The clients of a financial firm like The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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."

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."

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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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."

At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, I will work hard to be highly educated in your services and be proactive and accountable in every interaction that I have."

Why would our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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."

If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, how would you help make sound investment decisions for our clients?

"In my current role, we have a great team that considers many factors in our investment decisions for our clients. Our engineers have developed mathematical models that gauge the markets and their propensity to shift over time. We have a team of market experts that rely on the new and current times to predict future fluctuations. As the Portfolio Managers, we weigh information from all of these teams to make decisions moving forward and this allows for the greatest confidence in our overall decisions."

While certainly an open ended question for you to run with, your interviewer is really looking to get a sense that you are resourceful in your decision making processes and that you don't rely too heavy on quantitative or qualitative information to make decisions. In your answer, talk about the sound use of data while also relying on your experience and judgement to help in your decision making processes. As well, if you are open and experienced in a team based approach among fellow colleagues, talk about that as well.

"While all of our decisions for our clients are based on assumptions, my experience has taught me to weigh in many different factors when making investment decisions. Looking at historical data to predict futures carries some weight and can be accurate at times, but having firsthand knowledge of different businesses and industries like I do helps put that historical data into perspective when trying to predict the future. If hired for this position at The Islamic Development Bank Group, I'll have that ability to make the best decisions possible for your clients."

This position at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group. What sets me apart from my competition is my drive to succeed in this industry and I'd love to bring that drive to The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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."

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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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, The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?"

At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group. 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."

In your work as a Portfolio Administrator, what kind events cause you the most stress on the job?

"While overall market volatility does stress out a lot of Portfolio Administrators, I have a very good way of explaining this volatility to my clients to the point where it doesn't stress me out. For me, any stress that I feel is usually put on me by myself in having very high expectations for my work with clients. To help alleviate this stress, I've learned over time that the goals and expectations that I put on my work have to be realistic and attainable when they sometimes weren't early on in my career."

The high demands of a position as a Portfolio Manager or Administrator bring a lot of stress. Market volatility, greed, underperformance and tough clients can all contribute to a high level of stress in this field. For this question, your interviewer is looking to gain insight on how you handle these stress factors on the job by having you talk a bit about what types of things cause you stress. While you talk openly about what it is that causes you stress or discomfort, make sure that you also talk through how you handle that stress in a safe, healthy and good for business manner.

"In reality, our work as Portfolio Managers for our clients is almost like trying to do the impossible. We are relied upon to make sound decisions for clients based on insufficient information, all while trying to maintain confidence in our decisions. This in itself is a daily stressor on the job and one that I don't take lightly. To help myself with this daily stress, I've learned to accept mistakes as they happen, own up to them with clients and work hard to alleviate those mistakes to put my clients back in the best position possible."

If I were to hand you $100,000 to invest today, where would you put that money and why?

"If the money was given personally to me to invest for myself, I would go for a 50-50 split between stocks and bonds being that I'm 37 years old. This would provide a good mix of funds that could be placed into aggressive IT and healthcare type stocks with a lot of growth potential while keeping half safe in the bonds market."

As a simple tool to gauge how you will both satisfy clients and make a profit for The Islamic Development Bank Group, your interviewer is looking to hear how you would invest money right now if given the chance. While there is no right or wrong answer for this question, show them your knowledge of breaking up assets based on age if possible. As well, don't hesitate to call out your knowledge of specifically allocating funds into different sectors or individual businesses or industries. In the end, make sure to give a full explanation of why you are choosing what you are to sell it to your interviewer.

"Being that I am young and willing to wisely be aggressive with money invested for myself, I would look for gems in certain industries like social media and internet retail sales. Amazon is expected to see prosperous growth and so are places like Pinterest and Facebook. I'd be wise with these investments while being sure to pay close attention to futures forecasts as those could change quickly, meaning a shift in my direction as well."

We want our advising team at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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."

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 The Islamic Development Bank Group.

"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 types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?

