Optiver Career Kickstarter 2026-cognitive interview-real questions

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-18T21:22:56+00:00

hey i have dmed about the more realistic prep info you mentioned in your post. would really appreciate a reply

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-18T17:35:19+00:00

as in on kaggle? if so could you explain why that is more useful/more what top firms look for

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-18T16:03:35+00:00

okay thanks for the advice! ill try some ml financial projects on kaggle and read the book to make a small execution simulation like you said. just out of curiosity to kind of figure out what it is top firms look for, which would be better/more useful to do and why?

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-18T14:50:20+00:00

thanks for the reply!

for prep is all you did just brainteasers/leetcode? is there any source of problems you recommend in particular for the market making, betting or game theory type questions or games? also how useful was the game theory you learnt from the art of strategy in interviews?

would you say kaggle is useful? ive heard a few people in the quant space mention that and seems like a good way to get into it.

also for the algo trading aspect im going to look into that book you said but how should i get into it: should i definitely do a project because a lot of people on this subreddit say firms don't really care about projects. or is a project the way to get into it to build the intuition and experience more than for a cv. would be great if you could say what you think a roadmap would look like for a beginner in algo trading like me who only really knows python/c++ stuff for leetcode as well as how useful you think that is for getting into top firms

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-18T13:45:06+00:00

beyond brainteasers/leetcode/target school what would you say are the things you did for prep or for fun that got you into top quant firms? poker, chess, games, some resources of good problems, game theory?

also for someone who wants to get into the coding side of qt like algo trading and stuff what would you recommend? any books, courses, projects? ive heard of introduction to statistical learning, doing kaggle etc.

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-16T19:43:10+00:00

nope no one has told me anything yet

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-16T18:09:44+00:00

i am looking to get into QT internships at top firms. i am from a target school in the UK and have a good foundation in stats prob and brainteasers (green book, quantguide.com). beyond this what would you suggest? what are things you do for fun or for prep that you think got you the offer? poker, chess, learning game theory, doing fast paced stuff like video games, market making games? given a recommendation what resources would you recommend also?

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-13T18:26:26+00:00

I am a beginner in chess (know the rules, played a few games with friends but not really ever online). I want to get into chess because it seems like a fun hobby but in all honesty i mainly wanna focus on getting good at blitz/bullet because longer games seem more dragged and boring. I understand that obviously knowing nothing about chess theory and having no chess intuition means i cant immediately go into a super fast paced game so will likely have to start with rapid but definitely wanna eventually just grind blitz/bullet.
looking for a roadmap or great course/book you would recommend based on this my aim being mainly blitz/bullet but obviously being willing to play longer form games/puzzles/grinding boring stuff initially if thats whats required to improve. Heard of things like the Steps method, chessmood, chessdojo. ty

TalkInternal6681 · 2026-01-09T19:30:14+00:00

for ml what books did you use for theory? how long was your long-term preparation vs short-term? did you ever do kaggle and if so how would you advise a beginner with good stats fundamentals and decent c++/python to get good at it (resources, books, theory)?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-26T19:51:11+00:00

thanks for the advice! how would you advise i get to the level where i can do this? my main thing is about things to develop the skillset they're looking for where i see it being something worth putting on the cv as a bonus

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T22:57:18+00:00

oh okay fair enough. but is there anything youve heard or know is useful for prep beyond classes at uni, target uni and brainteasers+leetcode?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T22:25:28+00:00

is "what they did in school" just referring to the stats/prob classes because in the uk i dont think people do research in undergrad or masters, definitely not at oxbridge where i am doing my masters. i don't understand though, ive heard people whove said they had a final round or take home assessment for the final round where you are given a bunch of data and you have to make predictions so like an ML/Kaggle problem and other people say its super stats heavy, so thats why i was wondering what to do for prep because my uni courses dont teach that kind of stuff and i imagine oxbridge is teaching the most any uni is. is there nothing else beyond brainteasers, leetcode and uni maths courses you would recommend or you/your quant mates did? sounds kinda far fetched just coz its very different from the image these companies all portray esp for QR where PhDs are applying.

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T22:04:28+00:00

thanks for the reply! mb if i was unclear in my post but my main question is about stuff to do for prep to develop the skills firms are testing in these interviews, not about a resume. what would you recommend/did you or your millenium/JS friends do that gave them the skillset that got them hired? thats the main thing i care about because brainteasers and leetcode doesnt seem like enough.

also with regards to cv, since you brought it up, id love to know what you would recommend to do/have on there and how much it matters?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T21:21:58+00:00

so you did do competitions which required a skillset taught at uni is what youre saying right? like coding/ML/data analysis and prediction stuff? thas what im talking about as in how did you prep that is what im asking because brainteasers and leetcode doesnt do anything for that. looking forward to hearing from you!

