Interview processes for quantitative roles vary across firms, but most are designed to test how candidates think under uncertainty, how they approach research, and how they communicate ideas. This page gives an overview of how traditional quant recruiting works and how the process at QSG differs.

Traditional quant recruiting often follows a standardized format. It is designed for large institutions that hire many people at once and filter candidates through narrow criteria. The process typically looks like this:

Application Review
Recruiters screen resumes for quantitative degrees, top universities, GPA thresholds, and relevant technical experience. This is often a filtering exercise more than a discovery exercise.

Phone Screens
Candidates may take preliminary calls focused on probability, statistics, brainteasers, or light coding questions. The goal is to filter for basic problem-solving ability.

Technical Interviews
On-site or virtual interviews can include:

• probability and statistics questions
• stochastic calculus for some research roles
• market microstructure questions
• coding exercises
• case studies
• whiteboard modeling
   

Assessment or Take-Home Work
Some firms require take-home projects, trading simulations, or coding problems under time constraints.

Final Rounds
Meetings with traders, researchers, portfolio managers, or senior leadership that are used to assess communication, cultural fit, and long-term potential.

This model works for large firms because it creates standardized filters, but it tends to emphasize credentials and problem solving more than strategy development or trading intuition.

Our interview process is built for a different purpose. We are not trying to filter thousands of applicants by puzzle solving ability. We want to understand how you think, what you build, and why you want to trade. We also want you to understand what the role actually is and whether you enjoy it.

The process has several components.

Candidates start by applying through our website. The application is simple, but the materials speak loudly. We look at:

• resumes
• academic or professional background
• strategy ideas (if provided)
• research projects (if provided)
• backtests or simulations (if provided)
• cover letters or explanations (optional but useful)
   

We are not looking for someone to say "this is what I want to do someday." We are looking for signs of initiative such as "this is what I have done so far, it is only on paper, but I see an opportunity and I am trying to pursue it."

Evidence of curiosity, self-directed research, or execution in any form is valuable, even if the results are imperfect.

After the application review, we send a project to candidates who advance. The format of the project changes over time based on the role and the needs of the firm.

In the past, we have given candidates a strategy idea along with data and asked them to finish it. In other cycles, we have asked for a research proposal, a modeling exercise, or a data exploration.

The purpose of the project is not only to evaluate technical ability. It is also an opportunity for candidates to see if they actually enjoy quantitative trading. Some people discover they like the work. Others discover that they do not. Both outcomes are useful.

We look at how candidates:

• frame the problem
• make assumptions
• handle messy data
• structure experiments
• reason about results
• communicate limitations
   

A strong project is not always one with perfect performance. It is often one with clear thinking.

Depending on the project, we may ask follow-up questions. These are not designed to trap candidates. They are designed to understand:

• how deeply someone understands their own work
• how they think about edge cases
• how they would iterate if given more time
   

Reasoning, honesty, and clarity matter more than perfection.

Interviews at QSG are conversations with traders and researchers. The purpose is to help candidates understand the scope of the work. Many people enter quant trading thinking the job is limited to building models. In reality, the best traders think about data, markets, execution, risk, infrastructure, and capital over many years.

Interviews often explore:

• how you learn
• how you reason
• how you communicate
• how you handle uncertainty
• how you think about markets
• whether you enjoy the work
   

We want candidates to leave interviews with a clearer understanding of what the job is and whether it aligns with who they are.

The key to our interviewing is that we are not trying to determine whether someone has already proved themselves. We are evaluating whether it makes sense to give someone the opportunity to prove themselves once they are here. Quantitative trading takes time, exposure to live markets, and real strategy development. None of that can be fully demonstrated in a traditional interview process.

Our process is designed to filter for the possibility of future success, not for evidence of past mastery. We are looking for indicators such as:

• curiosity and initiative
• rational and structured thinking
• interest in markets as complex systems
• willingness to explore and iterate
• ability to learn independently
• consistency over time
   

These are the foundations that make it worth giving someone a shot.

For us, the first year at QSG is effectively part of the interview. Markets are the real testing environment. They reveal how someone responds to uncertainty, feedback, drawdowns, collaboration, and the realities of deploying strategies. Prior to that point, the interview process is simply about determining whether it makes sense to put someone into that environment.

This does not mean we expect perfection in year one. It means that year one is when both QSG and the candidate discover whether they enjoy the work, whether the fit is right, and whether the potential for long-term compounding exists.

Candidates should expect that we are filtering for the opportunity, not pre-selecting for the result. If you enter our process, the project work, follow-up questions, and interviews are focused on understanding how you think and whether you might thrive once you are exposed to real market research and execution.

If you move forward, our goal is for you to have enough autonomy and support to find out if quantitative trading is something you want to invest years into. The market has the final say, not the interview loop.