Merrill Lynch: Technology (internship)

Question

In what way do you think the technology division should support an investment bank like Merrill Lynch?

Candidate's answer:

The global financial system is one that has undergone rapid change in the past decades. Each period of transition has been empowered by a parallel evolution in the underlying technologies. Open outcry trading pits which stereotyped the trader of only 10 years ago have become fully

integrated electronic trading platforms. This has all been made possible by technology. That technology lies at the very core of the Investment Banking industry is what gives it such appeal.

As a Technologist I feel the recent turmoil in the financial markets presents interesting challenges. Fresh waves of regulation will require banks to build sophisticated systems to ensure compliance, increasing investment in heavily technology dependent areas like Risk Management to better understand and manage exposures to asset classes.

Building systems of such magnitude requires improving the underlying infrastructure - innovating more effective methods of retaining new and utilizing existing data.

Question

Describe your understanding of the day to day role of a graduate in Merrill Lynch's Technology division and why you want to join the firm.

Candidate's answer

I am enthused by the diversity of roles available in Global Business Technology - covering the entire development lifecycle. I am excited by the opportunity work throughout the cycle at such an early stage in my career.

Typical roles for a graduate Business Analyst would involve working closely with the business units to capture requirements and understand how technologies can be harnessed to solve complex business problems and add real value. In parallel they work with Engineers and Application Developers - adding insight on how their area of expertise can be applied to the problem. Roles for an Application Developer may include working on new or existing code and debugging.

Question

What is the personal achievement that you are most proud of? What did you learn from this experience and how does it differentiate you from others?

Candidate's answer

In my 3rd Year undergraduate dissertation myself and project partner used the 'Crank-Nicholson Method', a finite-difference numerical algorithm, to analyze a Non-Linear Partial Differential Equation.

We worked as a small team - effectively tapping each partner's strengths. In this case, Aaron was stronger at translating the physical problem into a mathematical model whereas my strength lied in developing the MATLAB code. This proved to be a potent combination. We worked on the project exclusively throughout the Easter holidays - walking too and from University bouncing ideas off each other. We tackled what, at first glance, seemed like insurmountable problems with rigour and enthusiasm.

Through the process we forged a lasting friendship and most importantly produced something remarkable - securing a mark of 79%.

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.