Give an example of a time that you used a universal design practice in your work as a UI or UX designer. Why was it important to do this?

"From a very high level, the business success of a program really relies on being universally designed. If we pigeon hole ourselves, a product will only reach a very limited group of end users. But taking that a step further, universal design is the morally right thing to do to help reach people that may not have access to the average program design. Last year, I was part of a project that utilized a voice user interface for users that were deaf or hard of hearing. This simple yet effective design was a huge win for our current customers and in helping drive new business with our groundbreaking software."

In the technology, software and mobile app fields today, accessibility is a huge topic. As a designer with PitchBook Data, you will be expected to help create products that are as accessible as possible to as many end users as possible. In this two part question, talk about why you feel that universal design is important in the work that you will be doing with PitchBook Data and then really sell your ability to do this by giving an example of a time you used a universal design in your previous work.

"Early in my career, the best piece of advice that I receive was from an experience designer and she said that when UX doesn't consider all potential users, we are no longer working on the user experience. We live in a very diverse world and the programs that I've designed for in the past have certainly had the goal to reach a wide audience. With your financial products here at PitchBook Data, this same philosophy applies. Last year, based on some feedback from current customers, we switched our design to include a strong color contract to make the system much more user friendly to color blind users. This was both a simple and very effective change to enhance the look of the program."

PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data 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."

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 PitchBook Data.

"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."

What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with PitchBook Data?

"Over the past couple of years, I've had an eye on pursuing a career with PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data, this is definitely a place that I'd love to be a part of as you continue to grow and prosper into the future."

Our clients here at PitchBook Data expect top-tier service and products and we will expect you to do just that in this role. Have you ever went the extra mile for a client when it wasn't expected? Why did you do so?

"A couple of years ago when I was working customer service in retail, a customer was looking for what happened to be a discontinued item of clothing for her sick mother. The easy route would have been to simply look it up, tell her it was discontinued and have her be on her way. What I did was take down the customers contact information and let her know that I could contact our person that handled archived products. If we could track it down, I would be in touch. With a simple phone call, my colleague was able to track the item down from the supplier and have it coordinated to ship directly. We put the customer in direct contact with the supplier and she was as happy as could be. Looking back on that situation, I felt that it was the right thing to do given the situation that the customer was in and knowing she was a loyal customer of ours."

PitchBook Data looks to set themselves apart from their competition by delivering the best service possible in the industry. You, as a customer service professional, are likely used to doing this so in your example, be sure to think about a time where your going above and beyond the call of duty really impacted the overall customer experience. No matter what example you use, be sure to explain why you felt it was important to take that action and what outcomes you are aware that it produced.

"My current role in hospitality often has me working with very high profile customers that come to our hotel. Last year, a touring manager for a musician contacted me regarding and upcoming stay for the musician. I proactively asked for their dining and entertainment preferences and with that list, I was able to work with our catering staff to ensure we had preferred items on the menus for the nights that he stayed and that we had a customized video game package in the musician's room for the his extended stay. Prior to him leaving, his manager reached out to thank me for the great service!"

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 PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data 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 do you stay on top of new trends in the financial services industry?

"I stay on top of financial service trends through a variety of blogs, news sites and financial magazines. My favorite finance news site at the moment is businessinsider.com."

The interviewer would like to know that your passion for financial services goes beyond your work hours. Do you keep on top of industry news and trends on your off time? Assure the interviewer that you are well immersed in the industry.

"I believe that it is crucial for me to stay on top of news in the financial services industry if I hope to be a success. I have joined multiple meet up groups to network with industry peers. It has really helped my network and given me insight into how other financial service professionals are making their careers flourish."

The clients of a financial firm like PitchBook Data can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last three years in customer service relations for a large insurance company. As you can imagine, a large majority of my customer interactions were with upset customers. I've been called names that I can't repeat here in this interview and my key to working through these situations was to remain calm and not take things personally. Like the financial world, the insurance business is a very life altering experience and a loss or damage to an item is very stressful. I tried to put myself in the customers shoes, see things from their perspective and do my best to ease their situation. In this role with PitchBook Data, these same skills would be vital for me to find solutions or the right person to talk to if needed."

Whether due to a large amount of money lost on the market or a client feels they were ill-advised by an Advisor, your job as a Client Services Representative will at some point or another deal with a very angry client. For this answer, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you do what is necessary to stay calm and stay focused on finding a resolution. If possible, use a specific example of a time you had to do exactly this and explain how effective communication was critical in making the situation right for the client.

"First and foremost, an active listening approach is the first step to lowering the tension from an angry customer. A couple of months ago, we had a very angry customer come onsite to complain about a defective product that cut his hand pretty badly. The customer came onsite to complain even before receiving emergency care, which was apparent that he needed. First, I let him release his anger and it was not a pretty sight. Then I calmly repeated back what he had said and then explained what our policy allowed me to do at that time. Looking back, my sincere approach and calm demeanor helped calm him down and later that day, my manager had a formal complaint sent to the manufacturer and we were assured that they'd be in contact with the customer."

