Trading Operations Associate Interview Questions

1,362 trading operations associate interview questions shared by candidates

The interviewer gives you 100 blank cards, and you can write a single positive integer on each card. The interviewer looks at the cards when you're done (so he knows the probability distribution of the deck), then shuffles the deck. The interviewer guesses the top card of the deck, and if he's right, he makes in $ the number written on the card. What numbers should you write on the cards to minimize the expected return of the interviewer?
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Trading Intern

Interviewed at Jane Street

4.4
Apr 23, 2014

The interviewer gives you 100 blank cards, and you can write a single positive integer on each card. The interviewer looks at the cards when you're done (so he knows the probability distribution of the deck), then shuffles the deck. The interviewer guesses the top card of the deck, and if he's right, he makes in $ the number written on the card. What numbers should you write on the cards to minimize the expected return of the interviewer?

1. If there are two basket ball players A and B. Player A scores with a probability of 0.7, B scores with probability 0.3. Both the players can take either 1 shot or 3 shots at the basket. Who should take which option and why?
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Trading Analyst

Interviewed at DRW

4.3
Oct 28, 2012

1. If there are two basket ball players A and B. Player A scores with a probability of 0.7, B scores with probability 0.3. Both the players can take either 1 shot or 3 shots at the basket. Who should take which option and why?

There are 100 prisoners on an island. Starring from Day 1, a guard will play the following game with them. On the n th day, a random prisoner will be brought into a room, which contains a switch that is either on or off. After he left the room, the guard will then ask the prisoner if everybody has been to the room. He can answer either "Yes" or "I dun know". If he answered "yes" and he is correct, everyone is free' otherwise everyone dies. If he answered "I dun know", the game continues: a prisoner will be choosen at random on (n+1)-th day and so on. Now these 100 prisoners are free to meet and discuss a strategy on the night of 0th day. Afterwards they will not be able to see anyone else at all. No other communcation is possible except the binary switch in the room. Is there a sure-fire strategy to free all of them?
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Junior Proprietary Trading Intern

Interviewed at D. E. Shaw & Co. - Investment Firm

3.8
Feb 24, 2013

There are 100 prisoners on an island. Starring from Day 1, a guard will play the following game with them. On the n th day, a random prisoner will be brought into a room, which contains a switch that is either on or off. After he left the room, the guard will then ask the prisoner if everybody has been to the room. He can answer either "Yes" or "I dun know". If he answered "yes" and he is correct, everyone is free' otherwise everyone dies. If he answered "I dun know", the game continues: a prisoner will be choosen at random on (n+1)-th day and so on. Now these 100 prisoners are free to meet and discuss a strategy on the night of 0th day. Afterwards they will not be able to see anyone else at all. No other communcation is possible except the binary switch in the room. Is there a sure-fire strategy to free all of them?

You have scales and 9 identically looking balls, 8 of them have the same weight and the 9th is heavier. How many times do you need to use the scales to find the heavier one. Now suppose you're allowed to use the scales 3 times. What is the maximum number of balls as above, among which you can find the heavier one. What is the answer if you're allowed to use the scales n times. The other question I was asked has already been mentioned here.
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Trading Operations Analyst

Interviewed at Virtu Financial

4
Dec 5, 2015

You have scales and 9 identically looking balls, 8 of them have the same weight and the 9th is heavier. How many times do you need to use the scales to find the heavier one. Now suppose you're allowed to use the scales 3 times. What is the maximum number of balls as above, among which you can find the heavier one. What is the answer if you're allowed to use the scales n times. The other question I was asked has already been mentioned here.

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