At Gleacher Shacklock LLP we put great pride in our customer service. How do you ensure that your clients are well taken care of?

"In my current position I take many steps to ensuring great customer service. To me, this means having excellent follow up and strong active listening skills. I remember the names of my client's children and I call to congratulate them on milestones. I will keep in touch to update them on new services as well."

In which ways do you ensure that your clients are well taken care of? Talk to the interviewer about your customer service skills.

"I can assure you that, if hired, I would put the customers of Gleacher Shacklock LLP first. When working in the financial services world, your customers can determine your success. I have a very high referrals rate which tells me that my customers are happy."

As a professional in the financial services industry, you must have great integrity. Do you consider yourself an honest and trustworthy person?

"I have often been told that I am one of the most trustworthy people out there. In addition to being raised to always make the right choice, I have no fear when it comes do delivering honesty. You are more than welcome to check in with my references as well. They will speak highly of my character."

Due to the sensitive nature of your work, honesty is a core requirement in everything that you do. Assure the interviewer that you are an honest and trustworthy person, worthy of employment with Gleacher Shacklock LLP.

"Integrity is very important in the financial services industry. Yes, I absolutely consider myself to be honest and trustworthy."

Discuss a time that you worked a client through a difficult financial situation. What were the keys to making it a success for the client?

"During the recession in 2008, I had a very large client call to request that all of his funds be pulled out of the stock market. Knowing that this move was a very poor strategy, I needed him to hear that in most personal and educated way possible. With an active listening approach, I repeated back what he had told me and I reiterated that he wanted to sell them at a low price and hopefully buy them back down the road at a high price. This made the client take a pause and think. This was my opportunity to talk about market history and the odds that his stock prices would rebound over time. He decided to keep his funds in the market at the time and a few years down the road, he called to personally thank me for the sound advice. The fact that I took a personal approach while educating him in the process to make his own decision was the definite key to success in this situation."

Your interviewer is posing this question to see how you will handle a situation where a client at Gleacher Shacklock LLP is working through a difficult time. As you talk about how you managed that situation, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you have the interpersonal skills to be effective from the client's perspective. In your answer, be sure to explain the importance of an empathetic approach with your clients and how that approach helps them get through a difficult time.

"Sometimes in this field, difficult conversations have to be had with clients and when I need to have them, I use a very personal and empathetic approach. A great situation where this happened was with a client that wasn't meeting their personal retirement goals to be done working at age 62. At the point we were working together, she was 55 years old. After a quick assessment of her finances, I talked to her about letting her two kids be responsible for their own college tuition. As a mother, her intuition was to support her children in every way possible but the reality was that it was hurting her own goals. Simply put to her, I told her that there are no loans available for retirement and that she was doing both herself and her kids a favor by taking the route I suggested."

We want our advising team at Gleacher Shacklock LLP to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?

"To begin with on the job, I consider myself very excellent at handling stress. Being a goal oriented person, I find happiness in obtaining goals and consider any necessary stresses in pursuit of a goal healthy. Outside of work, I am a very active person that trains for marathons and spends a lot of time outdoors with my family. I find that these activities help cleanse my mind and heal my body to prepare for a new week on the job."

The daily stressors of a career in financial advising can be burdensome, overwhelming and lead to burnout on the job. To get a sense that you can handle stress in a safe and healthy manner and be able to come to work each day with a clean slate, your interviewer is looking to delve into your personal life a bit to see how you manage stress. When answering, you can certainly talk about the things you do on the job to keep as stress free as possible, but also be sure to talk about the things that you do outside of work to avoid burnout. Point out that you have the resources and ability to care for yourself to keep you at the top of your game on the job.

"When I maintain a healthy diet, exercise regularly and spend as much time as possible outside of work with my children, any unnecessary work stresses are put on the back burner and often relieved immediately. I'm a firm believer in a healthy work-life balance, even though it can be very tough to do in our field. Having the ability to answer a client email or phone call during off hours while unwinding has made our work lives better as well."

How would you define what working capital is for a company and what does its measurement mean?

"In my current role, we measure working capital to gauge the ability of a company to pay off its debts quickly. In working with many industries, from retails to the public sector, the determination of a company's ability to do so based on calculation can differ greatly from industry to industry. To calculate, a range of line items from the company are used to take their current assets minus their current liabilities. In the retail industry, seasonal spikes in business create the need for a much higher working capital and if hired for this role, I have a great understanding of each industries specific needs."

As a Financial Analyst with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you will be asked to help measure working capital of organizations. In your definition that you provide to your interviewer, ensure that you give them at least the basic definition of the calculation being current assets minus current liabilities. Then, talk about real situations that you've used the measurement to make critical decisions in the work that you've done in the past. This will confirm with your interviewer that you have the ability to use the measurement in this job.

