Questions at Raymond James Financial interviews

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? top question

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   What challenges do you like overcoming? Where are you starting from and where might you be going?

   For example, let's say the position you are applying for is junior accountant. It includes a wide range of tasks such as basic bookkeeping, financial analysis, and reporting. If accounting is your chosen field, then you would most likely want to move in the direction of obtaining your CPA so that you might step up to more responsibility as an accounting manager or senior auditor within the next 5 years. Your responses should make sense in how you see yourself growing in your professional career.

   However, at this point, if you are happy just where you are and want to further your current skills, that is also fine as long as there is a growth path for you that can be imagined and described.

2. About The Company

   Research the company to learn what career opportunities may be available in the department you are applying to, and what the trends are in the company in general.

   • Is the business expanding, are they opening new locations, or starting new projects?
   • Or are they heavily automating and cutting staff?

   Let’s say you are applying for a UX designer position for a brand-new product.

   In the future, if the product becomes a success - which is what the company hopes for - the company will hire more designers and you may become a lead designer, or you may become a product manager.

   On a side note: If you train your mind to be open to opportunities you will be amazed at how much this world has to offer to you!

3. About The Fit

   And, of course, try to see where the perfect fit lies between your own potential and aspirations, and the company’s trends and hopes.

   However, beware of the risk of showing too much excitement for future opportunities compared to your attitude towards the current position.

   As we said earlier, you must show interest and enthusiasm for the position you are applying for. If the interviewer senses that you are more enthusiastic about future growth than about the current position, they may conclude that you are not the right person for the job at hand.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 64% more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

2. Tell me about yourself

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   What is your current occupation? Define yourself professionally in one statement.

   Pick 3 key skills that make you great at your work (your Key Selling Points). How have you applied these skills?

   Try to give some numbers to support your statement.

2. About The Company

   Your first step is to Research the company to find out as much as you can about what they do and their approach to their business and their employees.

   Based on what you know about the company and the job description, why are you interested in the position you are applying for?

3. About The Fit

   Now is the right time to show the fit between your skills and the company's requirements. Your answer works best if you emphasize your relevance. How do you do this? You will have already researched the company, studied the job description to identify their needs and possible pain points and prepared the relevant Star Stories that show how you addressed similar issues in the past. Your next step is to develop your Present-Past-Present approach.

   Start with the Present. Focus on the skills and experience from your most recent positions. What has enabled you to get the job done successfully and how this relates to what the employer is looking to accomplish.

   Next go back to the Past. Here is where your Star story comes in. Explain how you were able to use your skills and experience to accomplish a task that relates to an area of concern for the employer.

   Finally come back to the Present – summarizing the lessons you learned and how they shaped your response and approach today.

   Remember, the whole conversation is about the present, not the past. Just one sentence can summarize why your approach works, and its applicability and relevance to this position.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 11% less frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

3. Walk me through your resume

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Print out your resume. For each of your recent job experiences (at this point do not go back more than 5 years), write down 3-5 key points at which you feel you are strong.

   For example, for your current (or previous) job, you may want to list skills like “Excellent presentation skills,” “Employee Engagement guru,” “Analytical skills,” “Attention to detail” (they don’t have to be all soft skills, but being aware of at least a few of your strong soft skills is important). Make sure you have examples for each of your statements.

   If you have difficulties to think of these points, search online for job descriptions for similar job roles, and figure out which of those keywords appeal to you. Look for people on LinkedIn that have jobs similar to the one you are applying for. Their profiles often contain many keywords that you can use in response to this question.

   Now that you’ve gone through all your recent experiences, are there any points that repeat more often than others, or are especially important to you? These are candidates to be your Key Selling Points -highlight 3-5 of them.

2. About The Company

   Research the company and the role for which you're being interviewed. When researching the company, find out what skills and qualities they value the most. Carefully consider the job requirements. What is it that you will be responsible for?

   Now, write down 3-5 keywords from the job description that you find of utmost importance for this job role.

3. About The Fit

   Try to establish the match between your own highlighted keywords, and those of the job description. These are your Key Selling Points! You should normally limit yourself by 3-5 such keywords or phrases.

