What would you do in this role with S&P Global if you could not get in touch with a debtor that owes money?

"If hired for this role, I fully realize that it will be a common occurrence to fail to make contact with a debtor. In my past roles, I have found that people with significant debt often change phone numbers and make efforts to avoid important mail. I would always follow company policy in my attempts to make contact through formal letters and phone calls. If necessary, I would scour public records for current address and contact information for the debtor."

This question gives your interviewer the opportunity to see how you will handle a very real situation in the role that you are interviewing for and gives them a chance to test your ethics and legal understanding of the FDCPA. In your answer, be sure to reiterate that you are able to stay levelheaded in your approach while also having the ability to think outside the box and be creative in every effort to find a solution.

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 S&P Global.

"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."

"When I was working in San Antonio, I received a call from the airforce base, which was close to the office. They were having some trouble, they didn't specify what. I assumed they probably had an old system and took with me the tools I thought appropriate. I was wrong, their system was super old and strange. I had never seen anything like it before. And what had stopped working were their barriers. Since the control panel was sitting in the middle of a field in the sun and it was a hot tough day. I talked to the guy in charge and was honest with him. Just told him I needed to research their system and that I needed to go back to the office and come back the next day. He was ok with this. I went back to the office and stayed there until I had learned how to work it out. Didn't get much sleep that night, but I was able to get the barriers back up and running the next day."

What statistical models are you familiar with and which do you feel would best apply to the financial field here at S&P Global?

"As a data nerd, I love the realm of statistics and I am very familiar with all of the unique statistical models and how to best apply them to different situations. I've applied linear regression when predicting the outcome based on two historically known data points. I've also applied multivariate models when looking at the distribution of multiple data points. Having dabbled a bit in the market myself and now looking to bring my quantitative analysis skills to the financial field, I am very familiar with the Gaussian model for predicting market changes and would love to bring the knowledge that I have of this model to your team here at S&P Global."

Financial Engineers and Quantitative Analysts are relied upon in the financial industry to utilize complex algorithms and math to predict the trading market's immediate future. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to get the sense that you have the skills to apply statistical model in finance by having you talk about the models that are familiar with and have worked with in the past. While being honest about your experiences, be sure to point out that you are aware that some apply more to finance and the market to set yourself apart during this question.

"As you can see from my prior experience in data engineering and financial analysis, I have extensive experience in time series modelling that utilized both univariate and multivariate models. Multivariate time series modelling has proven to be very effective when looking at and predicting the S&P 500 performance and I think my skills in this arena would greatly benefit your team."

"Econometric analysis is an integral part of my economic formation during my master's degree. So I am quite familiar with several methods of statistical analysis. I think the most appropriate ones for S&P will be all the ones that have to do with time series analysis. After all, a company's valuation is exactly that, a time series. And actually, my master's thesis is a time series analysis of a multivariate model. I am familiar with the need to make sure that your data complies with several properties like stationarity and cointegration."

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."

"I have never come across a company in this situation. However, I have read about this phenomenon and I was able to immediately imagine a situation where just positive cash flow isn't enough to conclude sound financials in a company. The most common answer I've found is of course when accounts payable keeps growing. The company is going through its operations while its debt keeps growing. However, what if the cash flow comes from issuing more and more stock, or more bonds or options. That just can't be sustainable."

How can S&P Global motivate you on the job?

"I am best motivated through words of praise and recognition for a job well done. I do like to know that my efforts are noticed. In my current position, we have a leaderboard, and I do like that concept because it creates a healthy bit of personal competition for me as well."

Every employer should know how each of their employees is best motivated. Talk to the interviewer about the variety of ways in which you are best motivated on the job.

"I am a natural salesperson, so the best way to motivate me is through performance incentives. In my current position, I have been in the president's club for the past three consecutive years. I am highly motivated by the vacation that I am awarded annually."

If hired for this role at S&P Global, 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 S&P Global, 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 S&P Global, 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."

"I am a person that needs to be constantly presented with challenges and I need to feel that I am learning new things as I show up for work every day. This is part of the reason I decided to leave my previous job, I felt I was stuck in a role that lacked dynamism. So I finally decided to quit and pursue a new and challenging path. Furthermore, if I can see that my work is relevant to a larger than myself goal I am guaranteed to deliver excellence in any task assigned to me."