"In a very broad sense, working capital is found by subtracting an organization's current liabilities from their current assets. In my current role, I utilize a more focused calculation of adding accounts receivable plus inventory and then subtracting accounts payable. The more focused calculation give a better idea of total working capital for organizations when trying to get a better overall picture of their health and efficiency when projecting out towards the future."

How do you believe your coworkers would describe you?

"I believe that my coworkers, if asked, would describe me as a reliable person who is always ready to submit the best work possible. My work ethic has never been questioned, and I am very proud with the work that I have submitted in my career, so far."

The interviewer would like to know how you are seen by your colleagues. Select approximately three words that truly define who you are. Be sure to choose words that radiate positive thoughts!

"Here are some other great keywords you could use: - Encouraging - Caring - Knowledgeable - Reliable - Focused - Honest - Assertive - Tenacious - Motivated - Ambitions - Conscientious"

At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our Financial Analysts have to often work under a tight deadline. Talk about a time you had to work under a tight deadline in the past. How did you handle that situation and what made it a success?

"In my current role, I'm tasked with preparing some reports for our leadership team's bi-weekly meeting. Upon first taking that responsibility, I made sure that I kept myself organized during each work day and saving and prepping relevant information needed for their report. A couple of months ago, I was informed first thing in the morning that the meeting was being moved a week up to later that day due to some conflicts and vacation time for some of the team. Right away, I moved some things on my calendar to make this a top priority. From there, my regular organization of the materials needed made it easy for me to complete my job."

The financial field can sometimes be chaotic and stressful for analysts working on high pressure deadlines and the work life at Gleacher Shacklock LLP is no different. To test how you will perform in these situation if hired for this role, your interviewer will be looking to hear about a time where you did just that. No matter what the situation is that you discuss, be sure to show how you remained calm, focused and on-task to get the job done. Try and stress how you are resourceful and willing to utilize a team effort if necessary.

"During my last semester of my MBA program last spring, I was nearing completion of my capstone project. The project was a case study of mergers within the manufacturing industry and was a great overall project to learn from. During the semester, my full-time job I was working to put myself through school was becoming much more demanding and parts of my project got postponed to a point where I was fearing not being able to complete it to the best of my abilities with the final due date approaching. Right away, I rearranged my work schedule to work half time and began plugging away at the final pieces of the project. To complete it, I had to sacrifice some outside weekend events with friends. While sad to do that at first, I learned some great lessons on time management, project management and sacrifice."

Can you think of a situation where raising debt over equity would be beneficial?

"In the situations where I've advised an organization to increase debt, they've received a distinct advantage in a lower cost form of financing versus equity financing. In the end, this reduced the organization's WACC and came out to be a win for them."

Debt and equity have a very closely bonded relationship with each other in relation to a company's finances. In most situations, raising debt can create too high of an amount of pressure to meet payments versus raising equity. But, there are a few key situations where there is a distinct advantage in raising debt over equity and your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand at least one of those advantages to be tax shielding, reducing cost of capital and not diluting the stake for investors.

"Last year, I advised a manufacturer to take the debt over equity route when adding a new line of products that was guaranteed to be very profitable. This fact allowed the company to simply and quickly repay the loan plus interest while being able to reap the rewards of the extra profits. In that same case using equity, final profit would've been less."

Take a couple of minutes to sell this notepad to me.

"Well Mr. Jones, I know in your line that you definitely in high need of notepads to help you succeed in your industry and I'm here to show you a new product we have put out to market that can exceed your needs. You'll notice that it features very wide margins that accentuate the note taking procedures for all who use it. You'll also notice that each individual sheet is carefully perforated to make separation from the binding an easy task compared to other notepads. The last feature of our new notepad is that it comes in many different paper colors that suit your needs. If you want, take this sample to your office for a week and put it to use. If you and your staff would make use of it, I can set you up with your first shipment in no time!"

To be successful in the financial advising field, one top key to success is your ability to sell your service to your clients. For this task, your interviewer will slide a notepad (or other item) to you across the table and ask you to sell it to them. First and foremost, your interviewer will be looking for you to project confidence in your pitch and your ability to find their own needs in what they're looking for in a notepad while you give them your pitch. As you sell them the notepad, be sure that you are confident, creative and that you ask questions of them. Overall, see this question as a fun opportunity to show your advising skills in a very nontraditional way and it will be a success for you.

