and the
characteristics and tasks that each role entails
Don�t regurgitate generic questions and answers; it is quite obvious to
those who work in the industry when someone has spent time reading and
understanding concepts and news
Be yourself! It is important that the interviewer can see your personality
in order to stand out from the rest
Keep up to date with relevant news - understand the current drivers in the
industry
Do the obvious � read the latest annual report and CEO�s letter. Gain an
insight into the firms values and strategy
We look for people with strong analytical and interpersonal skills, plus a
keen interest in markets and equities.
We want candidates with the energy and the maturity to step up to quite
senior positions quickly � ensure you demonstrate your ability to do this
Use your Careers services � they have direct contact with the recruiters
and can offer invaluable advice you cannot find online
Be proactive - speak to graduates at fairs and presentations to get the
�inside information�

Asset and Liability Management (ALM): the practice of managing risks that arise due
to mismatches between assets and liabilities of the financial institution.

Bond: an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the holders. It is a debt

security, under which the issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the
terms of the bond, is obliged to pay them interest (the coupon) and/or to repay the
principal at a later date, termed the maturity date

CAGR: �Compound Annual Growth Rate� � the year-over-year percentage growth rate of
an investment over a specified period of time

Capex: Acronym meaning Capital Expenditures, that are funds used by a company to
acquire or upgrade physical assets such as property, industrial buildings or
equipment. This type of outlay is made by companies to maintain or increase the
scope of their operations

D&A: Acronym meaning Depreciation and Amortization, a category of expenditure by

which a company gradually records the loss in value of a tangible (Depreciation)
and Intangible (Amortization) asset
Deleveraging: Reduction of the leverage ratio, or the percentage of debt in the
balance sheet of a single economic entity, such as a household or a firm.

Discount rate: The interest rate used in discounted cash flow analysis to determine
the present value of future cash flows. The discount rate takes into account the
time value of money (the idea that money available now is worth more than the same
amount of money available in the future because it could be earning interest) and
the risk or uncertainty of the anticipated future cash flows (which might be less
than expected).

EBITDA: Acronym meaning Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and

Amortization

EBIT: Acronym meaning Earnings Before Interest and Taxes

ETF: Exchange traded funds. An exchange traded fund is an investment fund traded on
stock exchanges, just like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities
or bonds, and trades close to its net asset value over the course of the trading
day.

EV: �Enterprise Value� � Equal to Equity Value plus Net Debt (or minus Net Cash)

FCF: �Free Cash Flow� � Measure of cash generation used in fundamental valuation of
a business. Equal to EBIT x (1 - tax rate) + depreciation and amortisation -
changes in working capital - capex

Forward interest rates: An interest rate that is specified now for a loan that will
occur at a specified future date. As with current interest rates, forward interest
rates include a term structure that shows the different forward rates offered to
loans of different maturities.

Hedge: an investment made in order to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in
a security, by taking an offsetting position in a related security, such as options
or short sales.

LTM: Acronym meaning Last Twelve Months

IRR: Acronym meaning internal rate of return. The IRR corresponds to the rate of
return on an investment. The IRR of a project is the discount rate that will give
it a net present value of zero

Market Cap: Market capitalisation or market cap is a value of a corporation as

determined by the market price of its common stock (shares). It is calculated by
multiplying the number of outstanding shares by the current market price of the
share

Market liquidity: an asset's ability to be sold without causing a significant

movement in the price and with minimum loss of value.

Opex: Acronym meaning Operating Expenditures, a category of expenditure that a

business incurs as a result of performing its normal business operations

Payout ratio: The amount of earnings paid out in dividends to shareholders

Shareholder loan: an instrument used to distribute cash to shareholders while

minimising a company�s tax liability. Not typically included within net debt

Swap: highly liquid financial derivative instruments in which two parties agree to
exchange interest rate cash flows, based on a specified notional amount from a
fixed rate to a floating rate (or vice versa) or from one floating rate to another.

Swaption: An option granting its owner the right but not the obligation to enter
into an underlying interest rate swap. A payer swaption gives the owner of the
swaption the right to enter into a swap where they pay the fixed leg and receive
the floating leg. A receiver swaption gives the owner of the swaption the right to
enter into a swap in which they will receive the fixed leg, and pay the floating
leg.

Ultimate forward rate (UFR): the theoretical forward interest rate to which forward
rates converge.

Yield to maturity: Discount rate at which the sum of all future cash flows from the
bond (coupons and principal) is equal to the price of the bond.