in case you haven't noticed...

mj · Post by mj » Tue May 27, 2008 2:48 am

Our job interview book is now out see www.markjoshi.com

The second edition of my C++ book is also now available.

Dimatrix · Post by **Dimatrix** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:45 am

Ordered 2 copies of the first one for our library. Is this "on demand printing"? Since they say it will take 5-8 weeks to deliver.

mj · Post by mj » Tue May 27, 2008 10:38 am

i'd be surprised if it took that long. Where are you and who did you order from?

I know that some people in UK got it from lulu within days of the order.

Veegan · Post by **Veegan** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:36 am

Looks good and I have ordered a copy for a friend. I will obviously have a sneaky read before passing it over. Smiley

BTW - Lulu (UK) says 3-5 days delivery time.

V

Dimatrix · Post by **Dimatrix** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:56 pm

Ordered from Germany from lulu America I think. Not me, but the library lady. She wrote me an e-mail with the dates.

Veegan · Post by **Veegan** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:25 pm

Lulu were spot on. Book arrived in 5 days. Not bad for printing and shipping from Europe from a standing start. Had a cursory glance upon arrival and it seems good value. I could post more thoughts if anyone is interested...

V.

pj · Post by pj » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:36 pm

> I could post more thoughts if anyone is interested...

Please...

Veegan · Post by **Veegan** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:33 pm

Apologies for the brief notes.

Book - nicely presented, easy to read, paperback, comparable quality of binding as Timothy Crack's Heard on Wall Street (HOTS), for example.

Technical chapters - option pricing, probability, interest rates, numerical techniques, mathematics, C++, logic/brainteasers. Obviously far more technical than the MBA-oriented HOTS. Covers most of the questions I have seen over the years on these areas and pulls them all into a single source. The interest rate chapter would be too lightweight for someone going for fixed income. Similarly, material on vol skew is maybe too thin for someone going for equity derivative positions. Nothing on credit or default (unless I missed it).

Nominally 225 questions (with suitably detailed answers) but in practice probably three times this amount as each answer typically poses a few more for consideration of variants/extensions.

'Soft' chapters - the interview process and HR-type interviews. The former is relatively brief and repeats information contained in MJ's previous quant guides or easily found on non-specialist recruitment websites. Likewise, the 'Soft Interview' chapter is no more than a brief summary of stock answers to typical questions or mainstream ways to construct an answer. Nonetheless, useful to have in one book and refreshingly honest in places as is the book generally (on personality defects: "You only have to appear normal for a couple of hours to get the job").

When I was job-hunting I had a folder of notes and questions & answers I had built up over many months which ended up very much like this book; it would have saved me a considerable amount of effort at the time. For a few pounds more than HOTS this book is very good value.

Hope that is of use,

V.

Maggette · Post by **Maggette** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:04 pm

Thanx Veegan;

ordered it..

mj · Post by mj » Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:36 am

Thanks for the review.

To clarify, concrete questions tend not to cover topics such as IRD and credit. At entry level, you get the sort of questions and topics in the book.

At higher level, you get more diffuse questions, on the lines of tell us about this model you implemented, which don't really fit into an interview question book. When they resort to concrete questions, they are often the sort in this book.

For entry level, knowledge of the basics is more important than knowledge of the specific subject area. eg I got a job working for Rebonato when I knew nothing about IRD.

Of course, if anyone has a good list of credit and IRD questions please send it to me for the second edition...