Equity research associate

Applied online through LinkedIn and also reached out to a contact in the ER group, who forwarded my resume to the analyst and hiring associate. I had two phone interviews, one each with the associate and the head analyst. Both were very conversational, walk me through your resume/why ER/what kind of valuation/investing do you do on your own time. No stock pitch or technical questions. Both the associate and analyst were very friendly. I didn't get the offer, as there was an internal candidate who was a known commodity to the team.