At S&P Global, we expect our Business Analysts to put extra emphasis into the risk management aspects of their project work. How have you performed risk mitigation and risk avoidance in your previous roles as a Business Analyst?

"As you can see from my resume, my Business Analyst experiences come from the software and manufacturing industries where common risks were associated with systematic and operational faults. Similar to the finance industry, I also have experience in helping mitigate legal risk. In my current role, I mitigate legal risk by working with a team of legal experts to know the laws and then develop a series of what-if questions to propose potential scenarios. Based on the what-if scenarios, we can implement specific requirements into the project to help minimize potential risk."

The financial field is often posed with great risks and Business Analysts must always factor potential risks into the equation of any project that they work on. To get a better idea of how you will do this if hired at S&P Global, your interview is giving you a chance to talk about your knowledge of risk and how you have worked with risk mitigation and risk avoidance in your previous positions. If new to the financial services field, it is important to show that you know that common risks can be systematic, operational, legal and credit related.

"From an early point in my career as a Business Analyst, I learned that a solid analysis process is the key to reducing any risk in a project. Two areas that apply the most are scope creep and impact analysis. To reduce scope creep and avoid any risks associate with it, I ensure that all stakeholders understand the scope of the project from the start and that I check in to validate the requirements as frequently as I can."

"The previous industry that I was working on was a little different from the financial industry. I am eager to learn new ways to deal with new kinds of risks like systematic or credit risks. However, most of the risk I was dealing with was an operational risk. I believe that the best way to mitigate this is excellent communication of the entire team. Make sure everybody knows what the scope of the project that we are working on is and that each team member understands his or her role. And of course, it is very important to be checking in to validate this is true throughout the job."

This position at S&P Global 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 S&P Global. What sets me apart from my competition is my drive to succeed in this industry and I'd love to bring that drive to S&P Global 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 S&P Global, 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."

"I don't doubt it. A position like this is extremely appealing to anybody even remotely interested in the financial world. I have several skills that I know would prove to be excellent assets to S&P. My strong need to be constantly challenged and constantly learning are some examples of this, and I know there will be more than enough of both of those in this position. But the one thing that I believe really sets me apart is motivation. I am sure that a man in your position knows that morale is a crucial part of any team at any company. A motivated employee will do wonders. I left a very stable well-paying job in the US to pursue a master's degree to learn how to use all my skills in the financial and economic markets. So, a position like this is exactly what I was looking for when I presented my notice over 2 years ago. I really am yearning to join S&P."

What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with S&P Global?

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

"There is more than one reason to be attracted to S&P global. Personally, the global reach of the company is extremely appealing. It guarantees a dynamism few other companies can offer. Second, I feel like at S&P I will be looking at contemporary data and problems that are very much relevant to current global financial and economic markets. Third, it feels like lately the financial markets and wall street type places, in general, are being a little bit frowned upon. I believe that with S&P some of that misunderstood reputation gets cleaned up. In a way, S&P restores the integrity of the financial world."

As a Business Analyst at S&P Global, 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 S&P Global. 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."

"Of course, wherever you go there will most likely be a difficult person to work with. Or, at least, someone you disagree with. It is part of the beauty of diversity. However, I have lived and worked in several different cities, including Monterrey, NYC, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Colorado, Ohio, Ecuador. This has given me exposure to people from all around the globe with a lot of different mindsets. Which has taught me to be versatile and a people person. In my experience, I have found that no matter who you are dealing with if you treat him with courtesy and respect and listen to what he or she has to say always puts people on your side and willing to come to an agreement and/or solution to whatever problem you are dealing with."

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."

"I strongly believe that any conflict can be solved with a professional and respectful conversation where each side listens to one another. Problems are solved by talking them out. One time, we were at a meeting where I was the youngest attendant. I had a slight disagreement with one of the contractors on a minor technical thing. He immediately started calling me out on being younger and straight up asked for my credentials and why I was there. I calmly responded and the meeting went on until it was over. After the meeting, I looked for that man and had a deep conversation. I told him that I understood that there was a disagreement but that I never meant to take anything personally. We were all professionals there and that his attitude of calling me a "kid" and questioning me in front of everybody was a little bit unprofessional. I apologized if he felt that I was rude in disagreeing with him and assured him that I meant no disrespect. However, I did tell him that I hope that was the last time he disrespected me in that manner and expected the same professionalism from his side. We never had a problem again after that."

