Sales & Trading Interview Prep
S&T recruiting looks like banking from the outside and behaves nothing like it once you are in the process. You are assessed on speed, on how you handle being wrong, and on whether you have an actual view, and you are hired by a desk, not just a firm.
1,000+ candidates coached into top-tier firms
What We Cover
Common Sales & Trading Interview Questions
What is 17 times 43? Now 1 over 16 as a decimal.
Pitch me a trade. What is your entry, your size, and what would make you exit?
What moved in markets this week, and what does it imply for next quarter?
Where is the 10-year, and where was it three months ago?
A stock is at 100. I sell you a call struck at 110 for 3. Draw your payoff.
You are long a position that has moved against you 20%. Walk me through what you do.
Why sales and trading rather than investment banking?
Which desk do you want, and what makes you think you would be good on it?
Two dice are rolled. What is the probability the sum is 7? What if I tell you one is a 4?
What is the difference between market making and taking risk?
These are real questions asked in sales & trading interviews. Our coaching covers how to structure and deliver winning answers.
What Top Firms Look For
Numerical fluency under pressure, not cleverness, speed with accuracy
A genuine, current view on something in markets, held with reasons
Composure when you are told you are wrong mid-answer, which is deliberate
Commercial instinct: what is the trade, who is on the other side, what do they want
Willingness to be specific. "I think rates go lower" is not a view; a level and a timeframe is
Desk awareness — knowing that rates, credit, equities and FX are different jobs
A Day in the Life: Sales & Trading
The day starts before the market does — typically on the desk by 6:30 or 7:00 for the morning meeting, where research and strategy give the overnight and the day ahead. From the open, the job is continuous: sales talk to clients and bring flow to the desk, traders price it, manage the resulting risk and hedge what they do not want. Lunch is eaten at the desk. The close brings position and P&L reconciliation, then a wrap on what worked. Hours are typically 50 to 60 a week — shorter than banking, and far less elastic, because the day is bounded by the market rather than by a deadline.
How to Break Into Sales & Trading
Spring weeks and summer internships are the main route, and the summer internship converts at a high rate
You are placed on a desk, so preferences and desk fit matter more than in banking — say which desk and why
Numerical testing is heavier than in IBD; practise mental arithmetic and speed rather than technical valuation
A tracked paper portfolio or trading journal is the single most credible thing a student can bring
Markets awareness is checked, not assumed. Read the FT or Bloomberg daily for months before, not the week before
Non-target backgrounds convert better here than in banking if the numerical and markets evidence is strong
Frequently Asked Questions
How is sales and trading recruiting different from investment banking?
Three ways. You are hired onto a desk rather than into a general pool, so which desk you want and why is a real interview question rather than small talk. The technical testing is numerical and probabilistic rather than valuation-based, so mental maths and options payoffs replace DCF walkthroughs. And you are expected to hold a live view on markets, which means the preparation is a habit built over months rather than a set of answers memorised in a fortnight.
Do I need to be a maths genius to work in trading?
For a flow trading or sales seat, no. You need to be fast and accurate with arithmetic, comfortable with probability, and unbothered by being wrong in public. Quantitative research and systematic trading are a different bar entirely and usually require a postgraduate quantitative background. Confusing the two is the most common reason candidates prepare for the wrong interview.
What does a good trade pitch look like in an interview?
A view, a structure, a size and an exit. The view is what you think the market has wrong. The structure is the instrument that expresses it most cleanly — sometimes the obvious one is not the best one. The size reflects your conviction and what you can afford to lose. The exit is the level or the event that tells you the view was wrong. Candidates almost always bring the view and forget the other three, and the other three are what is being tested.
Is sales or trading the better seat to start in?
They are different jobs, not a hierarchy. Trading suits people who want to own risk and are comfortable with a daily scoreboard. Sales suits people who are commercially instinctive and want relationships to be the asset they build. Sales seats have proved more durable as electronic execution has compressed market making, which is worth knowing when you rank your preferences.
Has electronic trading made these seats less attractive?
It has changed which ones exist. Voice market making in liquid cash products has largely gone electronic, so the growth has moved toward complex derivatives, structuring, and desks where the value is in judgement rather than in quoting. Understanding that shift, and mentioning it, signals that you have thought about the industry rather than the job title.
Your Coach: Surojit Chakraverti
Citigroup · Rothschild & Co · Hedge Fund CIO
Surojit is a hedge fund CIO (Third Wave Capital, previously Redline) and former investment banker who worked at Citigroup and Rothschild — with his core deal experience in M&A at Citi and Rothschild. He has personally coached over 1,000 candidates into roles at Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, KKR, Google, McKinsey, and dozens of other top-tier firms.
Every sales & trading coaching session is tailored to your specific targets, timeline, and experience level. No generic advice, just the insider knowledge that separates offers from rejections.
Ready to Ace Your Sales & Trading Interview?
Get 1:1 coaching from professionals who have been through the process and sat on the other side of the table. No generic advice, just what actually works.
Book Your SessionCoached by Surojit Chakraverti — Citi, Rothschild, Third Wave Capital
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