Acing your phone interview

Our phone interview is a crucial step in getting to know you better. Check out the below tips to feel confident about your interview before and after.

Scheduling your interview

It’s helpful to respond to our email requesting a phone interview as quickly as possible, and it will help you move through our interview process faster. In your email response, please provide at least three times during your local time’s normal business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) that work for you. No need to include available time over the weekend as phone interviews are only conducted during the week – our teams like to enjoy their time away from the office, too! If you’re interviewing for a quantitative trading analyst role, afternoons tend to work better for our teams as some markets will have closed.

Set aside a time and place

Interviews tend to take about 45 minutes, so make sure to set aside enough time in your schedule. You should be in a quiet place, by yourself. Before you start the interview, check that your cell phone service is strong, and you have your phone charger and an outlet nearby. If you’re interviewing for one of our software developer position, have a computer ready for any coding questions.

Dive deep

During this step, you will be asked to talk at length about your work experience, your classwork, and your research. Prepare to answer detailed questions about everything on your resume. We’re interested in learning more about how those experiences have shaped who you are and what you are interested in. The questions will be both technical and behavioral, so consider another brush up on your mental math and fundamental computer science concepts before this step.

Don’t forget to prepare questions for us as well. You will be speaking directly with a developer, quantitative trader or researcher. It’s the perfect opportunity to truly understand what your career could look like a few years down the line at DRW and what makes DRW unique from other employers you are considering.

Preparation is key for this interview, so make sure to set aside plenty of time and space to set yourself up for success. We’re looking forward to getting to know you!