"Mrs. Jones, we at Notepads, Inc. are excited to announce a new line of notepads for our exclusive customers. If you can, tell me a bit about your frustrations with your current line of notepads that you use. Wow, thank you for that. I can tell that functionality, cost and supply are all issues that are of concern and I'm happy to tell you that this fantastic notepad meets your needs with the brightest white paper, narrow ruled, right priced and readily available features. I'd like to talk about you further about pricing and delivery options when you are ready."

Give me an example of a time that you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?

"Back when I first joined my current organization, I was taking a role that had been vacant for many months and I had to start with a backlog of work along with the regular daily activities. This customer service role included logging daily visitors and calls and the interim rep only kept brief notes. After taking the time to walk through training and getting running on my own, I realized that the current workload wouldn't allow me to catch up on the backlog of work that had been missed. While I had ideas of how to play catch up on the work, I approached my supervisor with a few ideas and we settled on having me log hours from home on our system as overtime to get caught up. I worked with our IT staff on getting set up on our network from home and was more that willing to help out with some extra hours."

For this question, your interviewer is looking to test your ability to be analytical and resourceful in a specific situation where you had to dig further to solve a problem. Prior to your interview, try to think of a time in the past where you encountered this specific situation and talk through it by laying out the problem and walking through the step-by-step approach you took to solve the problem. Try to be as detailed you can as you explain how you thought the problem out and worked hard to use the resources you could to help solve the problem. Your interviewer will be relying on these fine details to truly see how you will perform on the job with Gleacher Shacklock LLP.

"Working for a large financial institution, our advisory staff help cover for each other when we are on vacation, sick or simply out of office for the day. We typically team up in group of three to help provide coverage for each other. A couple of months ago, I fielded a call from a colleague's client while she was away on vacation and completely out of phone coverage. The client had several questions about their personal finances that I couldn't help resolve off the top of my head. I let them know that their advisor was away on vacation but I would take the next hour to research their questions and get back to them shortly. This was a very acceptable path of action to the client and I took the time to get their questions answered quickly."

Have you ever run into a situation where a company had a positive cash flow but was still in critical financial trouble?

"If hired for this position, you can rest assured that I know all considerations necessary when looking at cash flow for an organization when determining their overall financial health. A cash flow statement can often show positive cash flow when they take on new cash from loans or long-term debt. While these items do show up as positive on the cash flow, they don't accurately reflect the profitability of the organization."

At the heart of this question, your interviewer is looking to dive in and take a look at your critical thinking skills. While positive cash flow is usually a very good sign of a company's overall ability to settle its debts and handle future financial challenges, there are some situations where all isn't as it seems when looking at a company with a positive cash flow. Whether you have run into this situation or not, it is important for you to point out that you are aware of situations where a positive cash flow can be misleading.

"I have come across this situation with a company that was selling off a large chunk of inventory. At the same time, the company was delaying their payables. This showed a very skewed positive cash flow but the real story behind the curtains showed a company that was in serious trouble of keeping its doors open."

What types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

"In the current role that I have been in since graduating from college, I started on a base salary for three years guaranteed that also had a bonus structure tied in for performance. At the the end of the three year base salary period, I was moved to a straight commission and have been on that for almost five years now. I am very confident in my ability to be a high performing advisor on commissions and bonuses and find that I have a very high motivation to succeed in this atmosphere."

Compensation for Financial Advisors can vary from a straight salary, straight commission, salary plus bonus or a fee-only structure. You can speak openly and honestly to your interview about the types of compensation you have received throughout your career up to this point, but it is always important to do your research on Gleacher Shacklock LLP and how they pay their advisors when you elaborate on the compensation model that suits you best. In the end, it is important to match your expectations with the compensation structure of Gleacher Shacklock LLP.

"As an experience advisor that has spent time working with a large firm, a small independent firm and being self-employed, I have worked on pretty much every pay structure possible for our profession. At the point that I am at in my career with an aging family and grandchildren on the way, a salary plus bonus structure is what I'm seeking during my job search. From what I understand about this position, the compensation you are offering falls within those parameters. Are you able to expand on the bonus structure so I have a better understanding of how it works?"

We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?

"Now that I am to the midway point of my career, I am looking for my next move to be my final move in finding my work home until I retire. As a successful Financial Advisor today, I want to focus on continuing to grow my skills in advising clients on retirement and private wealth management and it sounds like I'll have that opportunity here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP. As I continue to grow in my skills and prove my worth to you, a long-term career goal is to be in management where I could oversee the work of Junior Advisors and mentor them towards success."

This common interview question put you in a tough spot where you should talk about your ultimate career goals while also balancing the needs of the position that you are interviewing for and the needs of Gleacher Shacklock LLP. Prior to your interviewer, try to research the job and Gleacher Shacklock LLP to the point where you can match your career goals with they Gleacher Shacklock LLP offers. While your interviewer is looking for a long-term fit for the position they are interviewing you for, it is okay to set your sights higher as long as your goals meet that of the organization's goals. If at all possible during your answer, point out that long-term success with Gleacher Shacklock LLP is vitally important to you.