   Now, craft a story based on your career history. You don’t have to go in chronological order - you can start with your current or last job experience, and then go back to your previous ones, or focus on just the experiences that are relevant to your story, and only briefly mention the less relevant ones and only if needed.

   Select one point to highlight for each phase of your career. Make sure you ingrain your Key Selling Points in the interviewer’s memory - after the interview is over, you want them to remember you as someone who is strong at XYZ, or experienced in A, B and C.

   It's okay to focus more on stellar achievements and brag a little bit about them.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 6.0x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

4. What is your greatest weakness?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   No one is perfect and your interviewer doesn't expect you to be perfect either.

   While it is good to be honest and open, it will not help you to put yourself down.

   What's important is to find a weakness that you have overcome. How you turned what might be considered a negative into a positive.

2. About The Company

   Research the company (website, social media, etc) to learn about the company culture.

   What personal and professional qualities do they value?

3. About The Fit

   This is the time to clearly state a true weakness that you have overcome.

   Be as specific as possible and stay away from vague cliches like “I work too hard.” It would be difficult for anyone to try and explain how they overcame a weakness like that

   Mr. Simon emphasizes the Present-Past-Present method of responding to behavioral questions. When you are asked about your greatest weakness, you should be able to successfully use this approach as well. Here is an example of how someone might answer this question.

   Present - "I have always had a fear of public speaking, and believe this may have held me back in my career, especially when having to make presentations to management."

   Past - "Last year I learned about Toastmasters International and decided to join this group to help me gain confidence in myself and improve my ability to present to others in just about any situation."

   Present - "By overcoming this weakness I believe that it has made me a much stronger candidate for this position, someone you can count on to make presentations to management, conduct training and communicate at a high level."

   It's important to show how well you've overcome a weakness by motivating yourself and learning a new skill to grow professionally.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 32% less frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

5. What are your long-term goals?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Start with honestly assessing yourself. (At this moment, you are not sharing these thoughts with anyone, so be as open as you can).

   Imagine that you have all the resources in the world and that all roads are open for you.

   • How would you use them?
   • Which road(s) would you choose?
   • What do you see on the horizon in that direction?

   Be audacious and don’t limit yourself. There is no longer a perspective than “long-term,” so be as futuristic as you possibly can.

   List a few “road” options that you would be enthusiastic about going down.

   For example, this list may be as broad as the following:

   • writer
   • choir director
   • software engineer and architect
   • CEO of a unicorn startup company,
   • entrepreneur.

   As William Shakespeare once said, “We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.”

2. About The Company

   Now, look at the company.

   • What is the industry they operate in?
   • What is the position you are applying for, and what are potential career growth possibilities within the department, company, and industry?

3. About The Fit

   Which of your “road” options correspond best with the opportunities presented by this company?

   Highlight this option and focus on it. Imagine, in as much detail as you can, going down this road.

   What would be the major milestones for you, in order to move towards your goal?

   Describe the chosen option by focusing on the first 1-2 milestones, and by presenting it in light of company goals and current initiatives.

   For example, if you are applying for a project manager position in a corporation engaged in the education industry, and your “road” option is “CEO,” your next career step may be a program manager, or an innovations and research manager.

   Explain why you are enthusiastic about reaching these goals, and what makes you think you have the necessary traits and skills to reach them.

   How can the company benefit from these traits and skills of yours already today, in the current role you are applying for?

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 2.4x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

6. Have you ever had a problem with another team member that you were working with? If so, how did you handle it?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   • Have you ever had problems working with someone?
   • How did you deal with unexpected obstacles?
   • Were you able to find solutions by yourself?
   • Did you take the initiative?
   • Can you look at problems at different angles?
   • Can you find a common language with people?
   • What were the key lessons you learned from the situation?

2. About The Company

   Do your research about the company and its culture.

   • How do the employees value each other?
   • How do they deal with conflict situations?
   • Do they have any specific standards and policies?

   Carefully review the job description so you understand what "teamwork" means for the position and the company.