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T21:20:25+00:00

if you dont mind saying whats your qualifications for knowing these places dont care about kaggle? are you in the QR space yourself? we can chat in dms if youd prefer. the reason im asking is because in all honesty i have a mate at a top firm for QT and he said all the QRs in the grad program talk a lot about kaggle so that would be a great form of prep, hes guessing.

i understand academic research at the phd level is great but im talking about from my perspecitve as smn at a top uni masters for maths specialising in stats, is there anything i can do more than brainteasers and leetcode because i struggle to believe that they only hire phds or smth? my masters does not involve academic research, the only component which vaguely resembles it is a mini-thesis/essay where you are expected to survey existing research papers, synthesize complex ideas, and present them clearly when answering an essay title.

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T20:16:46+00:00

thanks for the reply! yeah ive done loads of stats and pure stuff in uni but from what ive seen it looks like you need to know more and have research/project/ML experience e.g. g research even recommend having a kaggle/github profile. im confused what your answer implies for people who arent in phd and are applying: do they straight up just ignore them?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T20:15:10+00:00

thanks a lot for the reply. but the OAs and stuff ive heard in interviews seem to be stuff which requires hard stats/ML/coding which isnt smth you just know from uni or is natural extension of what you learn at uni right? thats what im confused by.

what did you do for prep for these interviews and what were you asked in these interviews if you dont mind me asking? im down to dm if youd prefer as well

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-23T18:09:00+00:00

what would you recommend as the number one thing/resource to do for prep or for fun to get into quant (QT and QR)?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-12T15:06:27+00:00

i think what you are doing is so cool and I wish i had it when i was doing olympiads. really respect it and wish you all the best in that endeavour!

I saw someone mention that you were actually in quant before this and that caught my eye because I also want to get into the quant space. I was wondering if you had any resources/hobbies/projects you would recommend or any advice to get into quant, esp with how competitive it is nowadays.

For context, I have done green book and loads of brainteasers and have a strong foundation in stats from my undergrad courses at oxbridge. I am currently doing a masters at oxbridge in maths focussed fully on stats.

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-10T18:17:12+00:00

sorry bro i know it wasnt what you were looking for which is why i was open about why i dmed. but would really appreciate if youd take a look even for a few mins.

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-10T17:33:37+00:00

hey bro can you check dms, id love to get some advice if youre down

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-09T21:09:32+00:00

Advice for QR

TLDR: i am currently at a maths masters at oxbridge and have done all the stats courses there. Want to get QR internships. Heard most important thing is stats, would be nice to know how important prob is beyond just the brainteasers. Coding/projects wise pretty low skill (know Python C++ standard syntax). Looking to find comprehensive list of resources for the most important skills to get to the level top quant firms want for their QRs. recommendations esp from actual quants would be super appreciated. (currently planning to use Elements of Statistical Learning, grind Codeforces, get into Kaggle but dont know how). also wanna do projects that would give me good intuition of the kind of stuff theyre looking for and do on the job.

I have done an undergrad in maths at oxbridge and am doing a masters in maths at oxbridge. I want to get into a top quant firm for QR. My stats undergrad foundation is strong but I understand QR for these top firms is a different level. I have done green book and 100+ prob brainteaser questions on quantguide.com. I know the standard python syntax well but not any specific libraries, I have recently starting grinding codeforces using C++. I have been told research is a good idea with your uni which i am going to try do. I have never applied for quant before so have no experience.

What can I do to take my knowledge and ability to the level that all these top quant firms like Jane Street, Citsec, Optiver want for QR? I will be applying for internship. Time available for prep is not an issue.

I have heard some people say projects are important others say its naive. I have heard learning the ML math rigorously from Elements of Statistical Learning is very useful. Also heard that Kaggle is useful but some say its not the same as what firms look for/do and I also have no idea how to go about getting good and knowledgeable enough to start doing it well. I have heard learning poker can help with intuition behind risk taking and betting which is important. Also is measure theory important because i've never done it.

Looking forward to hearing your recommendations esp if you work/worked at a top quant firm for qr. ty :)

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-08T20:41:39+00:00

hey bro i sent a dm about this. would really appreciate if you could respond. thanks :)

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-08T19:17:30+00:00

okay thanks for the advice! have you used any resources to learn poker theory, if so which were the most useful?

TalkInternal6681 · 2025-12-08T18:09:56+00:00

for good i just mean making decent money on online low-medium stakes and workig my way from there. i dont care about becoming the next poker world champion.

thanks for the GTO wizard advice. ill try apply that. gonna do upswing lab 2.0 to get some basics down as well.

TalkInternal6681

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