"A career in risk analysis has been a dream for some time and this opportunity with Gleacher Shacklock LLP is really my dream job. If hired here, my goal for the next five to ten years would be to continue to hone my skills and help the work of the department to a point where it is growing and becoming more effective. Down the road, I'm really in a position to be an open book when it comes to where my career with Gleacher Shacklock LLP would go from there."

How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?

"In the world of accounting and bookkeeping, one small financial error on the data entry side of things can spin off an entire web of negative consequences. Because of this, I've always taken pride in being thorough in the integrity of data and the accuracy of final reports. To ensure accuracy, I use a systematic approach of first following all procedures and formats for data entry. Then, I use a thorough reconciliation process to verify information once entered. It is always important to rely on sound record keeping procedures for the reconciliation process. In this role, I fully understand that I'd be working with clients and relying on their prior ability to keep accurate records. I feel an important piece that I'd bring to the table here is educating clients on the importance and need for accuracy on the accounting end of their business."

For this question, pull from your experience working with accounting records to give your interviewer the sense that you understand why accurate records are important and how common mistakes occur. Talk about tools and tactics that you've used or would use to ensure that the numbers you'll be basing decision off of in this role and accurate and complete because your clients will rely on it.

"In today's digital world, I've trained on and worked with several of the large accounting software programs like Sage, GnuCash and QuickBooks. All modern programs have the sophistication of helping businesses organize their finances and accounting books and I would bring a great ability to train clients on the use of these programs. But, these programs are only as effective as the data going into the programs so data entry and data integrity are vital to end result. To ensure data integrity, each business needs a checklist of vital information that is unique to their situation and the checklist should include items like bank account balances, inventory, accounts receivable, loan payables and total assets. I've witnessed too many organizations miss critical components in their accounting processes and I'd be able to work effectively with the clients here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP to build their accounting inventories for future use."

What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

"To be honest, one of my motivations to branch out and seek a position in the business consulting world is my desire to work with others. My ability to relate to people and build strong relationships has been emphasized throughout my career to this point, but I don't get enough of that interaction in the private business world right now. If hired for this position, your clients here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP will not only benefit from my skills as a Financial Analyst, but also through the relationships we build and my ability to relate quickly with them."

Your interviewer will be able to gain a very solid sense of your technical abilities as a financial advisor in the consulting world based off of your work history. What they are trying to dig deeper into with this question are your interpersonal skills and personality traits that will make you trusted, respected and effective with clients of their organization. Prior to your interviewer, be prepared to speak to your abilities in communicating effectively, relationship building and any other personality traits you feel make you the right fit for this job.

"As you can see from my resume, I bring a strong breadth on knowledge and experience in the accounting and finance fields. But what I really think will set me apart from other candidates you are interviewing are my work ethic, my wide range of experiences in the field and my ability to take an empathetic approach with clients. I'm a very motivated person in the work that I perform and I'd love to bring this motivation here to Gleacher Shacklock LLP to help your clients. On top of that, I know I will be working with some clients that are facing financial hardship and my ability to show empathy and put myself in the client's shoes would be very beneficial to them."

In this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we will rely on your organized and methodical approach to provide financial analysis reporting. What does your current reporting process consist of?

"In my current role, I utilize the Tableau program to provide live, up to date information to my clients. After using a simply built Excel program for many years, Tableau provides beautiful and easy to understand reporting that my clients can take and run with to make important decision. The connections and automations within the program have save me time and effort, allowing me to take on a much more robust client base. If hired for this role here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, I also have familiarity with SAS and Spotfire and consider myself a very quick learner if I need to learn a new program."

Providing the clients of Gleacher Shacklock LLP with detailed reports will be a key part of this position and your interviewer will be looking to gauge your ability to be organized and detailed while also utilizing your critical thinking skills to provide the best reports possible. In your answer, keep a focus on the techniques and tools that you use to do your job in ensuring that clients are receiving the most accurate and detailed reports possible. As well, let your interviewer know that you are willing to learn new ways and new technologies to help onboard yourself to their team quicker.

"When I need to provide reporting to clients or my firm, I ensure that the reporting includes all key risks and valuation. Today, we as Financial Analysts have so many great tools available to us and my current preference is a statistical program like Crystal Ball. When paired with the advance Excel sheets that I have created, and have been commended, my clients are always happy with the insight that I am able to provide."

Due to the sensitivity of our business, in order to work for Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you must be able to pass a criminal background check. Are you willing to comply?