3. About The Fit

   It’s important to show your people-skills, communication and problem-solving skills.

   If you can, give an example of a time you had a problem with another team member at a previous job. Remember that everything in this story should be told in a positive way.

   For example: "I had disagreements with my coworker at my first job, but I took advantage of the good advice given to me by my manager and talked to him. It turned out that we simply misunderstood each other. This case made me realize that communication is the basis of any relationship and that it is possible to reach an agreement with almost anyone."

   In this example, you did not say anything bad about your coworker or about yourself. On the contrary, you have shown that you can find solutions to any problem.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 9.0x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

7. Describe a time you worked on a team with individuals from different cultural backgrounds

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Answering this question highlights your ability to navigate cultural differences at work.

   Think about your team experiences and times when you’ve had to overcome differences with colleagues.

   • How do you adapt to working with team members of different communication styles?
   • Are you open-minded enough to consider all their ideas even if you don't agree?
   • How do you handle the differences in attitudes and values between you and people from other countries or backgrounds?
   • Do you show respect and are you diplomatic with people who may hold different beliefs?

   Maybe you haven’t worked with people from different cultures, but you may have been studying or been friends with people from different backgrounds.

   Address your personal life, if necessary, and emphasize your curiosity and openness to other cultures.

2. About The Company

   A careful review of the job description, along with some research of the company will help you anticipate what aspects of global/cultural awareness are most important for a particular role in the company you are applying to.

3. About The Fit

   The ability to demonstrate openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and respect are the hallmark of a person capable of working with and understanding others and their individual differences.

   Your task is to prove to the interviewer your ability to build strong and caring relationships based on trust and shared goals.

   We recommend using the Present-Past-Present method to put forth your ability to work on a team with individuals from different cultural backgrounds.

   Start with the Present by telling the interviewer about your approach to teamwork - for example, your positive view of teamwork itself and how you believe that people from different backgrounds strengthen the team effort by adding perspective to the challenges it may face.

   Next, go back to the Past and use the STAR method to tell a story about how your experience helped you to create an open and inclusive workplace environment, so all team members felt empowered to contribute. You might say something like: “At my recent work, representatives of different cultures participated in one common project to fix our company's multi-national shipping problem. My understanding of how team members from different backgrounds, with different political views and various levels of English language skills had to effectively work together. My leadership enabled the team to bring our project to a successful conclusion.”

   Lastly, come back to the Present to ensure the interviewer that you are very comfortable working with team members from other cultures and possibly with different communication styles.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 5.9x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

8. What was the biggest mistake you made in your most recent job? How did you handle it?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Do your best to tell a positive story about how the mistake was made, how you dealt with it and what learned from it.

   We all make mistakes from time-to-time.

   Answering some of the following questions will help you understand your own view of dealing with mistakes and their consequences. For instance:

   • How do you use a mistake to improve your abilities?
   • Are you self-aware enough to acknowledge failure and weakness?
   • Do you take smart risks?
   • How do you view success, failure, and risk in general?
   • Do you take responsibility for past mistakes instead of putting the blame on others?
   • If the situation repeats, what would you do differently? What would you do again?

2. About The Company

   Before the interview, look over the job listing, research the company. Try to think of a mistake you have made in the past that is not too closely related to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for.

   What kind of challenges might you face if you get the job here?

3. About The Fit

   It’s your opportunity to emphasize the skills or qualities you gained from your past negative experience that are important for the job you’re interviewing for now.

   Put a positive spin on your response by defining the “mistake” as a “learning experience” that led to your increased competency in the workplace.

   Talk about a specific example of a time you made a mistake. Briefly explain what the mistake was; quickly switch over to what you learned, or how you improved, after making that mistake.

   You might also explain the steps you took to make sure that mistake never happened again. Say that something you may have struggled with in the past has actually now became one of your strengths.

   Pick a story that ends with a compelling example of a lesson learned. Tell your story using the STAR method.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 6.4x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

9. What are your drivers? What motivates you?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   This question requires serious self-examination; you should be asking it yourself long before the interviewer does.

