What statistical analysis tools and financial software do you have experience working with?
Various financial software, particularly software geared towards financial analysis, is prevalent in the industry. The interviewers are less concerned with your experience with the program Prudential Financial uses than your experience in any of the systems available. Showcase that you are ready and willing to take on the challenge of learning something new. Reiterate how you have the ability and the desire to learn new skills as a career-driven professional.
"Having been in the field for over 15 years, l consider myself fluent in both the Sisense and KISSmetrics programs. I also have a good amount of experience in Crystal Reports. In my current role, most of my analysis is handled in SAS, and I've grown to appreciate the program's ability to manage large data sets and create predictive modeling in the financial field. In a past job, I gained experience in SPSS and the SQL programming language to build robust databases. Of course, I have received expert-level training in Microsoft Excel and consider myself a master of the program."
"Over the past ten years, I have extensive experience working on Windham Portfolio Advisor and a program called LogicGate. Windham is a program used by my colleagues who are building client portfolios, and I work on the risk management pieces with each advisor. LogicGate is a program I completed an RFP to bring to my department, and it has helped us immensely. As a computer junkie, I have a wide array of experience with many types of financial and risk analysis software. I'm a big fan of the MATLAB program because of its ability to build my algorithms and customize the data analysis within the program. That has significantly impacted my firm in my current role. With my firm recently moving to an Oracle platform, I've become very familiar with Oracle Crystal Ball over the last two years and really like its ability to visualize forecasts. I consider myself to have a very high technical acumen surrounding new software. Right now, what programs are your Risk Analysts using?"
In your answer, show diversity within programs like SAS and SPSS while explaining that you are proficient in Microsoft Excel. Beyond the programs, talk about your experience with programming and database languages like SQL and Python.
