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Chimera Securities Interview Questions
& Process

Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.

Based on 39 interview experiences · FREE TO READ

2.4 Rounds average
Easy Typical difficulty
57.9% Positive experience

Which role are you interviewing for?

2 roles · 39 reports

Candidate interview experiences

First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Chimera Securities.

Showing 4 of 39
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Chimera Securities

Trader Trainee

Finance

Entry Difficult No offer 4 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite Group Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Case Other

I applied online and was contacted by HR. They recruit new traders for January and July, starting interviews 2-3 months beforehand. There's a week-long training program, 4 hours daily after market close. This is followed by a four-month unpaid trial period where they assess your fit and profitability. Post-trial, you get a 2k monthly salary, with commission-only pay starting a year later. I went through 4 interviews: HR, Trader, Trader, and Head Trader. Mostly behavioral questions about fit, why this firm, and why trading. The head trader asked brain teasers and math problems, nothing too hard except for the math.

Confirmed questions1 question
  • If you have a drawer with 10 black and 10 white socks, what's the minimum number of socks you need to pull out, without looking, to guarantee you have a matching pair?
Chimera Securities logo
Chimera Securities

Equity Trader

Finance

Entry Average Positive experience Accept offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Technical screen Onsite Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral

it started off with an HR phone screen, asked me the basics like tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a trader, why do you think you would make a good trader. Within a few days they got back to me and asked to schedule an interview with one of the traders. Asked mostly behavioral questions, delved into my background/education a bit more. Within the next week the scheduled a final round interview with the head trader and it was the same deal, behavioral, more casual than I was expecting. After that I waited about a month before getting the offer.

Confirmed questions1 question
  • What motivates your desire to become a trader, and what qualities make you believe you'd succeed in this role?
Chimera Securities logo
Chimera Securities

Equity Trader Trainee

Finance

Entry Average Positive experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Onsite Panel
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical

The interview process was pretty laid back, never felt any pressure. Started with a phone chat with HR. Then I met a trader face-to-face. The last interview was with the head trader and a partner. Mostly they wanted to get a feel for my personality and see if I'd fit in. There were a few brain teasers thrown in, which were tough, so the advice is to just try and stay calm and work through them.

Confirmed questions3 questions
  • In your opinion, what qualities define a successful trader?
  • How do successful traders differ from those who don't succeed?
  • Could you solve these brain teaser questions?
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Chimera Securities

Systems Administrator

Operations

Mid Average Neutral experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Onsite
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical

Found the job on LinkedIn and applied through their website. Got a call back the next day to schedule a phone screen. The phone screen was with HR. A few days later, I heard back to come in for an onsite interview. I met with a Managing Director and the head of Automated Trading. We talked about my background and how it would fit with Chimera, and I asked about the work environment.

Confirmed questions1 question
  • Can you tell me about the projects you've implemented?

Chimera Securities Interview Questions

Quoted word for word from Chimera Securities interview reports.

Given 8 balls where one is lighter than the rest, what is the minimum number of weighings on a scale required to identify the defective ball?

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Using a balance beam only twice, how would you find the heaviest of 9 balls, given that one is heavier than the rest?

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If you have a drawer with black and white socks, what's the minimum number of socks you need to pull out to guarantee you have at least two white ones?

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Given nine marbles, one heavier than the others and indistinguishable by touch, and a balance scale usable only twice, what's the method to find the heaviest marble?

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If you have a drawer with 10 black and 10 white socks, what's the minimum number of socks you need to pull out, without looking, to guarantee you have a matching pair?

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Using only a 3-gallon jug and a 5-gallon jug, along with a fire hose, how would you obtain exactly 4 gallons of water?

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If you have 20 socks in a drawer, 10 white and 10 black, what's the minimum number of socks you need to pull out to guarantee you have a matching pair?

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Formats, difficulty and experience

Across all 39 Chimera Securities interview reports.

Interview formats

Behavioral 50%
Technical 36.8%
Other 7.9%
Case 2.6%
Presentation 1.3%

Interview difficulty

Easy 48.7%
Average 43.6%
Difficult 7.7%

Candidate experience

Positive 57.9%
Negative 7.9%
Neutral 34.2%

Reports by job function

Finance 38
Operations 1