Among the common issues that are faced by Data Analysts in their work, which one or two problems do you feel really challenge analysts in the financial industry?

"From my two years of experience as a Data Analyst in the financial industry, of course the common issues of overlapping data and duplicate entries did come up. But I've found the biggest issue to be the collection and implementation of real-time data to be the biggest hurdle. With markets continually changing on a daily basis, I've had to be diligent about updating reports for my advisors that I work closely with because what may be valid and real one day may be out of date the next."

While the challenges faced by general data analysts makes for a pretty long generalized list, this question is allowing your interviewer the chance to see your critical thinking skills by having you talk about which challenges you feel will be critical in the financial field. While there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer in this question, make sure that you are able to speak intelligently about your answer and provide ways with how you can meet the challenges in your work with S&P Global.

"Having some very close contacts that are already working in the financial field in data analysis, I understand that manual data tracking can be a pain point due solely to the time needed to complete. Being highly educated in automated processes and utilizing machine learning in other industries, I think the knowledge I could bring to the team here at S&P Global would really help advance your data analysis practices within my first six months on the job."

"One big problem with data is that it is never clean and ready to be analyzed. No matter what database you download you must make sure that all data makes sense, and nothing is amiss. In the financial industry, there is yet another level that amplifies this problem: the constant update of data. We are talking sometimes even minute to minute changes. Going through new data daily can be very time-consuming. An automated method to vouch for the data can be a difference-maker."

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 S&P Global 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."

"I have always thought that treating anybody with courtesy and respect makes for a healthy relationship. However, this one time that alone wasn't enough. I was working on a very large project where my job was to make screens through which the whole process was controlled. I was directly in contact with the client and had to make sure that everything he wanted was on those screens. However, I started noticing that he would say things in a meeting and change them a few weeks later claiming he had said this new thing from the very beginning. I noticed this because I got in trouble at one of the project's checkpoints. He showed up on the day of the check-up claiming he said he wanted something quite different. To this day I am not sure if he did it on purpose to get something for cheaper or if he did in fact forget that he never mentioned it. To solve it of course I just worked extra hours for free. But the real solution is that I started carefully taking meeting minutes and dedicating a considerable amount of time to document everything that was said after every meeting. However, this can't be used as a defense mechanism once the customer changes something. Instead, I started making sure everybody got a copy of what was said in a friendly manner. At first, I thought this might come up a little bit as a passive-aggressive move. But it turned out that it helped the entire team a lot. Everybody was on the same page from then on and we had a lot fewer problems of this nature moving forward."

How many boxes of macaroni n' cheese were eaten in the United States last year?

"In knowing that the population in the United States is around 325 million people, my biggest factors in determining my answer will be that children between the ages of two and ten consume 75% of the mac n' cheese each year and that the other 25% is consumed by ages ten and above. The other factor is that the kids eat one box per week and the ages over ten eat two per month. So, I'll determine that there are 80 millions children between two and ten and figure that they'll eat 4.2 billion boxes. Then I'll determine that there ere 240 million people over ten that eat two per month to get 5.7 billion boxes of mac n' cheese. When added together, I'd say the final answer is right around 10 billion boxes of man n' cheese are eaten in the US each year."

er Questions like this during your interview are meant to test your ability to deduce an answer from a very limited set of information and assumptions. You and your interviewer both know that it would be impossible for you to know or even calculate the correct answer, so your interviewer is solely looking for the factors that you use in extrapolating the answer that you give. In your answer, be as detailed as possible in why you are making the assumptions that you are when coming to a final answer.

"My estimate of this number would factor in the total US population over three years old, the people that eat macaroni n' cheese to be around 280 million people. Then, I'd factor that in the summer, each person eats one box per week and in other seasons they eat one per month. During the summer, the population would consume 3.4 billion boxes and during the other three seasons, they would consume 2.5 billion between all people. This would add up to right around 6 billion boxes eaten in the United States last year."

What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at S&P Global?

"Being comfortable in my skills and experiences as well qualified internal auditor, I am confident that my attention to detail is one trait that will set me apart from anyone else you are talking to about this position. I am a very organized person that keeps an orderly desk, email inbox and to do list. As well, I know that this position will require me to work with data that goes above and beyond the everyday life of your average auditor and my attention to the minute details will make me an asset to S&P Global."