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

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

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

What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?

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

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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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."

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."

What is your familiarity with debt-to-equity ratios and what would you consider a good debt-to-equity ratio?

"I am very familiar with debt-to-equity ratio calculations and know that ratios lower than 1.0 are desired to consider a firm financially stable. When I've worked with ratios exceeding 1.0, I've provided further examinations of the industry and the organizations stance within the industry to further determine their overall risk to hopefully provide a win-win situation."

For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand the basics of calculating a debt-to-equity ratio and why it is used. In your answer, be sure that you talk about the ratiosd importance in considering debt financing. As well, if you have familiarity with ifferent industries and what is considered a reasonable ratio for each industry, be sure to talk about that as well because what is considered reasonable can differ widely between industries.

"Simply put, the debt-to-equity ratio is found with two easy figures found on a company's balance sheet: their total liabilities and shareholder equity. Swaying away from the norm, I know that the financial and banking industries often have to consider debt-to-equity ratios higher than 2.0 to be common and acceptable due to the large amounts of loaned money and high financial leverage by those institutions. "

Our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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."

The Islamic Development Bank Group 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!"

Pretend an old friend just awoke from a coma that lasted over 30 years. How would you describe the internet to them?

"Just like my role as a Risk Analyst, the most important thing that I could do in this situation would be to relate it to everyday things that the person would be familiar with. I would explain that the internet is a combination of television, mail, telephone, the local library and an old computer all put into one place. Each one of those components would help explain things like email, YouTube and all of the other life altering things about the internet. To really throw them for a loop at the end to blow their mind, I'd have to let them know that their local grocery store is also available too!"

A common tactic used in interviews for Risk Analysts is making you think on your feet. This brain teaser question, or any similar to it, will judge your thoughts processes to come up with an answer rather than what your final answer is as this is a very open ended question. As you provide an answer to this question, make sure that you explain why you are coming up with your answer and your thought process behind them. A solid thought process on your end shows that you can be analytical and while creatively solving problems using your critical thinking skills.

"I think that the best way to make it easy to understand would be to start explaining it in its simplest format and then expand from there. I'd draw two neighboring houses and show how the computers in each house can connect to send electronic mail, pictures, videos and information to each other. Then, I'd expand this out over the entire world where we are all connected with all of the feature of the internet. A simplified approach like this is also necessary in our work as Risk Analysts in the financial arena and it really helps people grasp new and very complicated things quickly."

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

"A career in risk analysis has been a dream for some time and this opportunity with The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group would go from there."

At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, you'll quickly find that dedicated customer service is one of top qualities that I will bring to you team."

If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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."

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."

To help us understand your need for initial training and orientation in this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group, can you tell me what financial software you have familiarity working on?

"Over the past ten years, I have pretty extensive experience working on Windham Portfolio Advisor and a program called LogicGate. Windham is a program that is used by my colleagues that are building client portfolios and I work on the risk management pieces with each advisor. LogicGate is a program that I completed an RFP to bring on to my department and it has helped us immensely. I do consider myself to have a very high technical acumen surrounding new software. Right now, what programs are your Risk Analysts using?"

Financial software, in particular software geared towards financial analysis, is widely available to the industry with many options available for use. While this won't be a make it or break it question to see if you are experienced with the program that The Islamic Development Bank Group utilizes, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you have experience on some of the available systems and that you are ready and willing to take on the challenge of learning something new if hired for this role. In the end in answering this question, make sure that you reiterate that you have the ability and the desire to learn a new program if needed to be successful in this role.

"Being a computer junkie in my spare time, I have a wide array of experience with many of the different types of financial and risk analysis software. I'm a big fan of the MATLAB program because of its ability to build my own algorithms and customize the data analysis within the program. This 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."

