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Jin Chen Capital's annual recruitment and interview season has begun.

This year, the company plans to recruit six interns, but has received thousands of resumes.

After three rounds of resume screening, online testing, and written examination, the remaining thirty people will proceed to the final interview.

The interviews are scheduled for Saturday, with two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with fifteen people in each session.

At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, the waiting area outside the conference room on the 19th floor of Jin Chen Capital was already full of people.

Gao Sicong arrived the earliest, wearing a well-fitting dark blue suit and with his hair perfectly styled.

He is a second-year graduate student in the Department of Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, ranking first in GPA, having passed the CFA Level I exam, and also has two internships at securities firms.

He quietly looked at the materials in his hands, making final preparations.

Lan Qianyi arrived at 8:40, wearing a simple gray suit and light makeup.

She holds a master's degree from the School of Management at Fudan University and an undergraduate degree from Peking University; her resume is impressive.

He also has experience working at another large investment firm, Youwei Capital, making him a true industry elite.

She glanced around the waiting area, found a corner to sit down, and took out her phone to silently recite her self-introduction in English.

Hao Shuai rushed in right on time at 8:50, his hair was styled very meticulously, and he was dressed head to toe in designer brands, exuding an air of wealth and sophistication.

He has a background in finance from Northwestern Polytechnical University, and his family owns a well-known clothing business in Hangzhou. He is highly educated, capable, and well-connected.

His carefree and unrestrained demeanor immediately drew sidelong glances from several other interviewees.

Zeng Hao always had a fawning smile on his face, and his small eyes and glasses made him look very obsequious, even though he was already a father.

He graduated from Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and also had work experience, but it wasn't easy for him to get a permanent position.

This industry is just too competitive. It's not just about academic qualifications and abilities, but also about resources and connections.

Qiu Shuang kept a low profile, sitting on the far side with a notebook in her hand, which was filled with notes.

He was from the Finance Department of Nanjing University, not a local Shanghai institution, and seemed somewhat reserved.

Li Xiaoxian was the last to arrive, one minute before nine.

He is a student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and flew here specifically for the interview.

Wearing a stylish suit jacket and a silk scarf, she stood out a bit among the group of interviewees dressed in formal attire.

She just gives off a somewhat effeminate vibe, which makes others feel uncomfortable.

At 9:00 sharp, the HR assistant came out and called out the roll: "Group one, Gao Sicong, Lan Qianyi, Hao Shuai, Zeng Hao, Qiu Shuang, Li Xiaoxian, please follow me."

The six people stood up and followed their assistant into the large conference room.

Five interviewers sat in the conference room: Gao Yue, HR Director; Wang Yunlai, General Manager of the New Business Department; Ma Jianguo, Investment Director of the Energy Group; and Yu Wenli, General Manager of the Technology, Media and Communications Department.

"Please sit down," Gao Yue said. "First, please introduce yourselves. Each person has one minute, starting from the left."

Gao Sicong spoke first, his pace steady and his logic clear: "Good morning/afternoon, interviewers. I am Gao Sicong, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. My undergraduate GPA was 3.9/4.0, and my graduate GPA was 3.95/4.0. I have passed the CFA Level I exam and have two internships at securities firms, one in industry research and the other in investment banking. I have in-depth knowledge of the new energy industry and have participated in writing an investment value analysis report for a photovoltaic company..."

Lan Qianyi continued her introduction, switching fluently between Chinese and English: "Good morning, I'm Lan Qianyi, a second-year master's student at Fudan School of Management. My research focus is corporate finance and M&A. Last summer I interned at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, participating in a cross-border acquisition deal."

Hao Shuai's self-introduction was much more casual: "Hello everyone, my name is Hao Shuai, and I have a master's degree in finance from Northwestern Polytechnical University. I participated in the National Undergraduate Financial Modeling Contest and won second prize. I believe that the integration of finance and technology is a major trend, so I want to come to Jinchen to study..."

Zeng Hao's voice lacked confidence, reflecting a less-than-stellar inner strength: "I'm Zeng Hao, a graduate of the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a Master's degree in Investment Management. I have three internships, one at a private equity firm, one at a venture capital firm, and one at a securities firm's investment banking division. I've participated in due diligence for three projects and have a basic understanding of the entire investment process..."

Qiu Shuang was also a little nervous, but she expressed herself clearly: "Hello, interviewer, I'm Qiu Shuang, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Finance at Nanjing University. My research area is behavioral finance, and my graduation thesis is an empirical study on the impact of investor sentiment on the A-share market. Although my internship experience is not as extensive as the previous students, I served as the president of the college's finance association throughout my university years and organized many industry sharing events..."