This question is your opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitions as it gives you an open door to match a skill or trait that you have with the exact details for this position. Prior to the interview, be sure to read and research as much as possible on the job and S&P Global to find something unique about yourself that can help benefit the team. Whether you talk about a job skill or a personality trait that you possess that you feel sets you apart, be sure that you are able to talk about this confidently to your interviewer.

"If I was fortunate enough to join the team here at S&P Global, my ability to work independently and make decisions on my own from the start would be a huge asset. You'll find that I don't let outside influence or others influence decisions that I'll make as your auditor and I won't let my own personal judgments influence any of my decisions. As well, I am comfortable working with all levels of an organization, from the C-Suite to the day to day operations staff."

"Thinking back to the job description I saw and it caught my attention that the index manager will be supporting a very diversified team. Including the sales team, the marketing team, and client services. Not only that but I would be maintaining a direct relationship with the client. I know my previous experience has made this my specialty. These kinds of diversified teams were something I had to work with for years. I learn to achieve this coordination and balance by being very organized in my work, my agenda (meaning keeping records of meetings I attended), and my email inbox. This skill doesn't stop there. This organization will help in a duplicated kind of way because I am sure that it will be crucial to maintain organized files where the indices are calculated and updated."

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."

"Working in such dynamic and diverse environments and industries has given me several new skills that I had to polish. The three top ones are the ability to work with a deadline in sight, there was hardly ever any room for delays. The ability to recognize where a certain tool can be useful, sometimes there are tools developed for some other task that with a little twitch can be applied to another task. And, the most important one, organization skills focused on communication. It is hard to deal with different teams and different people and keep track of what is being said and to whom. And also, who hasn't heard something that should. Keeping good and effective documentation of this sort of thing is something that I learned the hard way and that I am really proud of."

Tell me about a time where you had to analyze information in order to make a recommendation.

"I worked for a financial firm last year and had a client who was looking for investment recommendations. I gathered data on the stocks they were interested in, sorting through trends and historical data to determine the most promising returns."

Talk about your attention to detail and sharp focus on data and statistics. If the job requires you to take an analytical approach to solving problems, think back on your experience to offer up an example. Give as much insight into your process to show you are capable of taking an analytical approach to problem-solving.

"As a financial service professional, I am always analyzing information before creating a path of recommendation for my clients. I am highly skilled when it comes to data analysis. My abilities stem from my statistics and analysis related courses while obtaining my Bachelor's degree in finance."

"When I was working in NY they had a system that was constantly gathering information about certain very crucial variables in the process. However, they were having problems that made the system less than perfectly efficient. The system would stop every once in a while, seemingly at random and it was necessary to start it back up, which is a waste of time. I suggested we install a temporary server to be able to look at the data. After a few weeks, I came back and gathered the data from that server and looked at it. While analyzing it and looking at graphs it became evident that the problem wasn't at all random. It seemed like especially when there were times of strong volatility in the data the system would fail. Looking at this I suggested they let me look at the communications programming. I indeed found that data was only being communicated when there was a change, ergo increased volatility increased comms flow, and that it wasn't being handled properly. This saturated the comms cards and everything failed. I reprogrammed all of this and I never heard of a problem with them again."

At S&P Global, 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 S&P Global 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."

"Tight deadlines were an everyday thing in my previous job. I particularly remember one occasion where a software acceptance test was coming close. My task was to develop screens through which the whole process is controlled. Suddenly the date for the acceptance test was moved 3 weeks. I realized that put me in a very delicate position. Since I was in San Antonio and the acceptance test was going to take place at a fellow contractor's site in Houston, I kindly contacted them and ask if I could be allowed to work directly on their servers because that would save the time of moving the developed files later. Furthermore, I asked my boss to assign another developer to my team and to let me take him with me to Houston. Even more, when we finally got there the next day I noticed that the conditions weren't very comfortable. There was no way my team could meet those deadlines without proper equipment. So, I headed to Home Depot and purchased some tables, chairs, and even computer screens to make sure my team was working at its top capacity. I also provided them with breakfast and lunch daily (expensive ones too) to keep them going strong. Fortunately, my boss agreed to reimburse all these expenses once the deadline was successfully met."

