Point72 Assessment Tests, Hiring Process & Interviews Online Preparation – 2024

What Is Point72?

Point72 is a hedge fund investment company that manages the assets of its investors. They are a global company with locations in nine countries. Point72 has offices located in the United States, China, England, Singapore, Japan, France, Australia, Poland, and Taiwan.

Point72 is a great company to work for because they try to promote employees from within instead of hiring externally. They have entry-level jobs available, as well as jobs available for graduates and professionals. There are long-term employment options available for workers who want to turn their jobs at Point72 into lifelong careers.

 

What Qualities Does a Point72 Recruiter Look For?

Point72 recruiters look for job seekers who:

• Know how to manage risk well
• Are confident but not cocky
• Are collaborative and work together with others
• Know what Point72 does
• Are smart and can solve complex problems efficiently
• Care about Point72
• Are problem solvers
• Are innovators
• Are analytical thinkers

 

What Is Point72’s Application and Hiring Process?

Point72 has a straightforward, though rigorous, recruitment process. Point72 lists their open and available jobs on their website, and you can apply to any position online. Most positions require you to log in to LinkedIn to apply through the website. To apply, you will fill out a web form that asks for your name, email, and phone number. You can also attach a resume and a cover letter; at the end of the form, there’s a place to add your LinkedIn profile as well as a website (if you have one). Once you have applied and a recruiter has had a chance to review it, you can move on to the next stage of the interview process: the assessment. There are a few basic assessments that you may have to complete before proceeding with the interview process. Point72 uses the the Wonderlic test, which is a Cognitive ability test, and may use a personality test, a basic skill assessment test, a technical skills test, among others. Some applicants may be required to participate in a case study or a modelling test. You may not have to complete all of these assessments, but these are the general assessments that you might encounter during the hiring process. Once you’ve passed all the required tests for the position you are applying for, you will move on to the actual interview process. Once you’ve completed an interview and they’ve made a final decision, they will let you know if you have been hired and for what position.

 

What Is Point72’s Assessment Process?

Point72 has a lot of applicants; they use cognitive tests—such as the Wonderlic test—to narrow it down to more serious and promising applicants. The competition is pretty intense, and you can be eliminated early on if you don’t prepare well for the assessments.

• Wonderlic WonScore Cognitive Ability Test: assesses the candidate’s ability to learn, adapt, solve problems, adapt to different work environments, and clearly understand instructions. It also assesses how well the candidate can solve math problems, understand vocabulary, understand analogies, look for similarities in graphs and patterns, etc. The Wonderlic test is 50 questions long, and all the questions must be answered in 12 minutes. If you fail to pass the assessment, then you don’t proceed to the actual interview process. There is also a shorter version (called the pretest or Quicktest) that has 30 questions and an 8 minute time limit.
• Personality Test: the results of a personality test will help Point72 know that you are a pleasant person to be around and that you will be compatible in the position you’re applying for. Professional personality tests usually include questions where you have to estimate other people’s emotional reactions to certain situations, or it will ask how much you agree with a given statement. For example, it will ask you on a scale of 1-10 how much you agree with the following statement: “I enjoy meeting new people.”

 

What Is Point72’s Interview Process?

There are a couple of different types of interviews that you may be asked to participate in, such as: a panel interview, a video or Skype interview, or an in-person interview. Once you’ve passed the necessary assessments, a recruiter will contact you to set up an interview.

A panel interview is also an in-person interview, but you will be interviewed by multiple people instead of the traditional one-on-one interview. Usually, you’ll be interviewed by managers and team leads in a group setting. They’ll switch off asking you questions about how you would handle tense work situations, what your past work experience is, or why you would be an asset to Point72.

 

Tips to prepare for the interview process

• Have a stock pitch prepared or other ideas ready to go if they ask!
• Be comfortable with business models, competitors, etc.
• Prepare several investment ideas with lots of research to back them up

 

Best things to incorporate into your interview:

• Show them you have a passion for investing by having good ideas ready to share
• Know about risk management
• Tell them why you want to be an investor
• Have a good pitch that explains your background, your experience, your interests, and how that all relates to Point72
• Show that you’re a hard worker and have a plan in place to get things done

 

Common interview questions:

• How do you deal with setbacks?
  The best way to answer this is to list your strengths when it comes to dealing with problems. For example, you can mention that you handle stress well and can problem-solve efficiently. You can also bring up specific times in past employment that you’ve effectively worked through struggles and setbacks. Giving specific examples helps employers get a better sense of you as an employee and how you would handle setbacks in their company.
• When did you become interested in asset management?
  Your interviewer will want to know that you are passionate about the job you are interviewing for. Talking them through your passion in the investment and asset management career field shows them that you know what you’re talking about and that you’re invested in this career opportunity.

 

How to Prepare for Point72’s Assessments?

Pre-employment, you will want to participate in lots of research by looking up the different assessments and the questions that are asked on them. Make sure to answer all the questions – you are scored on the number of correct answers you receive. The score is from 0-50 and there is no penalty for wrong answers, so it’s best to answer them all or make an educated guess on the questions you aren’t sure about. Putting down any answer—even if you’re not sure—gives you a higher chance of getting it right. Since the test is time-sensitive, you can skip questions and come back to them, or just make an educated guess and keep going! Getting a score less than 20 usually means you won’t have a chance to work at Point72. You can ask what the required minimum score for the position you are applying for is. The best thing you can do to pass the Point72 assessment is to practise over and over again. Practising for the assessment will help you be fully prepared when you have to take it. If you don’t pass the cognitive assessment, that just means you won’t proceed with the interview process.

 

Conclusion

Point72 is a very prestigious company that screens applicants carefully before hiring anyone. Though the application and screening process is rigorous, it’s a good company to work for since they promote internally instead of hiring externally. If you have an aptitude for numbers and investments, this is a good job for you. With enough practice, preparation, and research, you can ace the exam and the interview process to get a great job that can turn into a career!