Li Xiaoxian, speaking in a slightly effeminate manner and with a Hong Kong accent, concluded his introduction: "Hello everyone, I'm Li Xiaoxian, a final-year student in the Finance Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I've interned at HSBC and a hedge fund in Hong Kong, mainly doing quantitative analysis. I'm quite familiar with derivatives pricing and risk management, and I hope to further my studies at Jin Chen Capital..."

After a round of self-introductions, the interviewers had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Next is the Q&A session.

Ma Jianguo first asked Gao Sicong, "You said you have research on new energy, so tell me your views on the photovoltaic industry over the next three years."

Gao Sicong remained calm: "From the demand side, driven by the global carbon neutrality goal, photovoltaic installations will continue to grow. From the supply side, Chinese companies dominate the entire industry chain, from silicon materials and wafers to cells and modules. However, with the rapid pace of technological iteration, N-type cells are replacing P-type cells. In the next three years, I believe the industry will show two trends: first, increased concentration; and second, differentiation in technological routes. Investment opportunities lie in leading companies with advanced technologies and startups with innovative technologies."

The answer was clear and the data was accurate, so Ma Jianguo nodded.

Wang Yunlai asked the only girl, Lan Qianyi, "What was the biggest challenge you encountered in that cross-border M&A deal you participated in at Goldman Sachs?"

Lan Qianyi pondered for a moment: "The biggest challenge was the valuation disagreement. The seller was a European family business with high valuation expectations, using a DCF model with very optimistic assumptions. Our buyer team made more conservative assumptions, resulting in a large gap between the two sides. In the end, we reached a compromise by adjusting the performance-based earnout clauses—increasing the acquisition price but setting higher performance-based earnout conditions. This case made me realize that mergers and acquisitions are not just a numbers game, but also an art of negotiation."

"If you were our company's investment manager, how would you design the performance-based clauses?" Wang Yunlai continued to press.

"I will design the terms based on the characteristics of the industry and the stage of the company's development. For growth-stage companies, the focus will be on revenue growth and market share; for mature companies, the focus will be on profit margins and cash flow. The terms must be fair, protecting investors while also incentivizing entrepreneurs."

The answer was appropriate, and Wang Yunlai ticked it on the evaluation sheet.

Yu Wenli, General Manager of the Technology Media and Communications Department, asked Hao Shuai, "What are your specific views on technology and finance?"

Hao Shuai frankly said, "I think pure technology has limitations. I started getting involved in quantitative trading in my sophomore year of college, writing strategies, running backtests, and found that even the best models can't beat market sentiment and policy changes. Later I realized that investing is not just about numbers and models, but also about understanding people, industries, and trends. I want to learn that."

"Do you understand financial modeling?"

“I understand. I taught myself financial modeling, and I can use Python to create DCF models and Monte Carlo simulations. I’ve also written data crawlers for industry analysis,” Hao Shuai said. “I can demonstrate if the company needs it.”

"No need," Yu Wenli smiled. "Next question."

When it was Zeng Hao's turn, Wang Yunlai asked, "You've participated in due diligence for three projects. Tell me about your most unsuccessful experience."

Zeng Hao paused for a moment, clearly not expecting to be asked about his failures. He thought for a moment and said, "The biggest failure was the first due diligence. At the time, I was an intern, responsible for verifying financial data. The reports looked very good to me, with high growth rates and good profit margins, so I gave them a positive review. But later, the project team discovered that the company had inflated its revenue through related-party transactions. This experience taught me that you can't just look at the surface of financial statements; you have to dig deep into the underlying business reality."

"What would you do if you encountered a similar situation now?"

"I will focus on several key indicators: whether the growth rate of accounts receivable is much higher than the growth rate of revenue, whether the gross profit margin is abnormally higher than that of peers, and whether the proportion of related-party transactions is too high. I will also conduct customer and supplier interviews to cross-verify."

Wang Yunlai nodded: "You've made progress."

Then Qiu Shuang was asked about the application of behavioral finance: "Your research direction is very academic, how do you apply it to actual investment?"

Qiu Shuang had clearly prepared for this question: "Behavioral finance can help us identify opportunities arising from irrational market behavior. For example, the herding effect can cause asset prices to deviate from their value, which presents an opportunity for contrarian investing. Another example is that overconfidence can lead entrepreneurs to overestimate their abilities, so we need to reasonably assess the true level of a team when investing. During my internship, I tried using investor sentiment indicators to assist in market timing, and the results were quite good."

What specific indicators should be used?