In this role as a Risk Analyst with The Islamic Development Bank Group, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

"I have been a CFA member for over five years now and I really look forward to the quarterly CFA Digest publication, the CFA Magazine and their news brief email that comes out daily . I find these are great resources that cover things ranging from daily news that impacts our work lives to very big picture studies and findings as published in the digest. If hired for this role, I would continue to be an active CFA member and would continue to utilize their resources for my work."

In a rapidly changing field like finance, you are expected to keep up with the changes at the snap of a finger and to gauge your ability to do this, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you will have the resources needed. Talk about the groups or publications that you belong to where you get imperative news on the field. If possible, use an example of a time where you shed light to your organization on a new risk from one of those publications. As well, don't hesitate to mention that you enjoy reading and learning new things in the field.

"As a risk professional, I have been a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals for many years. I have been certified by the association for Financial Risk Management and I try to attend their national conference every year to network and learn from other professionals. The FRM group has enable me to keep on the forefront of changes in the financial management that impacts risk on an almost daily basis and the group helps me live and breath financial risk every day."

The Islamic Development Bank Group 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 The Islamic Development Bank Group 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."

The Islamic Development Bank Group Interview Questions

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1. The clients of a financial firm like The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?
2. Take a couple of minutes to sell this notepad to me.
3. Discuss a time that you worked a client through a difficult financial situation. What were the keys to making it a success for the client?
4. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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.
5. Why would our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group want you to be their financial advisor?
6. If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, how would you help make sound investment decisions for our clients?
7. This position at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?
8. Our customers rely on our services outside of normal business hours. Are you able to work a flexible schedule if hired for this position?
9. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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?
10. In your work as a Portfolio Administrator, what kind events cause you the most stress on the job?
11. If I were to hand you $100,000 to invest today, where would you put that money and why?
12. We want our advising team at The Islamic Development Bank Group to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?
13. 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?
14. What types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?
15. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?
16. 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?
17. Tell me about a time where you had to analyze information in order to make a recommendation.
18. What is your familiarity with debt-to-equity ratios and what would you consider a good debt-to-equity ratio?
19. Our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?
20. Pretend an old friend just awoke from a coma that lasted over 30 years. How would you describe the internet to them?
21. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at The Islamic Development Bank Group. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?
22. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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?
23. If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?
24. Talk to me about a challenging situation you had to handle on the job that involved another colleague. How did you handle that situation?
25. To help us understand your need for initial training and orientation in this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group, can you tell me what financial software you have familiarity working on?
26. In this role as a Risk Analyst with The Islamic Development Bank Group, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?
27. The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?

The Islamic Development Bank Group Interview Questions

1. The clients of a financial firm like The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?

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

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

4. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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.

5. Why would our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group want you to be their financial advisor?

6. If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, how would you help make sound investment decisions for our clients?

7. This position at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?

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

9. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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?

10. In your work as a Portfolio Administrator, what kind events cause you the most stress on the job?

11. If I were to hand you $100,000 to invest today, where would you put that money and why?

12. We want our advising team at The Islamic Development Bank Group to be happy and healthy. How do you manage the day to day stress of being a financial advisor?

13. 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?

14. What types of compensation structures have you worked under in the past and do you have any expectations for this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?

15. What is the most attractive thing in your eyes about this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group?

16. 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?

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

18. What is your familiarity with debt-to-equity ratios and what would you consider a good debt-to-equity ratio?

19. Our clients here at The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?

20. Pretend an old friend just awoke from a coma that lasted over 30 years. How would you describe the internet to them?

21. We are looking for the most motivated individuals to join the team here at The Islamic Development Bank Group. Where would you like your career to take you in the next five to ten years?

22. At The Islamic Development Bank Group, 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?

23. If hired for this role at The Islamic Development Bank Group, I want to be sure that I'm hiring a motivated individual. What motivates you in your daily work and your career?

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

25. To help us understand your need for initial training and orientation in this role with The Islamic Development Bank Group, can you tell me what financial software you have familiarity working on?

26. In this role as a Risk Analyst with The Islamic Development Bank Group, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

27. The Islamic Development Bank Group 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?