   Look back on everything you’ve done in your life, job, and career so far.

   • What was it about your best days that made them the best?
   • Can you take those feelings and apply them to specific moments from your life and past work experiences?
   • Are you ready for tough projects or for being asked to do something that isn’t quite on your job description, or for having to stay at work till late instead of another team member?
   • Will meeting deadlines, learning new things, finding a way to solve problems or overcoming a challenge inspire you and make you want even more?
   • What gives you a sense of accomplishment when you can look back on and say "I achieved that"?

   Look deep inside.

   Analyze your experience by types of tasks, by type of environment, type of feedback, level of responsibility and stakes? Do you prefer independence, or being part of a team?

   1. Task type: if you were given a whole day or even week at work to focus on just one of your tasks, without interruptions or multitasking, which one would that be? Why?
   2. Environment: do you feel motivated in a dynamic environment with lots of action, communications, deadlines? Or would you rather disconnect from the outside world and immerse into a single task, with your headphones on?
   3. Feedback: are you better motivated by positive feedback, or by healthy criticism? Or maybe by customers’ smiles and “Thank you” messages?
   4. Responsibility and stakes: are you motivated to do your best when you know that the stakes are high and your contribution will make a great impact on the bottom line? Or do you feel better in a more safe and relaxed environment when someone else is responsible for making big decisions?
   5. Financials: what is the salary range that makes you feel comfortable and respect yourself? Let’s be realistic, this is one (although definitely shouldn’t be the first) of the drivers.

   Be creative, this list is not exhaustive.

2. About The Company

   Take a long look at the job you’re applying for.

   • What kinds of tasks will you be responsible for?
   • What will the environment be?
   • What do you know about the possible kinds of feedback you will be receiving?
   • What is the level of stakes in this role?
   • What do you know about the salary they can possibly offer?

3. About The Fit

   How comfortable are you with the drivers the company can offer, comparing to those of your own? Pick those that have a match and give some examples.

   For instance, if you’re applying for a software engineer job, describe how you are motivated by solving complex technical challenges.

   If the job involves teamwork, give an example showing that you love collaborating and accomplishing big things as a part of a team.

   That is what drives you to do your best each day. You can say you enjoy meaningful work creating products that change people’s lives, if this is relevant to the company.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 3.8x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

10. Tell me about your work experience. What was the most interesting?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Review the details that you shared in your resume. Select the three to five best points to highlight and relate to the position to which you're applying.

2. About The Company

   Carefully research the company and the job description.

   Find out what duties you'll be taking on to determine which of your top skills to emphasize. Try to find out what current challenges they are trying to solve by opening this vacancy.

3. About The Fit

   Knowing the duties for which you will be responsible will help you identify which prior experiences to highlight.

   How well you connect your previous experiences with the job requirements can tell the interviewer how prepared you are for this role and how enthusiastic you will be about your job.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 97% more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

11. Describe a time when you resolved a conflict with a colleague in your past role

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Think of the times you had to deal with conflict.

   • What were the different ways you were able to address the situation?
   • If you were the cause of the conflict, how did you handle it and what role did the other person play in helping to resolve the conflict?
   • What were the key lessons you learned through your experience?

2. About The Company

   Research the company and its culture.

   • What do they value?
   • Is there anything that you can find about how they deal with conflict resolution?
   • Do sites such as Glassdoor give any indication of the kinds of conflicts that might occur and how they are handled?

   Reading comments on the company's social media posts often prove helpful to see how they react to customers' complaints.

3. About The Fit

   Consider the Present-Past-Present method to tell a story of how you addressed conflict and how it turned a negative into a positive.

   Start with the Present to expain to the hiring manager how you always ask questions and listen carefully to your coworkers perspective to understand both sides of an issue and apply your sense of fairness when it comes to resolving potential conflicts with others.