"I have constructed a comprehensive indicator that includes turnover rate, number of new accounts opened, changes in margin trading balance, social media sentiment index, etc."

The answer demonstrated depth of research, prompting several interviewers to exchange glances.

The question Li Xiaoxian was asked was the most technical: "You are familiar with derivative pricing, so talk about the limitations of the Black-Scholes model."

Li Xiaoxian answered fluently, but with a particularly arrogant air: "The Black-Scholes model assumes a frictionless market, no transaction costs, stock prices following a log-normal distribution, and constant volatility. These assumptions do not hold true in reality. Especially after the 08 financial crisis, everyone realized that volatility is not constant and can jump. Therefore, stochastic volatility models, such as the Heston model, are now more commonly used. In addition, the Black-Scholes model is not accurate in pricing extreme events and needs to incorporate tail risk adjustment."

"If we were to invest in an options market maker, what risks would you be concerned about?"

"The first is model risk, as an inaccurate pricing model can lead to losses; the second is liquidity risk, especially the poor liquidity of deep out-of-the-money options; the third is operational risk, whether the risk control system is adequate; and the fourth is capital adequacy ratio, whether it can withstand extreme market volatility."

His professional skills were solid, and the interviewers all showed expressions of appreciation.

After the first round of professional questions, the second round will be a case discussion.

Gao Yue presented an example: "Suppose our company wants to invest in an online education company. Now, you six people need to discuss and provide an investment proposal framework within twenty minutes. Let's begin."

The six people immediately got into the zone.

Gao Sicong spoke first: "I think we should analyze it from several aspects, including market size, competitive landscape, business model, financial performance, and team background."

Lan Qianyi added, "We also need to consider policy risks. Recently, the education industry has been subject to stricter regulations, which is a key variable."

Hao Shuai said, "We can analyze it from a technical perspective, such as their platform stability, user experience, and data security."

Zeng Hao is more pragmatic: "I think the key is to look at the profit model. Many online education companies are burning money to grow, but their conversion rate and renewal rate are low."

Qiu Shuang suggested, "We can conduct user surveys to see the real word-of-mouth and satisfaction levels."

Li Xiaoxian approached the issue from a financial perspective: "We need to focus on customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value, and calculate the LTV/CAC ratio."

The discussion was heated, but generally orderly.

Gao Sicong naturally took on the role of organizer, Lan Qianyi was responsible for taking notes, and the others expressed their opinions.

Twenty minutes later, Gao Sicong, representing the group, reported: "We recommend evaluating from five dimensions: first, market space and growth potential; second, product differentiation and competitive advantage; third, business model and profit path; fourth, financial health and valuation level; and fifth, team capabilities and policy adaptability. Specifically for this company, we recommend focusing on its user retention rate and policy compliance."

The presentation was concise and clear, with a well-defined framework, and the interviewers exchanged a few quiet words.

Finally, there was a Q&A session.

Gao Sicong asked, "What is the company's internship training program like? Are there opportunities to work on projects?"

Lan Qianyi asked, "What are the company's plans for international business? Are there any overseas internship or rotation opportunities?"

Hao Shuai asked, "Does the company have any fintech-related projects? Can interns participate?"

Zeng Hao asked, "What is the approximate retention rate after the internship period?"

Qiu Shuang asked, "Does the company have any training programs for interns? For example, industry research, financial modeling, etc."

Li Xiaoxian asked, "Is there any staff exchange between the Hong Kong office and the Shanghai office?"

The questions were very targeted, showing that they valued this opportunity.

After the interview, the six people left the meeting room.

Gao Yue and the other interviewers began their discussion.

"This group is of good quality," said General Manager Wang. "Gao Sicong and Lan Qianyi have the best overall qualities and can be used directly. Hao Shuai has a background of self-taught technology, which is an advantage for fintech projects. Li Xiaoxian has solid professional skills and can be placed in the derivatives group."

Ma Jianguo nodded: "Zeng Hao is alright, but he lacks confidence. Qiu Shuang has a good foundation, but he lacks experience."

Wang Yunlai commented, "Let's hire them all. There are many projects this year, and we're short-staffed."

"Six people?" Gao Yue confirmed.

"I want them all," Wang Yunlai said. "Anyway, the internship period is three months, and we can eliminate them if they're not suitable."

"Okay, then send out offers to all of them."

That afternoon, all six of them received job offers from Jin Chen Capital.

Next Monday, they will officially start working as a new batch of interns.

At that moment, they had no idea that this internship experience would completely change their career trajectory.

Of course, this is a follow-up.

...(End of chapter)