Merrill Lynch: Private wealth management (internship)

Question

Tell me when you faced an obstacle and how you overcame it.

Candidate's answer

I told them about a situation last year when I was in a summer school. Our team had to present a business plan and only a day before one of the members faced a big problem and couldn't participate in the presentation. He was responsible for the financial data and apparently hadn't done most of the job he promised. So I told how we as a team worked to finish the presentation, said about my role as a leader of the team and talked how important it is to motivate people. Finally, described the outcome.

Question

What do you think the future with Bank of America will bring?

Candidate's answer

I said that this is an exciting chance for Merrill Lynch to use the US clientele Bank of America has. However, transitory process will not be very easy since the two companies have rather different cultures. Then I enquired whether she agrees and how she sees the company's future. She talked for next 10 minutes.

Question

Tell me when you took an original approach while dealing with a project/task.

Candidate's answer

In my last internship I had to do a questionnaire to help determine the client's risk tolerance. I took the task very seriously and read a lot about behavioural finance. I described why I considered this approach to be original.

These questions were provided to us by a candidate claiming to have interviewed at the institution named above. We cannot guarantee that these were the actual questions asked.