5 Recommended Books to Prepare for Quantitative Analyst Job Interviews

Applying for a job in Quantitative Finance is not easy. It takes several weeks to prepare, covering areas such as Stochastic Calculus, probability theory, and programming experience (especially in C++).

Interviews often include in-depth mathematical questions, logical puzzles, and formula proofs such as Ito's Lemma or Black-Scholes.

Here are 5 books that should be thoroughly read to fully prepare before entering an interview for this field:

1. Heard on The Street: Quantitative Questions from Wall Street Job Interviews

By Timothy Falcon Crack

A legendary Q&A book from Wall Street. Many questions from actual interviews originate from this book. Many interviewers expect you to have "come across" it.

Divided into 5 categories: logical questions, derivatives, financial economics, statistics, and general questions. Suitable for brain training and understanding the underlying concepts behind real Quantitative problems.

2. Frequently Asked Questions in Quantitative Finance

By Paul Wilmott

Another interesting Q&A book by the famous author Paul Wilmott, with both short and long answers to choose from.

The content covers stochastic calculus, Brownian motion, the Black-Scholes model, volatility analysis, and CAPM. It is a must-have guide before going for a real job interview.

3. Quant Job Interview Questions And Answers

By Mark S. Joshi, Nick Denson, and Andrew Downes

This book is developed from Joshi's popular PDF article by adding technical questions and "behavioral" questions.

Covering a wide range of topics: Options pricing, probability, interest rates, general mathematics, C++ programming, and logical puzzles This book contains unique questions unlike any other and has the most recent updates.

4. A Practical Guide To Quantitative Finance Interviews

By Xinfeng Zhou

Even though the layout and editing are not very polished, the content is excellent. The book compiles over 200 questions covering important topics often encountered in interviews.

The content is divided into: Calculus / Linear Algebra, Puzzles, Probability and Combinatorics, Random Processes, Finance / Options, and Numerical Methods. It is a good supplementary book for practicing additional problems.

5. Starting Your Career as a Wall Street Quant: A Practical, No-BS Guide to Getting a Job in Quantitative Finance

By Brett Jiu

This book focuses more on concepts and career paths than on technical questions. Dr. Jiu points out the changes in the Quant job market after the 2007/2008 crisis — these jobs are now more prevalent in funds than in financial institutions.

The first half of the book discusses career paths and interview preparation techniques, while the second half focuses on self-learning and gaining experience (such as internships or networking). It serves as a "real-life" guide that complements the first four volumes.

If you want to confidently pass a Quant job interview, reading and practicing from these books will prepare you in terms of theory, techniques, and the right attitude.

Reference: 5 Top Books for Acing a Quantitative Analyst Interview

From https://www.quantstart.com/articles/5-Top-Books-for-Acing-a-Quantitative-Analyst-Interview/