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 S&P Global, 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 S&P Global.

"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."

"Being both an economist and an engineer I consider I have a wide variety of tools available. Beginning with my understanding of pseudocode, helps me take advantage of deeper tools within certain environments. Like excel VBA. However, I can also complement this with python tools that can manage the database more efficiently and then write it back to an excel readable file. Lastly, one of the tools that have helped me in almost every chapter of my life has been the correct use of regular expressions. My economic background provides further complementing mathematical and econometrical tools that allow me to be able to understand and design even more complex algorithms. Since I can take advantage of statistical and probabilistic concepts as well."

What are some common excuses that you think you will face from debtors in this role and how to you think you would handle them?

"In my current role, I have heard the common excuses like the check is in the mail. In those instances, I make a direct plan with the debtor and then make sure to schedule any follow up for myself if needed. Sometimes, the debtor is telling the truth and we receive payment soon. But if we don't, I promptly follow up with them. I have received some odd excuses as well. A couple of months ago, a debtor claimed that he was just too busy to pay his bills. I was very professional in my direct approach in letting him know that if he had time to talk to me on the phone, he had time to pay his amount owed. He paid his amount owed over the phone that moment."

This question gives you the opportunity to show your familiarity with how consumers typically react to debt collection attempts. If you have direct experience dealing with any of the common excuses that debtors tend to use, talk about how you handle them. If you don't have direct prior experience in a collections role, be sure to research common excuses like a debtor claiming they haven't received any notice of debt and talk about how you would handle those situations. In your answer to how you would handle each excuse, be sure to explain how you will provide great customer service while making every effort to collect in a timely fashion.

"I understand that coming into this role with S&P Global, I will be working with clients that just don't have the funds available to make full payment at the time of contact. In those situations, I would expect that I would have the freedom to work out a payment plan with those clients that satisfies the needs of S&P Global while also giving the client the best results as well."

At S&P Global, we are building a massive machine learning program and your role as a Data Scientist will be an integral part of that project. What experiences will you bring to that side of this job?

"Over the course of the last two years, I've been working on a machine learning tool that monitors online pricing from thousands of different retailers. The tool analyzes thousands of data sources simultaneously and pulls the information into a real time database. My job was in the build of the program and the database while working with other colleagues that built out the sourcing for the websites we would pull data from. I think this experience would fit nicely with your team looking to extract real time market data and trading data on a minute to minute basis."

In the financial services field, machine learning is being used to automate processes, provide information security, create algorithms for trading and to assist in credit scoring. S&P Global is looking to stay at the forefront of their field and this role as a Data Scientist will play a huge part in making this a reality. Talk about any experience that you have in working with data to create a robust machine learning tool. What was your role in the project and what can you bring to the team at S&P Global?

"May experience in AI and machine learning as a Data Scientist has been in paperwork automation and cybersecurity. I recently helped my organization tweak our system to isolate cyber threats and the new tweaks are working perfectly. As well, I've helped my organization save thousands of labor hours by creating a program to review contract information from vendors. If hired for this role here at S&P Global, know that I remain open to learning new techniques in machine learning to help your organization grow and prosper into the future."

"My experience with Machine learning is mostly academic. I see this tool as an excellent opportunity to automate processes. Building tools that effectively save time and man-hours to the company has been my specialty in my previous professional experience. So, If hired for this role I would be intensely yearning to learn more about it and put it to good use. After all, learning to do new and exciting things like this one to stay ahead of the game is what I am looking for."

In your experience as a Financial Analyst, what do you feel is the best metric to gauge a company's future stock performance?

"While there are many excellent metrics to consider for the future of a stock performance, the one that I weigh the most heavily is the price earnings to growth ratio. I prefer the PEG ratio because of its consideration of expected growth rate where simple P/E calculation doesn't consider that. This calculation is specifically great when looking at a wide array of companies within an industry to level their playing field."

As a Financial Analyst with S&P Global, you will be relied upon by clients to provide the best risk and reward opportunities for them to have the most successful investments While there are many great metrics to use and no right answer for this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you are confident in why the metric is important by talking about the details of it. The confidence that you project to your interviewer will carry over to your work with clients and your interviewer will be keying in on this aspect of you answer.