"I do not have a criminal history of any kind and I am happy to comply with any form of background check you require."

If you do not have any criminal history, this is an answer that will be very simple and concise. If you do have a criminal history, now is the time to disclose it.

"I should disclose to you that I have a mark on my criminal record. I have a DUI from 1998. Since then I have maintained a clean record and I am willing to comply with any form of background check that you require."

If you noticed that a company's balance sheet was showing increased amounts of accounts receivables, what future impacts to that company would you consider to be feasible?

"An organization's lines on a balance sheet all have impact on other lines. In the case that I was made aware of an increase in accounts receivable for an organization, I would note that cash flow could be directly impacted and give a higher chance that the organization didn't have enough money to operate. As well, the reduced value of assets is a real possibility for that organization."

At the root of this question, your interview will be looking to hear that you understand how the different lines on a company's balance sheet are related to each other. In your answer, be sure to point out your understanding of this as your job as an analyst with Gleacher Shacklock LLP will rely on your ability to do so.

"In reality, an increase in amounts receivable can have both a positive and negative impact. In the short term, accounts receivable show up as current-period revenue and have a positive effect on income statements. But over the long-term, a large increase in amounts receivable has a negative impact on cash-flow for the company."

Gleacher Shacklock LLP strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?

"I learned a few very important things from a senior mentor early in my career that I still hold near and dear to my heart to this day. First, clients expect me to be responsive to their needs to ensure that they keep their business with me. Because of this, I return phone calls and emails as soon as I can, even if that means in the evening, the early morning or on a Sunday afternoon. These small actions go a long way in showing my clients that I care. Another key to the success of my long-term clients is my ability to set and manage expectations for them. Clients desire to have a plan and know what that plan entails and I pride myself on my ability to work with them to set goals and a plan to achieve those goals."

Businesses in financial advising are constantly pushing the limits to ensure that they retain clients and Gleacher Shacklock LLP doesn't take client retention lightly. One slip up and a high profile client will be taking their business to a competitor. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand your role in the customer retention equation and how you take pride in that in your everyday work. Make sure to hit on the point that doing the small things, like prompt communication and follow up, go a long way towards keeping clients happy.

"Having lost clients in the past that went to another firm, I take that pain personally and do everything I can do to ensure long lasting relationships with my clients. For me, the first key to long term success with my clients is a proactive approach. I don't wait for clients to get in touch with me to make changes to their portfolio, I reach out to them. This action alone shows my clients that I am working for their best interest. Another action I take that shows my worth to my clients are goal tracking and quarterly progress reports that I send out to them. This is particularly helpful for clients that are working with me in their first two years."

At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we expect our advisors to be available to speak with clients in person, over the phone and through email. What are your experiences in working with clients through different communication methods?

"Looking back on my career, I can honestly say that success as an Advisor is really due to my passion for finance and my desire for interactions with other people. Being a people person at heart, I love working with clients in any way possible. My communication style with clients is to get to personally know them so I can relate my advising to them personally. While I definitely prefer to interact with my clients face-to-face, I do have a lot of experience communicating both over the phone and email as well. If hired for this position, you'll see very quickly that I have excellent writing skills."

Customer interaction is the name of the game at Gleacher Shacklock LLP as they rely on excellent customer to service to retain and grow their client base in a cutthroat market. For this question, your interviewer is looking to get a sense of how you use your communication skills to your advantage in your work and how those skills will benefit Gleacher Shacklock LLP. As you answer and talk about your experiences in communication methods, try to show that you thrive on client interactions and have the ability to be both persuasive and trusted with those interactions.

"As you can see from my resume, I have taken advanced training courses in public speaking and written communication to help further me in this career field. In my early days in finance and making the move to financial advising, communication skills were my area that needed the most professional development. Today, I am confident in my abilities to work one on one with clients directly in person, over the phone or through email and have experience handling clients in all three ways. In my current role, I'd estimate that over 50% of my interactions are through email with the remaining interactions split between face-to-face meetings and phone calls."

If hired for this role at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?

"I find myself the most motivated on the job when I am being challenged and when I can continue learning new things. From what I've learned in talking to others that currently work here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, the fast paced environment and continuous changes in the industry would keep me very motivated in my work and you'd never have to question if I were truly enjoying and being motivated in my work."

In the financial services field, you should have strong personal motivation to succeed in your work and your interviewer is asking this question to see what it is that make you tick while on the job. While being open and honest in how you stay motivated on the job, make sure that your answer doesn't include collecting a paycheck every week or two. While money is certainly a motivator in this field, make sure that you use it in an appropriate context if you decide to talk about the financial piece of this business as being a motivator. In the end, your interviewer is looking to get a sense of how he or she will be able to keep you hungry for more if you are hired for this role.

