OCBC Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process started with a first round with the Manager involving a deep dive into my CV. The second round was with a Senior Manager, also a CV deep dive but with more emphasis on technical knowledge. Both rounds were face-to-face meetings. I found the second round to be the toughest because they really grilled me on my life choices, so I'd say be ready to answer questions about why you chose this path and not others, like why Credit Risk Modeling specifically instead of a Data Scientist role. They also asked about what a git repo is.

I interviewed for a Software Engineer role at OCBC. The interviews themselves were pretty good, the people were nice and the discussions were interesting. But, I was really unhappy with the salary part at the end. I told them what I make now right from the start. They still went through all the interview rounds, which made me take time off my current job. Then, when they made an offer, the salary was way less than I'm currently earning. It felt like a waste of my time since they knew my salary expectations. Companies should really check salaries upfront before wasting a candidate's time. It's only fair. I can't suggest this process unless they fix the salary screening.

The interview for the Summer Analyst role is really tough and thorough, made to check your technical skills and market smarts. The interviewer is professional and wants you to show you really get current market stuff, have good financial modeling skills, and can think things through clearly. You'll get questions about recent market news, like big economic changes, updates in monetary policy, and trends in specific industries. Things like interest rate hikes, inflation numbers, global politics, and company earnings could come up to see if you can connect these events to valuation, how to invest, and the economy overall. A good candidate can talk about how these things sway how investors feel, the stock market, and business deals. Besides market knowledge, it's a lot about technical skills. You should be good with: DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) Valuation: walk through how to predict free cash flows, figure out WACC, set the terminal value, and do sensitivity tests. LBO (Leveraged Buyout) Modeling: know the deal setup, where money comes from and goes, debt plans, and how borrowing affects what investors get back and the IRR. Stock Pitch: give an investment idea that's put together well and shows you know the company's business, valuation ratios, what makes it special, and why its stock price might move. Financial Statement Analysis: show you can read financial reports, connect the three main statements, look at important ratios, judge how well the company is doing profit-wise and with cash, and spot any warning signs.

This company's tech department claims to be lean like a fintech, but they actually want engineers to cover multiple roles: full-stack, AI, and production support. The first round was an onsite resume deep dive with technical questions. They added an interviewer last minute and didn't respect my time. The interviewers probed deeply into my current company's tech infrastructure. When I declined to share specifics, they gaslighted me, saying I should share more during interviews. I also learned during the interview that the role involved 80% production support, contrary to the job description. The second round was a Codility test with 3 easy questions. I passed all test cases, but received a rejection email two days later. I suspect the entire process was a way for OCBC to conduct market research on other companies, with plans to hire a contractor for the role.