"Being familiar with metrics like free cash flow, payout ratio, debt-to-equity and price-to-sales, all can be very useful depending on the situation. In a recent economic downturn like we've had recently, I've relied heavily on the debt-to-equity measurement to measure future performance. As we've seen with many large retailers recently, a simple look into their debt would've shown the potential for disaster in their stock."

"Of course, there is no single metric or ratio that can be relied solely upon. However, having to choose, I would go with solvency ratios. Specifically, the debt-to-equity ratio. Whatever the current problems of a company, these may be fixed with time. This metric tells you if the company really has time. Who knows what will happen to the company in ten years' time. But there is a better chance that those problems will be solved if the company still exists then."

At S&P Global, 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 S&P Global, 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 S&P Global, you'll quickly find that dedicated customer service is one of top qualities that I will bring to you team."

"To me, customer service is the single most important aspect of almost any job. The way I see it I have the job thanks to her. So, what this means is that I must listen with attention and make sure she feels that I am putting all my energy and attention into implementing her needs and desires. And, in the end, listening and putting my skills to her service is both challenging and satisfying. I know there will be no better feeling than to help the client achieve her financial goals and leave her with a feeling of pure satisfaction."

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

"A career in risk analysis has been a dream for some time and this opportunity with S&P Global 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 S&P Global would go from there."

"I've come to a point in my life where I am finally looking to settle down. I have lived in different places and met a lot of different people. In this timeframe, I am looking to get married and start a family so what I need are two things. The first is stability. S&P has proven to be an excellent company in this aspect, even though the recent crisis the company's reports hardly broke a sweat. The second is happiness. I believe S&P is the right place to do this because working in a job like this is the reason I left my previous career in the first place. So, I'll be happy and stable on the job which can only help in raising my family. If I were to settle down on a job I disliked the frustration and anger would absolutely overlap with my household, and that is a big no-no for my career goals."

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."

"There is only one way to stay up to date on anything: reading. I love to read and I like to spend time every week to find worthy articles and read them. They can be academic or news sources. However, in the past 2 years, I haven't had access to all platforms. Most of the time they aren't free and the price of many of them can add up quickly, especially to a student. Nevertheless, I can only imagine the sources of information that I will have access to as an employee at S&P. I am really looking forward to that kind of information."

In working with financial data here at S&P Global, what are the steps you would take in the data validation process as part of your work?

"With any large analysis project and performing data validation, my first step is to create a detailed plan for the data needed. This plan will define the required data to be validated and set the way for the remaining steps. The next steps are to validate the information in the database and then the formatting of the data. Finally, prior to validating the data, sampling needs to be done to ensure that a small sample meets the requirements of the project. Being very proficient with many validation programs, I consider myself very proficient in both QuerySurge and Datameer but remain open to learning any new programs here at S&P Global."

Your job as a detailed and proficient Data Analyst requires you to take proper steps in the data validation process to ensure that data used is accurate and clean. Bad data in the financial industry can have a costly impact and your job will be to ensure that doesn't happen. For your answer to this question, discuss the importance and your method for both data screening and data verification as part of the validation process. Also, be sure to talk about any programs that you utilize during the validation process.

"Here at S&P Global, your Financial Advisors rely on the most accurate and up to date data to present to clients and I would take great pride in my job as a Data Analyst to provide the best data possible. To validate data, the two important steps I would take are data screening and data verification. I am very confident in my ability to work with algorithms that screens large sets of data for their accuracy. On top of that, I have worked with a few of the different data verification programs like Experian and Sage Intacct."

"Well, in my previous job I would find a way to visualize most of the data. Usually graphing was the easiest solution and most of the time it is easy to see an outlier data entry. However, during my master's I immediately noticed that financial data is a lot more volatile and this is not always enough. Obviously, software that works with SQL automatically checks the data to make sure it complies with the rules assigned to it. Inspired by this I have experience designing algorithms that make sure every entry in a column or variable complies with certain rules as necessary. I also like to, when possible of course, get the data from a second source and compare it. Either using aggregate measures like average, standard deviation, etc. Or with a designed algorithm."

Are you familiar with vouching and how it is used during auditing processes?

"As an internal auditor, vouching is a process that accurately verifies that information is correct. During my time auditing large manufacturers, the vouching that I did entailed recovering and verifying items like invoices and purchase receipts and we'd use vouching for very large items that impacted an organization's bottom line."