   Then go back to the Past using the STAR method to frame your story. Here is an example of how someone might relate just such a story:

   "My coworker, who started with the company about 6 months before me explained the process the department used for tracking certain data metrics. In my "wisdom" I thought I had a better way. Without telling my colleague what I was doing I went ahead and tried my own way. Unfortunately my way did not quite do the job and as a result we had to start again. He was naturally upset but I brought out my best listening skills to understand his perspective and we agreed to start again with the next reports. I learned a lesson and we have worked together very well since that time."

   Finally, come back to the Present to explain how you skills at listening to and doing your best to understand the other person's point of view is a valuable asset and makes you a strong candidate for the position.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 2.8x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

12. What will make you leave a company?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Think of your goals for your career. Think of what you need right now. Are you and the company on the same path?

   Remember why you left your last job.

   • Was it relocation of the company? 
   • Changes in working conditions: changing of schedule, increasing of duties without a corresponding increase in salary, sharp reduction or delay of salary?
   • Change in leadership?
   • Downsizing?
   • Bullying by colleagues?
   • Non-recognition of achievements?

   If any of these conditions repeat themselves in the new company, would you be prepared to leave?

2. About The Company

   Research the company and the role.

   • Can they offer you the kind of duties that would make you want to stay?
   • Do you see people with longevity in the company?
   • Is this the role and the company you see for yourself?
   • Do you feel it’s a strong match with your strengths, goals and experience?

3. About The Fit

   Let the interviewer know how ambitious and eager to get to work you are, particularly in this company.

   Showcase how your skills and experience match the role and let them know how you see yourself growing with the company.

   Here is a smart example of answering this question:

   “I truly value growth and I see the opportunity to improve my skills and progress in this company. As long as I can accomplish this with this team, there would be no need to consider leaving.”

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 8.6x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

13. What one skill do you possess that you think will be the most important to a hiring manager?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   If you’re not sure which skill would be best to share, consider your previous work experiences.

   • Where did you excel?
   • What would your peers say you’re especially proficient at?
   • Have you ever received recognition for meeting a particular objective or excelling in a specific area?If so, your skills likely assisted you in reaching this achievement.
   • What personal talents or attributes helped you meet that milestone?

   Ask former coworkers or managers to help you to determine your strengths that made you unique. Imagine yourself as a manager who needs an employee to fill the position you are currently applying for.

   What would you as the manager expect from a candidate for this job?

2. About The Company

   Start by reviewing the job description and making note of any required skills or abilities that match your own.

   The job posting is a great guide for what employers want to see in candidates. In addition to job requirements, consider the depiction of the company and its culture in the job description.

   Be sure to research the company by reviewing its website for additional information to get to know what skill you should mention.

3. About The Fit

   It’s important to highlight your best hard and soft skills (your Key Selling Points) to position yourself as a well-rounded candidate.

   Though you may have several different areas of strength, include only those that are relevant to the job. Adaptability, critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and effective communication – it is the list of most common soft skills that can be helpful in any job, so you can choose the one to share with the hiring manager that best describes you.

   But to make your answer stronger, the skill should be specific to the job you are applying for. Be certain to give examples of how this skill helped you in your last job.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 2.7x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

14. What is the biggest lesson you've learned from a mistake you made?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   Do your best to tell a positive story about how the mistake was made, how you dealt with it and what learned from it.

   We all make mistakes from time-to-time. Answering some of the following questions will help you understand your own view of dealing with mistakes and their consequences.

   For instance:

   • How do you use a mistake to improve your abilities?
   • Are you self-aware enough to acknowledge failure and weakness?
   • Do you take smart risks?
   • How do you view success, failure, and risk in general?
   • Do you take responsibility for past mistakes instead of putting the blame on others?
   • If the situation repeats, what would you do differently? What would you do again?

2. About The Company

   Before the interview, look over the job listing, research the company.

   Try to think of a mistake you have made in the past that is not too closely related to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for. What kind of challenges might you face if you get the job here?

3. About The Fit

   It’s your opportunity to emphasize the skills or qualities you gained from your past negative experience that are important for the job you’re interviewing for now. The best way to answer a question like this is to use the Present-Past-Present method.