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 PitchBook Data 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."

List the top 3 skills that you have acquired in your last role.

"In the past few years I was able to upgrade my education while still working full time. The biggest skill that I gained was my ability to multi-task as I worked the dual role of employee and student. I also have strong skills in a variety of Microsoft programs such as PowerPoint and Excel."

You have likely gained many valuable skills in your career. Share with the interviewer which skills you value the most. Be sure to include skills that will potentially benefit this potential new employer.

"There are many skills I gained in my most recent position as I had a great training program and my boss was a strong mentor. If I had to choose three top skills I would say that the biggest ones were effective multitasking, solid closing skills, and cold calling abilities."

What unique values can you bring to PitchBook Data in your user experience design skills?

"I have really taken pride in my ability to add value to the business needs of the customers that I work with. During any design project, I take the time to work with end users to find their wants and needs out of the program. Then, as I create the UX design, I keep their needs at the forefront and do anything possible to exceed their expectations."

While your interviewer has shown confidence in your technical abilities to succeed at PitchBook Data as a UX designer, this question is helping them gain insight into your ability to see the big picture in the work that you do. As you think about the unique personal values that you would bring to the role, try and paint a picture of your work tying to the end user and how you can help make it more productive, enjoyable and satisfying for them.

"As you can see from my resume, I have formal training and experience in user experience research and I know that this would benefit the work that I would be doing here at PitchBook Data if hired for this position. I pursued this additional training in my career because of my passion for the customer journey in the programs that I design."

Our customers rely on our services outside of normal business hours. Are you able to work a flexible schedule if hired for this position?

"I am able to work a pretty flexible work schedule and have been used to doing this in my current role for the past six years. If I understand the expected hours for this position correctly, it sounds like the standard hours will be 8:00am to 5:00pm on most days with a rotating schedule to help cover evening hours up until 8:00pm and some rotating Saturday coverage as well. Is this correct?"

Because financial clients can be in need outside of the standard 9-5 business hours, this position with PitchBook Data may require the need for you to be flexible with your schedule to accommodate the business needs of the position. Prior to applying for the position, PitchBook Data should have posted the expected hours for position for you to have an idea of what will be expected. When answering this question, it is best to be open and honest about what particular needs that you have for expected work hours. As well, it is acceptable to ask follow up questions regarding the work schedule if you need further clarification.

"Having worked a flexible schedule that included early morning hours and hours into the evening, I am very open to a flexible schedule for this position. The only clarification I would need is how a schedule is determined and when I would find out about upcoming schedules if hired for this position. We do have a young child that we would need to plan daycare schedules for and so my spouse and I could coordinate pick ups and drop offs from daycare. Can you shed light on how scheduling works for this position?"

If hired for this role at PitchBook Data, 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 PitchBook Data, 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 PitchBook Data, 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."

What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

"I feel that a successful manager should be patient, strive to be a mentor, and be willing to receive constructive feedback from their team. As a manager, I want to have a team that trusts me and comes to me for professional development and coaching."

Some great qualities of a manager are:- Being someone who people naturally want to follow - Exceptional interpersonal skills - Strong relationship building skills - Taking ownership for the team's errors and mistakes - Excelling at motivating others - Providing kudos/recognition to your team - Knowing how to select and hire the right people to join the team - Having a vision for the futureThese are just a few to get started!

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."

This position at PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data. What sets me apart from my competition is my drive to succeed in this industry and I'd love to bring that drive to PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data, 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 you were having an interaction with a client here at PitchBook Data and you weren't able to answer their question or solve their problem on your own, how would you handle that situation?

"In my current role in Customer Service with Metropolis' largest automotive dealership, I frequently get asked questions that our sales, finance and service staff have to give the final stamp of approval on in answering customers questions. In these situations, I have a great amount of knowledge where I can prepare the customer for speaking with the right person while also ensuring them that the sales, finance or service staff will provide the final answer. Then, I work quickly to get them to the right person."

As the forward facing client services representative with PitchBook Data, you may be asked serious financial or market related questions that either don't know or aren't qualified to answer. In those situations, you will be expected to explain to the customer how that question will be answered and then deliver a timeline on when it can be answered. In the end, the customer wants to know the clear path to ease their mind and it will be your job to do just that.

"In a situation where I didn't know an answer, I would ensure the client that we have the right staff in place that would be able to help them quickly and efficiently. I would communicate to the customer what the next step would be and if that would be me putting them directly in contact with someone or me taking their contact information and having someone get back to them. In the end, setting the right course and timeline would be important for every customer when I faced this situation."

