In this tutorial, I will teach you how to pass a Financial Analyst interview. So, it

does not matter which organization or company you are applying to join as a financial analyst,

please do watch this tutorial from beginning to end, because I'm going to give you a series

of interview questions that I believe will come up, tips for answering them and then

also suggested answers! Please do take notes. Now, before I get into those financial analyst

interview questions and answers… a very warm welcome to this training tutorial. My

name is Richard McMunn. That is me there in the center. I've been helping people for 20

years now to pass their interviews and I always do that by giving you top-scoring answers.

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content and therefore I will create more for you. OK. Let's get into the first Financial

Analyst interview question and top scoring answer. When you go into your financial analyst

interview, they're going to say to you, either: Tell me about yourself? or: Introduce yourself

and explain why you want to be a financial analyst? As you and I know, this is a challenging

role. It's a pressurized role and you need a unique set of skills to be competent in

the position. We want to get off on the right footing. We want to give them a positive answer

that shows that you are the best candidate! So here is my suggested answer to this first

financial analyst interview question. “I am a dedicated, intuitive and commercially

driven Financial Analyst who possesses the necessary qualities and traits to help you

achieve your strategic objectives. I have plenty of experience within similar roles

to prove my worth and, being someone who can fit into an organization seamlessly and start

contributing positively immediately, I would be a solid asset to add to your already established

team. I want to be a Financial Analyst because the core skills and qualities I possess are

a match for the person specification. These include, strong communication and interpersonal

skills, solid financial analytical and reporting capabilities, commercial awareness, strategic

acumen and also a desire and capacity for innovative methods of working.” So, you

are showing there that you have the relevant skills. You are explaining WHY you want to

be a financial analyst. But what I particularly like about that response is you are discussing

about how your role fits in from a ‘commercial perspective’. You know why you're being

hired as a financial analyst, and you are explaining that you have the commercial awareness

and strategic acumen, which I believe are two really important qualities within the

role of a financial analyst. You can either pause the video and write down these answers

in full, or the areas of the answers that you think are suitable to you. Or if you want

to hold on, I will tell you at some stage where you can download my full set of Financial

Analyst interview questions and answers. The second question that I want you to prepare

for: What are the most important skills needed to be a financial analyst? Now, you might

sit there and think, well, that is easy. I can answer that without any problem at all.

However, my advice is to make sure you read the job description for the financial analyst

role that you are applying for and the person specification, and then list those skills

and qualities in your answer. Because even though there is a core set of skills needed

to become a competent financial analyst, all organizations require different skillsets.

There may be some alternative, specific skillsets they are looking for. I've carried out a lot

of research and here is my suggested answer. “In my experience, there are 8 essential

skills needed to become a competent Financial Analyst. In no particular order of priority,

these include an ability to COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY with internal team members and departments;

comprehensive KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR SUBJECT MATTER; in-depth FINANCIAL ANALYTICAL skills, and

also an understanding of IT AND COMPUTER SYSTEMS. You also need CONFIDENT DESCISION MAKING ABILITIES,

the ABILITY TO ASSESS RISK within an organization from a financial perspective, an extreme DETAIL-ORIENTATED

APPROACH to all tasks and projects and also COMPETENT MATHEMATICAL SKILLS.” What I like

about that particular answer is, you are putting a NUMBER to the skills needed, and in this

particular situation, I demonstrated 8. That immediately tells the interviewer or the hiring

manager that you already know the skills that are needed. The majority of candidates will

sit there and they will think off the top of their head what the skills are needed for

this role. But you've already prepared fully, so you are giving a SET NUMBER. The third

question of your financial analyst interview: Why do you want to work for our organization

as a Financial Analyst? I can pretty much guarantee this interview question will come

up during your interview, especially if you are an external candidate. Here is my suggested

answer. “As you know, there are lots of Financial Analyst job vacancies advertised.

However, within this role I believe it is crucial to choose the company you work for

very carefully. Being a Financial Analyst is a challenging role and you can only succeed

if your employer has ambitious, strategic goals for the future and it is prepared to

work closely with you to create and develop long-term commercial and financial plans.

Prior to seeing this vacancy advertised, I’d heard many positive stories from other colleagues

about how you operate as a business and also how you support your analysts. As soon as

I saw the position advertised, I knew I had to apply.” You are demonstrating that you

understand the importance of not just going for any organization, but one where you will

be supported to do your role properly. For example, you are saying the organization knows

the VALUE of a financial analyst, and what he or she can bring to the organization. Now,

I still have quite a few questions to run through, so please do stick around, but when

you are ready, if you click the link in the top right hand corner of the screen, it will

take you through to my web site, which is called PassMyInterview.com, and you can download

my full set of financial analyst interview questions and top scoring answers! But before

you do that, let's move on to the next question. How would you ensure the data in a financial

report is accurate? Here is my suggested answer. “One of the skills I possess that has served

me well in previous Financial Analyst positions is my ability to carry out my work both quickly

and accurately. I would go as far to say I am renowned for my accurate financial analysis

and data reporting. One of the first things I will do is to make sure the raw data I am

using comes from a reliable source – if I am presenting reports to other members of

the organization, then I have to ensure it is reliable as it will be open to questioning

and could harm the organization commercially if it isn’t. Before submitting my report

to its intended audience or department, I would ask someone suitably qualified to check

over my final report to confirm its authenticity.” So you're using three methods there. You are

saying that you have the natural skills to be accurate in your role. You make sure that

the information and data that you obtain is from a reliable source. And then also, you

are on occasions when needed, using a ‘double check’ method. If there's anyone else within

the organization who you are working with, you are getting them to check it over for

you as well, just to confirm. Next question: If you have to choose one financial measure

to assess the health of a company. Which one would it be and why? This is assessing your

understanding of financial reports and how they demonstrate the financial health of an

organization. So we have to say which one it is, and then give the reasons why. This

is my own response based on the measure that I think is really important in an organization.