"At a young age, my father taught me to do what I love and love what I do and I know that as I approach the middle years of my career that I made the right career choice. The personal finance field has really blended my love of helping others succeed and my passion for statistics and computers. In this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, I'll be working with your clients everyday on helping them achieve financial success and that alone is all of the reason I need to get out of bed every morning."

As a consultant with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?

"In this role, I think it will be extremely important for me to demonstrate my value to my clients from the start and I would do this by using examples of prior successes and by projecting my knowledge in the financial world to them. By ensuring that they know I am a subject matter expert, they will be more willing to open up and be honest with me from the start and that is the only way we will be able to get places together in our client-consultant relationship. Moving forward from there, communication will be of utmost importance. I am a firm believer in regular updates on the progress of my work and I wouldn't hesitate to give updates to any of the key stakeholders that work for my clients."

This role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP will entail you working with clients and learning about their financial status as an organization. You'll work with high level leaders with your clients and a key component to them accepting and opening up to you as their consultant will be trust. Let your interviewer know that you understand the importance of building trust with their clients and talk about the little things that you'd do to build rapport and trust with the clients that you'd be working with. If you have an example of a trusting relationship you've built during your career, don't hesitate to talk about the relationship and why it was important.

"In the consultation world of finance, I think the key components to building rapport with clients would be a positive attitude and a genuine focus on their business. From the start with a new client, I would strive to know their business and put forth an effort to show that I am invested in their processes and successes just as much as an employee of the organization. This investment really suits my personality as I can only do a top-notch job if I am personally invested in a project."

Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?

"A couple of years ago, we had hired a new Junior Advisor on to our team and I was tasked with being his mentor. Having mentored several other thriving Junior Advisors prior to him starting, I was excited for the opportunity. Within the first week of him being on the job, I overheard a colleague of mine talking very openly about his disdain for the hire of this new Advisor and witnessing him personally criticizing him in a face-to-face encounter. Immediately, I spoke to my colleague in a private office about my concern over his actions and words towards the new Advisor. Having been a part of the interview process and his early mentorship, I knew that he had the skills to succeed and I reiterated that to my colleague. After agreeing to back off on any private criticizing of the new Advisor and a promise to help mentor him, I learned that direct conversations are the best way to handle workplace conflicts."

At the heart of this question, your interviewer is looking to hear how you use solid interpersonal and relationship building skills to diffuse a difficult situation with a coworker when on the job. No matter what situation that you talk about, make sure to focus your answer on a positive mindset and the steps that you walked through to turn a potentially hazardous situation into a good one. As well, talk about lessons learned from that situation that you keep with you to this day on the job.

"f"A couple of years ago, I approached a colleague that had missed a deadline or a big audit we were conducting and she completely blew up at my during our conversation. At first, I was very taken aback by her response because I had never witnessed that from her in many years of working together. While remaining calm, I allowed her the opportunity to vent to me and it turns out that she was going through a lot of things in her personal life that were impacting her work. While keeping our project deadlines in mind, I also took a personal approach in letting her know that she could bring these issues to me as both a colleague and a friend and we could work through them together in the future. This approach is vital to any conflicts that can arise with colleagues and one I don't hesitate to take when needed."

Give an example of a time that you had to resolve a difficult situation with a client or customer. What were the keys to coming to a successful solution?

"Having worked in customer service for one of the areas largest auto dealership for the last six years, handling difficult customers was a situation I had to learn to handle pretty quickly. Just a few weeks ago, I was covering our front desk on a Saturday afternoon when our sales staff was still open for business. I recognized the person approaching the door as a customer that had recently purchased a new vehicle. He stormed through the door, placed his keys on the counter in front of me and said that he demanded a refund on his new purchase because the check engine light had already come on inside of the car. Knowing off the top of my head that his new vehicle was under a full warranty, I calmly let him know that his car was under warranty and that I'd have a member of our sales staff come out and take a quick look. I also let him know that our service department was not working that afternoon and, if needed, we could schedule him for a diagnostic test at his earliest convenience. After our salesman went out to take a quick look and not seeing anything obvious, we ended up giving him a loaner vehicle so his new car could be taken care of on Monday morning. He ended up leaving pretty happy that day and I know that my patience in hearing him out really helped."

In a front facing role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP where you will be interacting with clients on a daily basis, your interviewer wants to be ensured that you have the skills to resolve client issues with ease and they'll look to do so with this question. In your answer, let your interviewer know that you can take ownership of any situation by talking about a specific time where you did what was necessary to alleviate a difficult situation with a client. Talk about the resources that you used and your interpersonal skills that helped turn a potentially bad situation into a successful one.