At the heart of this question, your interviewer is looking to take a small peek inside your technical knowledge of the auditing process. Your answer can be pretty simple and straightforward by explaining what a voucher is and, if possible, talking about times that you have used it in auditing processes in the past.

"Because accounting processes are prone to human error in data entry, vouching is a way to ensure accuracy. In essence, vouching is certifying that data entered in an accounting book is accurate by crosschecking the information with actual statements, receipts and debit notes. I've conducting vouching during audits in the retail industry and these were required to be very thorough processes with large retailers receiving shipments of product from many different sources."

"Vouching. That is not a term I use too much but I am familiar with it, yes. It means when you verify some of the data. Obviously, it is pointless and impossible to check a database row by row but spot-checking against a second source can sometimes be very useful."

S&P Global Interview Questions

Go Back

1. What would you do in this role with S&P Global if you could not get in touch with a debtor that owes money?
2. 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?
3. What statistical models are you familiar with and which do you feel would best apply to the financial field here at S&P Global?
4. Have you ever run into a situation where a company had a positive cash flow but was still in critical financial trouble?
5. How can S&P Global motivate you on the job?
6. If hired for this role at S&P Global, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?
7. At S&P Global, we expect our Business Analysts to put extra emphasis into the risk management aspects of their project work. How have you performed risk mitigation and risk avoidance in your previous roles as a Business Analyst?
8. This position at S&P Global 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?
9. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with S&P Global?
10. As a Business Analyst at S&P Global, you will be tasked with working with diverse teams of stakeholders on different projects. How do you handle stakeholders that are difficult and bullheaded?
11. Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?
12. Among the common issues that are faced by Data Analysts in their work, which one or two problems do you feel really challenge analysts in the financial industry?
13. 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?
14. How many boxes of macaroni n' cheese were eaten in the United States last year?
15. What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at S&P Global?
16. List the top 3 skills that you have acquired in your last role.
17. Tell me about a time where you had to analyze information in order to make a recommendation.
18. At S&P Global, 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?
19. What tools do you currently use to help you be a more efficient and effective Business Analyst?
20. What are some common excuses that you think you will face from debtors in this role and how to you think you would handle them?
21. At S&P Global, we are building a massive machine learning program and your role as a Data Scientist will be an integral part of that project. What experiences will you bring to that side of this job?
22. In your experience as a Financial Analyst, what do you feel is the best metric to gauge a company's future stock performance?
23. At S&P Global, 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?
24. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at S&P Global. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?
25. How do you stay on top of new trends in the financial services industry?
26. In working with financial data here at S&P Global, what are the steps you would take in the data validation process as part of your work?
27. Are you familiar with vouching and how it is used during auditing processes?

S&P Global Interview Questions

1. What would you do in this role with S&P Global if you could not get in touch with a debtor that owes money?

2. 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?

3. What statistical models are you familiar with and which do you feel would best apply to the financial field here at S&P Global?

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

5. How can S&P Global motivate you on the job?

6. If hired for this role at S&P Global, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?

7. At S&P Global, we expect our Business Analysts to put extra emphasis into the risk management aspects of their project work. How have you performed risk mitigation and risk avoidance in your previous roles as a Business Analyst?

8. This position at S&P Global 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?

9. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with S&P Global?

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

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

12. Among the common issues that are faced by Data Analysts in their work, which one or two problems do you feel really challenge analysts in the financial industry?

13. 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?

14. How many boxes of macaroni n' cheese were eaten in the United States last year?

15. What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at S&P Global?

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

17. Tell me about a time where you had to analyze information in order to make a recommendation.

18. At S&P Global, 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?

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

20. What are some common excuses that you think you will face from debtors in this role and how to you think you would handle them?

21. At S&P Global, we are building a massive machine learning program and your role as a Data Scientist will be an integral part of that project. What experiences will you bring to that side of this job?

22. In your experience as a Financial Analyst, what do you feel is the best metric to gauge a company's future stock performance?

23. At S&P Global, 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?

24. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at S&P Global. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?

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

26. In working with financial data here at S&P Global, what are the steps you would take in the data validation process as part of your work?

27. Are you familiar with vouching and how it is used during auditing processes?