At PitchBook Data, 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 PitchBook Data, 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 PitchBook Data, you'll quickly find that dedicated customer service is one of top qualities that I will bring to you team."

What tools do you currently use to help you be a more efficient and effective Business Analyst?

"Being very computer proficient, I consider myself an expert on the Microsoft products like Excel, PowePoint, Access and Outlook to help perform my job effectively. As well, I have very good knowledge of SQL databases as well. If hired here at PitchBook Data, are there any standard software products that I would be required to work on and learn?"

While the tools that Business Analyst use can vary greatly between industries and even companies, your interviewer is looking to get the sense that you are a resourceful employee that has a good working knowledge of many different types of software programs. While being honest in your answer, try to show diversity in your answer by talking about data specific software, word processing software, presentation software and any other programs that you see fit for this role with PitchBook Data.

"In recent years, my department has started using Tableau and it has been amazing with its ability to visualize data for our internal and external customers. I've had many hours of training within the program that was tuned for business analytics and I can't say enough good things about the program. On top of Tableau, I also use Microsoft Excel and Crystal Reports on a regular basis."

Why would our clients here at PitchBook Data want you to be their financial advisor?

"Looking back on my career to this point, I can say with confidence that my success, and the success of my clients, has been due to my ability to build trusting relationships. My path for building a trusting relationship consists of education, communication and action. I educate each client on a personal level, I set expectations for them and deliver on what I say I'm going to do. If hired for this position here at PitchBook Data, you'll be hiring a Financial Advisor that will be great at bringing aboard new clients as I have many current clients that I am confident will follow me here."

As a professional in financial advising, you know that relationships are built on trust and integrity and for the business at PitchBook Data, this is equally important. For your answer, your interviewer will be looking how to hear how you build trust with your clients to ensure that they are customers for life. In your answer, make sure that trust and integrity are common themes as you discuss how you work with each client's individual needs to build their portfolio.

"Like in any financial advising relationship, confidentiality and integrity are of utmost importance to clients and these are pieces of the relationships with my clients that I hold in the highest regard. My clients know that I can be trusted to safeguard their personal information and use the best resources possible to help make the best decisions for them based on their personal information and situation. I pride myself on the fact that my clients trust me with their personal information and your clients will have this trust in me as well if I'm hired for this position."

As a Business Analyst at PitchBook Data, you will be tasked with working with diverse teams of stakeholders on different projects. How do you handle stakeholders that are difficult and bullheaded?

"Honestly, one of the things that I love the most about being a Business Analyst is the mix of people that I get to work with and if I took an honest look back over time, I'd say that every team that I was a part of had at least one difficult person to work with. In those situations, I rely on an empathetic approach that really tries to narrow down what makes that person tick on the job. With that knowledge in hand, I can then touch them in a relatable manner and even provide them with work that suits their needs the best."

Leading a project team will put you in front of many differing personalities and you need to have the ability to work with every type of personality to be successful in this role at PitchBook Data. While your interviewer may not be telling you that you will work with a difficult person because they know of a few, they're more looking to see how you utilize your communication and problem solving skills to make the situation better for everyone. As you answer this question, feel free to use an example from the past that highlights how you used your interpersonal skills to work effectively with a difficult person on a project team.

"Just recently, an executive with my company was the final decision maker and stakeholder on a sales project and she had some very unrealistic expectations for the project from the start and she wasn't afraid to let me know. To best handle this situation, I listened to all of her thoughts on the project and asked a lot of follow up questions to get her sense of the project. After that, I asked for a couple of days to rework some design of the project. When we had our follow up meeting, I educated her on a few legal aspects of the project that wouldn't fit into her mold. She thanked me for the insight and we were off on the right path from there."

At PitchBook Data, 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 PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data. 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."

At PitchBook Data, we pride ourselves on providing the best overall customer experience. Talk about your customer service experience and explain why it will help our clients here.

"Over the past five years in my current role in customer service, my number one mantra has been to create the most personalized experience possibl for each person. I have done this by taking the time to get to know the customer, find out what their needs are and creating an experience unique to them. Where my time in automotive sales has really prepared for this role with PitchBook Data is in this approach. If hired for this role, I know that I will be relied upon to use open and honest communication skills, time management skills and to take a empathetic and personalized approach with each client and I can definitely be relied upon to do that."

In the financial services industry, overall client experience is a major predictor of business growth and the team at PitchBook Data takes the overall client experience seriously. For this question, your interviewer will be looking for you to expand upon your customer service experience past what they can see from your resume. To seal the deal for your interview, try to talk about times that you have went above and beyond the call of duty to provide the best service possible for a customer.

"In my years in a front facing customer service role, I've prided myself on being the face of the franchise. More often than not, my interactions with customers can be the difference between a repeat customer and a person who never comes back again. To ensure repeat customers, I make sure that I am knowledgeable about our products and services, I'm proactive with their needs and I'm always accountable for any mistakes that are made on my organization's side of things. If given the opportunity to join the team here at PitchBook Data, I will work hard to be highly educated in your services and be proactive and accountable in every interaction that I have."