"A couple of years ago, I was asked to work with a very high profile client for his financial advising services when he came to our firm because my CEO trusted I could handle what he felt would be a difficult task. From my first meeting with the client, he demanded that we provide more returns than the previous firm that he worked with and he was rather rude with our front desk staff. I took the approach of taking the time to listen to his needs and speak to him more about what my firm could provide. I laid out my experience and track record for him to help him build his trust in me. I knew that with him, I would need to take time to walk through my decision making processes for his investments and he really appreciated that. As of today, we are still working strong together and his wealth is growing."

This position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP has generated a lot of interest from applicants. What do you feel is the one quality that sets you apart from others we are speaking with about this position?

"As I've talked about during this interview process and from what you can see on my resume, I have all of the technical skills needed to grow your financial advising practice here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP. What sets me apart from my competition is my drive to succeed in this industry and I'd love to bring that drive to Gleacher Shacklock LLP to help working with your highest profile clients possible. Growing up and continuing to this point in my life, I've always been a very competitive person. I've played many team and individual sports my whole life and my drive to win in those has definitely carried over to and been a huge benefit in my work as a Financial Advisor. I'd love to bring this competitive spirit to your team."

This question is the perfect opportunity for you to highlight the one key quality that makes you the best person for this position, so be sure to really think about what this one quality is ahead of your interview. While there are many ways that you can take you answer to impress your interviewer and seal the deal for you in getting the job, be sure to avoid making assumptions about the other candidates in your answer. As well, be sure to avoid anything in your answer that points to this job being convenient for you personally or the fact that you'll be getting compensated for this work. Those are quick ways for you to go to the bottom of the candidate ranking list.

"From what I understand about this role in Client Services with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, my day to day work will include a lot of client interaction and I really feel like the job description was written with my skills and abilities in mind. But the thing that will really set me apart for being the perfect fit for this role is my experience on the sales side of things where I spent five years of my working career in the retail sales industry. In sales, I have developed key skills like product knowledge and selling skills that would be very beneficial to this role."

If hired for this position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, what factors would you consider part as part of an organization's long-term liability?

"While long-term liabilities aren't an immediate issue on a companies working capital, the can become an issue if long-term liabilities pile up too high for some organizations. While often overlooked, items like mortgages, fleet vehicle loans and annuities can add up over time and are always items that I consider when looking at the overall health of an organization."

To begin for this question, make sure that you can define a long-term liability as obligations that are due beyond one year and into the future. Then, consider major factors like bonds, mortgages, leases and other items that factor in to an organization's long-term liability. Last, try to explain why the measurement of long-term liabilities are important is an important factor in considering the overall financial health of an organiation.

At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our clients are the lifeblood of our business and we do everything in our power to make them happy. What does the term customer service mean to you in your work?

"A pursuit of a career in the financial field really suited my two passions in life of mathematics and problem solving. In this role, helping clients solve problems in an efficient manner and with a smile on my face would be the drive to succeed that I need. At the end of the day, if I see that my work helped a client grow their wealth and achieve their financial goals, I know that it was a job well done."

No matter what position you are interviewing for at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, your interviewer is looking to hear what customer service means to you in your work and how you apply that philosophy in your everyday work life. In essence, they want to hear your story as to why solid customer service is important to you. Prior to your interviewer, be sure to really think about this question to apply what is important to you in how you go about your work. Whether you talk about problem solving or making people happy, this should be reflected in the work that you do.

"As a people person by nature, I have an innate ability to do what is needed to give customers the best experience possible when I'm working with them. This means that I reflectively listen to their needs and concerns and do what is necessary to help them based on what I heard. In my interactions with customers, I am positive, pleasant and nurturing by nature and I've found that customers are very receptive to my style off communication with them. If hired for this role at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you'll quickly find that dedicated customer service is one of top qualities that I will bring to you team."

What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

"Over the past couple of years, I've had an eye on pursuing a career with Gleacher Shacklock LLP because of your reputation as a forward moving financial institution and your commitment to the communities that you do business in. As a person that believes in togetherness and helping others out where possible, these are values that I hold very high and would bring to the team here."

For this question, your interviewer is looking to gain insight into what you know and like about Gleacher Shacklock LLP and how they will be able to help you meet your career goals. In your answer, try and stay focused on the alignment of your values with the organization's values and demonstrate that you've done your research on Gleacher Shacklock LLP and the job you are interviewing for. To try and maintain positivity in your answer, try not to talk bad about a previous employer as that can make you sound like a difficult employee and raise a red flag for your interviewer.

"As I enter the midway point of my career, my job search has been focused on finding an employer that I can spend the rest of my career with and someday retire from. Looking at the history, culture and growth of Gleacher Shacklock LLP, this is definitely a place that I'd love to be a part of as you continue to grow and prosper into the future."

