Optiver Future Focus Guide
Understand the qualifications and background you need to land Optiver's Future Focus program.
Introduction
Optiver's FutureFocus is an esteemed 3 day program for pre-penultimate students looking for early exposure to quantitative finance. As an attendee, you will understand the different career pathways at Optiver, engage in various quantitative activities, and learn the core fundamentals of trading with a live simulation in a virtual market.
This guide will take you through Optiver's values and work culture, the prerequisites, and Optiver's Future Focus interview process. We will also provide you with resources and advice to help boost your application, with the aim of maximising your chances to secure entry into this program!
About Optiver
Optiver is a proprietary trading firm and market maker for various financial instruments. Optiver has been improving markets and providing liquidity globally since 1986, making them one of the oldest in the industry.
The firm has more than 2000 employees and 10 office locations, including Amsterdam, London, Chicago, Austin, Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Mumbai.
Optiver promotes a competitive yet collaborative work environment. Exceptional employees appreciate continuous learning, challenge assumptions, and work with team members on innovative and creative projects. Actively seeking out challenges and stepping out of comfort zones are also practices that Optiver strongly encourages.
Your Background
Optiver's Future Focus program require certain prerequisites, which must be displayed on your resume when you apply.
Once you meet these prerequisites, then you can start working on stand-out projects and accomplishments that will keep you competitive in the interview process, and maximise your chances of landing admission into the program.
Prerequisites
In order to be considered for an interview for Optiver's Future Focus program, you must have the following prerequisites:
- Are working toward a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD within any field
- Are in a pre-penultimate year of your degree
- Interest in working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
To be competitive within the interview process, consider the following qualifications:
- Experience in competitive and strategic environments to a high/professional standard
- Advanced quantitative, logical, and problem solving skills
- High GPA within your degree
Please note that these are a few attributes that would be beneficial to improve your chances of landing a position in Optiver's Future Focus progam. There are multiple other experiences/qualifications that will also be beneficial, but the qualities from these attributes are highly valued at pre-penultimate programs.
Your Application
Optiver's Future Focus application structure can be quite overwhelming for pre-penultimate students, especially those who have never applied at quantitative finance firms. Therefore, it is imperative to study the application process to get a competitive advantage (congrats if you are reading this!).
You will be asked to fill out a range of questions, including your degree, your GPA, your graduation date, your resume, and so on.
The main focus is on your resume, which will contain your:
- Career objectives and overview
- Area of study and academic performance
- Experience and projects
- Extracurricular/competitive achievements
- Characteristics and interests
It is important you structure your resume correctly. We recommend a platform such as resume.io to assist you with building your resume.
Round 1: Online Assessments
After you submit your application, you should recieve an online assessment link anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. You are given one week to complete multiple online assessments.
The online assessments you will need to take varies based on your office location and year of application. We recommend you practice all possible online assessments listed below, based on which stream you chose:
Technology Stream
The online assessments for the trading stream comprises of a programming examination, technology knowledge test, Zap-N coginitive assessment, and Zap-Q personality assessment. For precise details regarding these online assessments, and how to ace them, view our Optiver Trading Interview Guide.
Trading and Research Stream
The online assessments for the technology stream comprises of the 80 in 8 mental math assessment, beat the odds probability, optiver numberlogic, Zap-N cognitive assessment, and Zap-Q personality assessment. For precise details regarding these online assessments, and how to ace them, view our Optiver Software Engineering Interview Guide.
Round 2: HR Interview
If you progress to this round, then congratulations! You're one step closer to joining Optiver in their Future Focus program.
In the HR interview, you will discuss over the phone with a member of Optiver's HR team (who has a technical background, by the way) your qualifications, background, and skills, as well as your motivations for applying and cultural fit with the firm.
The following are types of questions that you may encounter in an HR Interview:
1. General Questions
General questions regarding your motivations, values, personality, and work style allow the interviewer to further understand how you will integrate into the work environment.
You can see examples of these types of questions in our common general questions list.
2. Background Questions
These questions dive into your previous work experience, projects, and education to get a better understanding of how you qualify for the role.
To see these types of questions, view common background questions.
This interview section is very overlooked. Make sure you deeply understand the Optiver's values and mission (as described above) before going into the interview.
Also, be confident and authentic, and prepare your experience and projects in an orgnaised and professional way.
Final Round: Technical Interview
You've made it so far! Congrats. The final round is perhaps the hardest round of Optiver's Future Focus interview process. You will be tasked by a quantitative professional at Optiver, and you will be grilled with difficult technical problems.
The technical round will vary based on whether you applied for the trading/research stream, or technology stream:
Trading/Research Stream
The technical interview for trading/research will consist of interview questions, brainteasers, risk management, market making, and more. You can view a detailed explanation in our Optiver Trading Interview Guide.
Technology Stream
The technical interview for technology consists of programming, system design, technology fundamentals, and more. To understand precisely which questions may be asked, you can view our Optiver Software Engineering Interview Guide.
Closing Remarks
The first step to acing Optiver's Future Focus Interview is understanding it's interview process holistically. By virtue of you reading this very line, you have already gained a competitive advantage over most applicants.
To gain an even further advantage in the interview process, it is imperative that you start preparing early and stay consistent in your preparation. Many applicants fail to delegate adequate time for interview preparation, or overlook interview preparation in general, leading to failing throughout the interview process.
For competitive positions, knowing how to interview is super important. Please understand, quantitative finance is a competitive industry, with only a select few that will fill in positions. To stand out, and maximise your chances of securing a seat at Optiver's Future Focus program, you must prepare early.
Further, if you feel that you're in too bad of a position to apply, the biggest mistake you can do is not apply! You miss all opportunities that you do not take.
Overall, Optiver's Future Focus program is a fun, intriguing, and fulfilling event, and with enough preparation and knowledge, you will be well-positioned to crack the interview process, and land the position.
