Speakers Femme Forvaltning - edited

10 hours mock interview event offered students lots of learning, laughs and treats

11-09-2021 09:00

Very educational and exiting ... Extremely enlightening and motivating ... I look forward to our next joint learning event. That's some of the feedback from the candidates who attended our full day mock interview event at Nordea. It was a win-win for everyone involved - here is why!

Always on the lookout for young talents, all the while striving for more diversity among our people, we engage in various events, seminars and meetings to bring insight to our business and attract candidates from diverse backgrounds. A recent assembly, was a full-day learning event with mock interviews, arranged in close collaboration with Femme Forvaltning.

The goal of the event was to give the candidates a mock interview, resembling how we evaluate candidates in real interviews for full time positions at Nordea Markets and Investment Banking. During and after the interviews – three of 30 minutes each – Nordea professionals provided feedback to help the candidates improve their interview performance, their presentation technique and technical skills.

At Nordea, we are very pleased to have this opportunity to get to know the candidates who are members of Femme Forvaltning, and potential future employees at Nordea. We learned a lot during the mock day, and by the looks of the feedback we’ve received from the candidates, they learned a lot too.

Here are some of the feedback from the participating Femme Forvaltning members:

Many thanks for the great event you’ve put together for us. It was very educational and exciting.

Really great to get the opportunity to learn about what you do – extremely enlightening and motivating. 

Thank you for a nice event, Nordea. I got the impression that everybody enjoyed the day with you.

Another candidate said: “Many thanks for an educational and inspiring day with you at Nordea. I look forward to our next joint learning event”.

On the back of a successful mock event with the participants requesting more learning events with us, we’re set to do more educational sessions like this with Femme Forvaltning and other relevant interest groups and partners. This, as a means to ensure more diversity among our people, for the greater good of society and business, tell some of the Nordea professionals involved in the mock event doing presentations and/or mock interviews.

Julie Ytreland, head of Nordea Markets Norway, sharing her work experiences after a long career in finance.

“We still experience few female graduate applicants. With these types of events, we can bring insight, and as a female with a long career in finance, I got the opportunity to share my personal experiences about the exceptional work environment, and our culture at Nordea Markets. Hopefully, I can help encourage more females to consider working in finance as a viable option,“ says Julie Ytreland, Nordea Markets Country Lead, Norway, after her presentation and talks with the candidates.

Fierce competition

The candidates have varying experience and tenure at school, and since this is a learning event for the candidates, they received direct feedback during each of the three interviews, categorised into: 1) General interview, 2) Presentation of business case, 3) Technical session.

Jørgen Bruaset, head of Equity Research, Nordea Markets Norway, telling the candidates what it is like to work in research, what’s required, and much more.

“The mock case setting reduces some of the pressure and stress versus traditional interviews, which makes it easier for us to see the true motivation and analytical capabilities of the participants,” states Jørgen Bruaset, head of Equity Research, Nordea Markets Norway, adding:

“The competition for top talent is fierce in the current strong market, and bespoke recruitment events like this is an ideal arena for us to attract and find future colleagues”.

Jørgen’s colleague, Kaja Dahl Johnsen, analyst in Investment Banking, adds:

“In spite of an increased share of women in investment banking and markets – at Nordea and in general – it is no secret that we are still in need of a gender re-balance. Getting to know the young ambitious professionals in Femme Forvaltning, provided me with great confidence that there will be more women to see in finance and at Nordea in the years to come”.

After a 10 hour session, the female candidates were in for a treat. They were invited to dinner together with, not only the Nordea people who’d conducted the interviews, provided feedback and coached them throughout the day, but another handful of Nordea people joined them for dinner.

What better way to end a challenging yet exciting and educational day – with a nice dinner, good discussions and laughs!

FAQ - Mock interview event at Nordea

Each candidate went through three interviews of 30 minutes, focusing on: 1) Their profile 2) A case 3) Presentation techniques:

 

1) In the general interview the candidates present themselves, run through their CV and tell their motivation for a job at Nordea Markets/Investment Banking.

2) They present the business case which was sent to them the day before. A case where they should analyse a listed company, and among others so a SWOT analysis, come up with a recommendation (sell shares, increase position or make a public bid for the company), make peer comparison, and present relevant valuation metric(s). 

3) In the technical session their presentation techniques, and how they've modelled the case, are evaluated and discussed. 

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