Financial Software Developer Interview Experience - New York, New York
Process
This is a very difficult interview process, so the keyword here is preparation. The skills test is very SPECIFIC, not high-level concepts. You'll be asked to pick a language (C, C++, Java), so pick the one you know THOROUGHLY. Another interviewee posted about using brainbench.com tests for preparation. DO IT! A majority of the questions are from this site, but you have to pay $200 for a full-year subscription. I, for one, know that if I hadn't taken the Brainbench tests, there's no way I would have passed.
The phone interview wasn't any better. Know your data structures, time complexities, and algorithms. Also, be aware of brain teasers. I thought I did horribly on the phone interview, but I still got called for an on-site interview.
On-site: They will grill you, at least that's what happened to me. The best advice is to study from careercup.com and hope they ask those kinds of questions, but in my case, they didn't. They asked about balancing binary trees, and I knew then itself I wouldn't get the offer, and I was right. To me, I felt it was asked on purpose just to screw me, since not even Microsoft asked me that kind of question.
Other thoughts: The office is incredibly looking, with all the modern art. I have never seen an office building like that before. There were no cubicles, just rows of computers with people, so it sort of looked like the World War II films where they show rows of women helping out in the factories. Also, my on-site interview was only ONE interview by two R&D recruiters. Others seem to have received several interviews throughout the day, so I don't know how they decide that.
Questions
Phone Interview:
Describe your most recent project.
Why use static variables?
Where are the static variables stored?
How to tell if a stack grows up or down?
A stupid brainteaser question involving 100 light bulbs (can look up the question and answer online).
What data structure would you use to work with a word processor?
On-site Interview:
Describe your most challenging project.
Time complexity again.
Balancing binary trees.
Find the depth of a tree.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 135 interview experiences for the Bloomberg LP Financial Software Developer role in New York, New York.
Success Rate
Bloomberg LP's interview process for their Financial Software Developer roles in New York, New York is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Bloomberg LP's Financial Software Developer interview process in New York, New York.
Bloomberg LP Work Experiences
- 4.0Very Great Training and Employee BenefitsFinancial Software Developer • Current EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesOctober 24, 2013Pros: - Lots of great training; they really spare no expense in inviting some of the best people in software to come and train their employees. - New graduates are given 11-14 weeks of software training, with emphasis on C/C++ and also Bloomberg proprietary technologies. - Beautiful offices. - Talented employees. - Great employee benefits.Cons: - Still more of a financial company than a technology company, despite trying very hard. - The emphasis on rapid code deployment can really diminish the quality of code.
- 4.0Great Learning, Pick Team WiselyFinancial Software Developer • Former EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesNovember 23, 2015Pros: Bloomberg is full of opportunities for people to learn about a variety of fields. The fact that Bloomberg's main business is finance allows you to learn about it, if you have an interest, which I found incredibly valuable. Also, given the many Bloomberg verticals, there are tons of opportunities for mobility within the company, which are also great learning opportunities.Cons: Be sure to pick the right team. As in any big company, there are lots of good people, but there are also some teams which you want to avoid. Make sure to pick well.
- 1.0A Sweat ShopFinancial Software Developer • Former EmployeeNew York, New York, United StatesSeptember 22, 2010Pros: The Location (New York, NY). Free snacks and fruits at the pantry. Perceived brand value in the job market. Networking with other people. The finance courses (most of them taught by Stuart Veale).Cons: If you are a person who likes to be an independent contributor, technologically focused, and be given some free rein on your projects, or if you are a decent programmer who expects a disciplined approach to programming (most of the code is haphazard and difficult to maintain), this company may not be for you. Bloomberg has many ridiculous bottlenecks that would make any sane programmer cry with agony. I'm not understating this; you can get hints from all the reviews before mine. These bottlenecks/annoyances are not just in your day-to-day development but also while you are in the building. The badge-in/badge-out, the security making rounds around the office who stop you and sternly ask to wear your badge, even while you are just going to get a coffee in the pantry (I've had to literally go back to my desk to get it). I encourage you to visit the premises and talk to existing employees beforehand to get an idea of what you are getting into. There's no proper cafeteria area to eat your food. The running joke was that the bigwigs expect you to eat at your desk, so you will be around to be called upon by your manager/peer during that time. You might end up in teams (from what I've learned, this is most of them) where there is rampant micromanagement, including hints dropped about you being expected to work on weekends/late hours to meet an arbitrarily set, extremely tight deadline, even for internal projects. I believe that the "thought worker" who takes pride in his/her work cannot thrive in cultures like Bloomberg.
Bloomberg LP Interview Questions