   Start with the Present by ensuring the interviewer that even though you have made mistakes in the past, the lesson that you learned is to always carefully double-check your work and to make sure you plan ahead for any possible contingencies.

   Next go back to the Past to relate a STAR story that will tell the interviewer about a time when you made a mistake but were able to make the right adjustment to turn a potential negative into a positive. You might say something like: "I was responsible to provide one of our best customers a time frame for completing an important project. In my eagerness to impress them I miscalculated how long it would take and we missed the deadline. The customer was very disappointed and we nearly lost their business. After my manager explained the problem to me I worked very hard to improve my approach to project management and meeting timelines and nothing like this has happened again."

   Finally come back to the Present to tell the interviewer that you have the ability to learn from negative experiences and going forward you will approach all tasks with a mindset that will enable you to adjust quickly.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 2.2x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

15. What challenges are you looking for in this position?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   • What qualities do you wish to develop in yourself both professionally and personally?
   • What kind of culture do you want to work in?
   • What motivates you?
   • What will help you to achieve your future goals?

   Choose those things that you’re already pretty good at, but still trying to improve even more.

2. About The Company

   Research the company, its culture and the work environment. Check their website, read up on any media report you can find about them, check out their social media platform.

   Carefully read the job description to get an insight into what the company thinks the challenges are. Make sure to include them in your answers to demonstrate your skill set.

3. About The Fit

   The best way to answer this question is to discuss how you would like to be able to effectively apply your skills and experience to the new job.

   Focus on those skills that you are most passionate about or have the most experience with. You can also mention that you are motivated by challenges, can effectively meet them, and have the flexibility and skills necessary to handle a stimulating job.

   Describe specific examples of challenges you have met and the goals you have achieved in the past. Choose those that reveal your strengths.

   Challenges clearly vary widely based on the position you are applying for.

   For example, in sales you may speak about higher sales quotas, a larger sales territory, or a more prominent range of products or services.

   In IT, they might be learning a new software program or incorporating the cloud in the company’s systems.

   In a management position, it could be leading a larger team than you currently do or stepping into your first leadership role.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 7.3x more frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.

16. What are your salary requirements?

How to answer

1. About Yourself

   The first thing to research is the salary range for your role in the market. What is the industry standard?

   Next, think of your qualifications for the role. Weigh in your traits, skills, education, and experience. Try this exercise, draw a line on a piece of paper where on the left side sits a complete beginner, and on the right side - the best professional in the world the company may try to invite for the role. Where do you position yourself?

   Now, remember that once you start in your new role, your qualifications will be growing fast, due to all the new experience you will be gaining - consequently, your value will rise as well. Your salary, on the other hand, will not increase as quickly. So, try to imagine where your qualifications will bring you, on that scale, in about a year into the new job.

   Map the scale against the industry range. Now you should be able to come up with an objective figure, as opposed to pure speculation.

   This is not real math, however, so your number cannot be very precise, of course. Define a range, which starts with the minimum that will keep you satisfied a few months into the job, and the maximum which, a year into the job, will give you the lifestyle you would ideally like to have at that time.

   Make sure the range stays within 40%-60% between extremes. Remember, the higher the position up the ladder, the wider the range can be. What is the number in the middle? Will you feel comfortable with this number?

2. About The Company

   Research the company and find out what they are paying. The best places to find this information are Glassdoor, LinkedIn, PayScale and other similar websites.

3. About The Fit

   Based on your research, does the company fit your desired salary range?

   Now, whether you should be giving a range, or a single target number is a matter of debate. I personally think that a single number, given in a suggestive manner, is better than the range, because when given a range, they may logically gravitate towards the lower end, especially since you’ve said that the lower number is acceptable.

   One example of how to structure your answer of a single target number is this:

   I have done my research and based on the average for the industry, location, and my level of expertise, something like XXX seems reasonable to me. What do you think?

   Besides giving the factual answer that the interviewer is asking for, such an answer will also show you to be someone who takes the initiative, who goes the extra mile, and someone with data-driven and analytical mindset.

Pro Tip

Statistics

This question is asked 8% less frequently at Raymond James Financial than at other companies.