“I would say, without doubt, I would choose the current and historical NET CASH FLOW of

a business when assessing its financial health and status. Net cash flow is essentially the

amount of cash and cash-equivalents that come into a business, and also out of it. The main

reason why I would choose NET CASH FLOW as a reliable financial measure, is because it

is one of the prominent areas that investors and shareholders would use when assessing

a company’s ability to generate value. So, essentially, a healthy NET CASH FLOW demonstrates

a business is being run successfully and responsibly.” Next question of our Financial Analyst interview.

What is EBIDTA? You know, this is a difficult one to pronounce! You may pronounce it differently

to myself, but the question is: What is EBIDTA? And here is my answer to this question: “EBITDA

stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. It is basically

used by investors and financial analysts as a measure of company profitability. EBITDA,

in a nutshell, is the operating revenues minus the operating expenses. It’s particularly

useful for comparing one company against another for example, but it is only useful if the

companies you are comparing are in the same line of business.” That does come up quite

often during financial analyst interviews! Next question: what are your strengths and

weaknesses? This is obviously a non-technical question, but again, I believe strongly it

will come up either as one question… What are your strengths and also what are your

weakness? Or one question combined, with two of them in that. Here is my suggested answer.

“My strengths are my positive and determined mindset, my ability to be keep working on

tasks and projects until they are completed to the high standards required, and also my

communication and interpersonal skills. I feel I am very good at explaining complex

financial reports and data and putting them across in a commercially friendly manner.

My weakness is I am sometimes impatient. I like to get through my workload quickly and

if I am held up by an external organization for example, I find this a bit frustrating

at times. However, my strong communication and interpersonal skills mean I am able to

put across in a polite manner how important their work is to the completion of my own

task.” You will notice there with that response, I have ‘front-loaded’ it with a number

of STRENGTHS and only given one weakness. I believe that's important, but what I like

about that response as well, is you are essentially demonstrating that your ‘impatience’ is

actually a strength and an asset to the organization. Then you are also saying that your strength

of being able to communicate well, means that you can overcome that weakness. It's quite

an intelligent response to that interview question! Next one: What are your salary expectations

as our financial analyst? The salary may be fixed, but more often than not, there will

be some discussion about the salary expectations. And this is a great way to answer this interview

question: “Based on my research, the average salary for a Financial Analyst within this

sector is $50,000 to $60,000. Whilst I personally feel I am worthy of the higher band of salary,

I understand I have a responsibility to prove to you my worth. You don’t know me, so I

need to demonstrate the value I can add to your organization. On that basis, I would

be comfortable with a salary of $56,000 and at that level, I feel you will see a positive

return on your investment and be pleased with my worth strong ethics and values.” That

is a good response. You are using a bit of negotiation skills there. You are going in

slightly higher than the average… and between $50,000 and $60,000, will be $55,000. You're

going in slightly higher and you are also demonstrating to them that you understand

you need to prove your worth. Some people will go in: “I want $60000!”, but you

are giving a little bit of leeway there straightaway. Next question: do you have any questions you

would like to ask the interview panel? Now, at some point you will have the opportunity

to ask questions during your financial analyst interview. A lot of people will say, “I

don't have any questions. You've answered them all during the interview.” But this

is your opportunity to show the interviewer that you want to be there for a long period

of time, and also you want to make a difference as soon as you get within the role! So here

are two questions I recommend you ask the interview panel. “Thank you. Yes, I have

a couple of questions I'd like to ask, please. First one is, what has frustrated you about

financial analysts who have worked in this position previously and what could I specifically

do to help you achieve your financial and commercial goals?” I like that question

because you are really knuckling down to what issues they have had in the past. They could

say: “We haven't really had any.” However, they might say: “High performing financial

analysts have done xyz!” They might say: “They really worked long, additional hours.”

And you could say: “I'm in the position to offer that as well. I can work additional

hours as and when needed.” And also, you are seeing what you could specifically do

to help them achieve their financial and commercial goals. Question number two: “You are clearly

an innovative and forward thinking company. What are your plans for the next five to 10

years?” That tells me, subtly, that you want to stay with that company long-term.

You are already thinking… ‘I'd like to be here for a long period of time.’ Now,

if you’re good within your position, they will want you to stay! So as I say, if you

would like to download my full set of Financial Analyst Interview Questions and Answers, click

the link above the video or go to the website: PassMyInterview.com. Please do connect with

me on LinkedIn.com. If you have a look in the video description below this video, you

will see my linked in connection link is there, so please do connect with me. I like connecting

with professional people and business owners. If you have any questions, please put them

in the comments section below. Please don't forget to SUBSCRIBE. I would very, very much

appreciate your support and don’t forget to give the video a ‘LIKE’ as well. Thank

you very much for your time for watching this video and I look forward to hearing your success

stories when you pass your Financial Analyst interview. Have a brilliant day. Thank you!