We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at PitchBook Data. 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 PitchBook Data. 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 PitchBook Data. Prior to your interviewer, try to research the job and PitchBook Data to the point where you can match your career goals with they PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data is vitally important to you.

"A career in risk analysis has been a dream for some time and this opportunity with PitchBook Data 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 PitchBook Data would go from there."

In this role with PitchBook Data, we will rely on your analytical reporting skills on a regular basis. Why do you feel analytical reporting is important in the financial field?

"As a Business Analyst, I've always viewed data as a tool to help make the right business decisions and my analytical reporting requires thoroughness in my data reporting. Here at PitchBook Data, you can easily make decisions based off of hunches or gut feelings. But I have a feeling that the more data gathered to help make the decision, the better the decision ends up being in the end."

Because the financial field is heavily reliant on numbers and data, analytical reporting can be a great tool to help key stakeholders make key decisions that have a positive impact on the business. In your answer to this question, point out the fact that you know the impact that data can have in the financial field and also talk about the types of analytical reporting you have done in the past that can be useful to the team at PitchBook Data. Also, feel free to ask any follow up questions on the expectation for this position.

PitchBook Data Interview Questions

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1. Give an example of a time that you used a universal design practice in your work as a UI or UX designer. Why was it important to do this?
2. PitchBook Data 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?
3. 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?
4. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with PitchBook Data?
5. Our clients here at PitchBook Data expect top-tier service and products and we will expect you to do just that in this role. Have you ever went the extra mile for a client when it wasn't expected? Why did you do so?
6. 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?
7. We want our advising team at PitchBook Data to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?
8. How do you stay on top of new trends in the financial services industry?
9. The clients of a financial firm like PitchBook Data can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?
10. Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?
11. 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?
12. List the top 3 skills that you have acquired in your last role.
13. What unique values can you bring to PitchBook Data in your user experience design skills?
14. Our customers rely on our services outside of normal business hours. Are you able to work a flexible schedule if hired for this position?
15. If hired for this role at PitchBook Data, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?
16. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?
17. Take a couple of minutes to sell this notepad to me.
18. This position at PitchBook Data 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?
19. If you were having an interaction with a client here at PitchBook Data and you weren't able to answer their question or solve their problem on your own, how would you handle that situation?
20. At PitchBook Data, 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?
21. What tools do you currently use to help you be a more efficient and effective Business Analyst?
22. Why would our clients here at PitchBook Data want you to be their financial advisor?
23. As a Business Analyst at PitchBook Data, you will be tasked with working with diverse teams of stakeholders on different projects. How do you handle stakeholders that are difficult and bullheaded?
24. At PitchBook Data, 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?
25. At PitchBook Data, we pride ourselves on providing the best overall customer experience. Talk about your customer service experience and explain why it will help our clients here.
26. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at PitchBook Data. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?
27. In this role with PitchBook Data, we will rely on your analytical reporting skills on a regular basis. Why do you feel analytical reporting is important in the financial field?

PitchBook Data Interview Questions

1. Give an example of a time that you used a universal design practice in your work as a UI or UX designer. Why was it important to do this?

2. PitchBook Data 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?

3. 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?

4. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with PitchBook Data?

5. Our clients here at PitchBook Data expect top-tier service and products and we will expect you to do just that in this role. Have you ever went the extra mile for a client when it wasn't expected? Why did you do so?

6. 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?

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

8. How do you stay on top of new trends in the financial services industry?

9. The clients of a financial firm like PitchBook Data can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

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

11. 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?

12. List the top 3 skills that you have acquired in your last role.

13. What unique values can you bring to PitchBook Data in your user experience design skills?

14. Our customers rely on our services outside of normal business hours. Are you able to work a flexible schedule if hired for this position?

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

16. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

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

18. This position at PitchBook Data 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?

19. If you were having an interaction with a client here at PitchBook Data and you weren't able to answer their question or solve their problem on your own, how would you handle that situation?

20. At PitchBook Data, 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?

21. What tools do you currently use to help you be a more efficient and effective Business Analyst?

22. Why would our clients here at PitchBook Data want you to be their financial advisor?

23. As a Business Analyst at PitchBook Data, you will be tasked with working with diverse teams of stakeholders on different projects. How do you handle stakeholders that are difficult and bullheaded?

24. At PitchBook Data, 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?

25. At PitchBook Data, we pride ourselves on providing the best overall customer experience. Talk about your customer service experience and explain why it will help our clients here.

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

27. In this role with PitchBook Data, we will rely on your analytical reporting skills on a regular basis. Why do you feel analytical reporting is important in the financial field?