FE International Interview Questions
& Process

The company's reviews raise concerns about management's actions and attitude. Negative reviews are blunt, while positive ones are generic and may indicate something hidden. Be aware of negative review points. First round was an HR screening explaining the company's business, structure, and other basics. It was informative. Then, a reasoning assessment/personality test was taken. This type of test is a waste of time for experienced graduates. The second round had two interviewers who described the CEO as "hands-on," supporting "micromanaging CEO" reviews. Analyst responses about why they chose FE were generic, not insightful, and unconvincing given other reviews. After the second round, there were no updates for two weeks until I followed up with HR. Despite promises to respond "soon," no response came until I withdrew my application a week later. It felt like being strung along, and I wouldn't have gotten updates without chasing, which is disrespectful and shows a lack of value for candidate time. Waiting for all first-round candidates to finish before moving to the second round is inefficient. Second/third/fourth rounds should happen concurrently. The company will lose talent this way; candidates will finish other processes during the long wait. If not good enough, I hope they'll be decisive and reject me. Waitlists don't work for job applications like they do for colleges with agreed timelines.

Just to be clear, I haven't received an offer yet and am waiting for the results, but I'll update this if anything changes. Before the assessment day, there were two online tests: a personality, numerical, and logical test, followed by another test specifically about FE's business. Learning about FE's business through these questions helped me understand the company better, leading me to explore their website more, where I found useful information on valuation methods and due diligence for sellers. This research proved helpful on the assessment day. The assessment day details were provided clearly and the day was well-organized. It started with an introduction to FE, then individual and group exercises. The highlight was an exercise based on a real FE client case, which gave me a great sense of what the work might be like. Finally, there were one-on-one interviews with senior staff, which were a good opportunity for them to get to know me and for me to see the office and ask questions. The company really values teamwork, which I think is essential everywhere. Oh, and the food and drinks provided on the assessment day were great!

I applied in early January and heard back within a few days. The HR lead ghosted me on the initial call. I followed up to see if she wanted to reschedule, and she said she needed to put the role on hold until she could confirm they were still hiring for it. About 10 days later, she emailed again to schedule time with me. Our conversation went well, and I was moved forward to meet with the Head of IB and the internal Operations Leader. They both described the role very differently than the first person I spoke with, and even had conflicting views on the position themselves. I did find the Head of IB very smart and upfront, which I really appreciated. After these interviews, I didn't hear anything for over 2 weeks, then I was asked to come in for an in-person interview with the CEO within the next 3 days. They knew I'd been out of town, but I rearranged my schedule to meet the CEO in New York. The conversation with the CEO was okay, but very tactical and at times, a bit weird. He was nice, but again, the focus of the role seemed different from what each of the three prior people had described. He wanted the role to be about watching employees clock in and out to see who showed up at certain times and helping with onboarding packages so employees could have business cards to show off. The most annoying part of this whole thing was the total lack of respect. After spending time on 4 interviews and meeting their CEO in person, they couldn't even send a basic rejection email. I haven't heard anything in over 4 weeks despite following up. Even when I left the last interview, the CEO said he didn't know what the next steps were or if I should meet their Chairman in Miami next. Overall, I'd suggest staying away. It seems very unorganized and chaotic. Also, there are some concerns about how they talk about their business versus how it actually seems to operate day-to-day.

I felt a bit uneasy from the moment I started check-in at the building. The NY office apparently wasn't aware of my appointment, and I was waiting at the front desk for over 5 minutes while they figured things out upstairs. Once I was in the office lobby and waiting for my meeting, I heard the receptionist on the phone with a day care center, making a personal call at her desk in the middle of the day. I was waiting another 5-10 minutes before the interview started. The interviewer was polite but clearly wasn't impressed with my skill set and wanted to cut the interview short after 15 minutes. I had taken time off from my current job to visit FE, and I didn't feel like my time was valued. The behavior I saw at the NY office was quite unprofessional.