Gleacher Shacklock LLP Interview Questions

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1. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP we put great pride in our customer service. How do you ensure that your clients are well taken care of?
2. As a professional in the financial services industry, you must have great integrity. Do you consider yourself an honest and trustworthy person?
3. Discuss a time that you worked a client through a difficult financial situation. What were the keys to making it a success for the client?
4. We want our advising team at Gleacher Shacklock LLP to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?
5. How would you define what working capital is for a company and what does its measurement mean?
6. How do you believe your coworkers would describe you?
7. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our Financial Analysts have to often work under a tight deadline. Talk about a time you had to work under a tight deadline in the past. How did you handle that situation and what made it a success?
8. Can you think of a situation where raising debt over equity would be beneficial?
9. Take a couple of minutes to sell this notepad to me.
10. Give me an example of a time that you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?
11. Have you ever run into a situation where a company had a positive cash flow but was still in critical financial trouble?
12. What types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?
13. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?
14. How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?
15. What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?
16. In this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we will rely on your organized and methodical approach to provide financial analysis reporting. What does your current reporting process consist of?
17. Due to the sensitivity of our business, in order to work for Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you must be able to pass a criminal background check. Are you willing to comply?
18. If you noticed that a company's balance sheet was showing increased amounts of accounts receivables, what future impacts to that company would you consider to be feasible?
19. Gleacher Shacklock LLP strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?
20. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we expect our advisors to be available to speak with clients in person, over the phone and through email. What are your experiences in working with clients through different communication methods?
21. If hired for this role at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?
22. As a consultant with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?
23. Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?
24. Give an example of a time that you had to resolve a difficult situation with a client or customer. What were the keys to coming to a successful solution?
25. This position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP has generated a lot of interest from applicants. What do you feel is the one quality that sets you apart from others we are speaking with about this position?
26. If hired for this position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, what factors would you consider part as part of an organization's long-term liability?
27. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our clients are the lifeblood of our business and we do everything in our power to make them happy. What does the term customer service mean to you in your work?
28. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

Gleacher Shacklock LLP Interview Questions

1. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP we put great pride in our customer service. How do you ensure that your clients are well taken care of?

2. As a professional in the financial services industry, you must have great integrity. Do you consider yourself an honest and trustworthy person?

3. Discuss a time that you worked a client through a difficult financial situation. What were the keys to making it a success for the client?

4. We want our advising team at Gleacher Shacklock LLP to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?

5. How would you define what working capital is for a company and what does its measurement mean?

6. How do you believe your coworkers would describe you?

7. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our Financial Analysts have to often work under a tight deadline. Talk about a time you had to work under a tight deadline in the past. How did you handle that situation and what made it a success?

8. Can you think of a situation where raising debt over equity would be beneficial?

9. Take a couple of minutes to sell this notepad to me.

10. Give me an example of a time that you had to solve a problem without having all of the necessary information at hand to do so. How did you handle that situation?

11. Have you ever run into a situation where a company had a positive cash flow but was still in critical financial trouble?

12. What types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

13. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at Gleacher Shacklock LLP. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?

14. How do you ensure accuracy and completeness in accounting records?

15. What two to three traits do you have that will lead to success in a consulting role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?

16. In this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we will rely on your organized and methodical approach to provide financial analysis reporting. What does your current reporting process consist of?

17. Due to the sensitivity of our business, in order to work for Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you must be able to pass a criminal background check. Are you willing to comply?

18. If you noticed that a company's balance sheet was showing increased amounts of accounts receivables, what future impacts to that company would you consider to be feasible?

19. Gleacher Shacklock LLP strives for client loyalty to keep us running strong into the future. What do you feel are the keys to retaining clients for the long haul?

20. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, we expect our advisors to be available to speak with clients in person, over the phone and through email. What are your experiences in working with clients through different communication methods?

21. If hired for this role at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?

22. As a consultant with Gleacher Shacklock LLP, you will be relied upon to build trust with our clients as you work with them on financial stability and well-being. What would be your tactics to build trust from the start with a new client?

23. Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?

24. Give an example of a time that you had to resolve a difficult situation with a client or customer. What were the keys to coming to a successful solution?

25. This position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP has generated a lot of interest from applicants. What do you feel is the one quality that sets you apart from others we are speaking with about this position?

26. If hired for this position at Gleacher Shacklock LLP, what factors would you consider part as part of an organization's long-term liability?

27. At Gleacher Shacklock LLP, our clients are the lifeblood of our business and we do everything in our power to make them happy. What does the term customer service mean to you in your work?

28. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with Gleacher Shacklock LLP?