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JP Morgan is a household name. They are an international leader in financial services and serve more than 100 countries. From corporations to governments to institutions, JP Morgan provides solutions.
In terms of assets, JP Morgan is the largest bank in the United States. They provide services in consumer banking, investment banking, commercial banking, asset management, and more.
Like many of the larger companies, JP Morgan has a hiring website with information about their hiring processes, open jobs, and more. These are excellent resources when applying to jobs. Not only do they give you an idea of what to expect, but they also give you explicit instructions in some cases.
JP Morgan’s hiring website explicitly states that your resume should include metrics that measure your success in each of your previous or current roles.
Of course, it is always important to quantify your achievements on both your resume and your cover letter. But, with such a clear expectation, not including those metrics in your bullet points or cover letter earns you a quick trip to the “no” pile.
In addition to metrics, they want to see displays of leadership and bullet points that highlight your teamwork skills. Both skill sets are important to their company culture.
Make sure that both your resume and cover letter are clear and concise. Again, this is an expectation in most cases, but their hiring page explicitly mentions it, so it’s very important to them.
You should also be sure to tailor your resume to the role you are applying for. Highlight the skills, responsibilities, and achievements that best suit the job you are hoping to earn. Use the job description to find the right keywords to include in both your resume and cover letter.
Once you’ve submitted your resume, you enter the waiting period. But don’t leave it at “send” and just sit by the phone waiting for someone to reach out. JP Morgan’s hiring page mentions that once an application is submitted, you should continue to engage with the company via social media and their events, both live and virtual.
The interview stage is step three in JP Morgan’s four-step hiring process: Explore, Apply, Interview, Decision.
The interview process will typically include multiple rounds but will vary by program. They conduct interviews via phone, video call, and in-person. The type of interview will vary based on the position you are applying for and where you are in the hiring process.
The interview process is as follows:
Pymetrics. Not all programs or positions will require this step. If you are required to complete pymetrics, you will use the game-based platform to measure social, cognitive, and behavior attributes.
The pymetric games take about 25-35 minutes, so be sure to set aside a good amount of time to complete this interview step. The goal is to see if you are a good fit for the role you are applying for. The company may or may not have reviewed your resume before this is requested.
Asynchronous video interview. Asynchronous or pre-recorded interviews are used as a preliminary screening process. The company is interested in you, but they’re not quite sure you’ll be the right fit, at least not yet.
You will record video responses to pre-selected questions. You will have the opportunity to re-record responses if you aren’t comfortable with them. Some companies, or programs, won’t review the resume before sending out this screening step.
Skills assessment. Not all programs or positions will require a skills assessment. But some, especially those applying for a technical position, may be asked to complete an assessment that demonstrates the technical skills necessary for the role. Coding challenges are the most common at JP Morgan.
Again, this assessment may come before they’ve ever reviewed your resume.
In-person or live video interview. If you’ve satisfactorily completed the previous steps and your resume seems like a good fit, you will be invited to a final round interview. This interview may be in-person or on video, but it will be face-to-face.
If you are completing a video interview, be sure not to make these common video interview mistakes.
Unlike some companies, they won’t ask only STAR interview questions. JP Morgan will ask a mix of behavioral, technical and situational questions, so prepare yourself beforehand.
These could be considered general interview tips, but JP Morgan makes an effort to explicitly mention them on their interview tips page. So, pay attention to the tips below.
They encourage applicants who have advanced to the interview process to make an effort to stay up-to-date on company and industry news. There is an expectation that you will speak from “a place of knowledge and confidence” during your interview. It will be clear if you are unsure or uneducated on a topic.
Prepare your own questions for the end of the interview. Not only will this help you learn about the firm, but it will also show them that you have a real interest in this role and you are willing to make an effort to learn more.
Once you’ve reached the interview stage, you will need to prepare yourself for the questions that will be asked. Each position will have questions that are likely to be asked during interviews. Each company will also have questions, or question types, that they are known for asking applicants.
For interviews with JP Morgan, expect job-specific technical questions in addition to behavioral and situational questions. JP Morgan is also known for asking brain teasers to see how applicants respond.
Answering technical questions.
It is important to take a moment before responding to any technical questions the interviewer tosses out. Make sure you’re aware of what is actually being asked, then answer to the best of your ability.
Be specific in your responses and provide examples when necessary.
The technical questions you answer will vary based on the role you are applying for. Be aware of the questions typically asked during an interview for the job title.
Answering behavioral and situational questions.
These questions are designed to show interviewers how you would respond in situations you will likely be presented with when completing your daily tasks. The best way to respond to both behavioral and situational questions is by using the STAR method.
The STAR method is a four-step process that allows you to fully answer a question while staying on topic. Rambling isn’t a good look in the interview room.
The four steps are:
Situation
Task
Action
Results
You will need to respond with concrete examples. Mock interviews can help you line up real-life examples you’ve experienced and ensure you’re prepared to answer on interview day.
Below are sample questions that JP Morgan uses during interviews. We have provided sample answers to give you an idea of how to best respond.
How do you prioritize tasks and projects when scheduling your time? Give some examples.
Example Answer:
“If there are multiple competing tasks or projects on my plate, I always take a step back to examine everything. I examine each individual project with a focus on the deadlines, dependencies, and the estimated amount of time each task will take.
This helps me to see what is most urgent, what needs my attention first, and what can wait. I use what I learn through this process to schedule my time accordingly going forward as well.”
Have you ever had a project that does not go according to plan? What happened? What did you do to get it back on track?
Example Answer:
“Not all projects go according to plan. There are always little things that throw a wrench in the gears. Lack of communication, poor planning, unrealistic expectations, scope creep, and more can all derail projects.
I once worked on an online course with my previous company. The course was a new offering, and the platform was not fully equipped to handle the information it needed.
There was a lot of manual input needed. While this was an expectation of the project from the beginning, the timeline expectation for this particular task was very unrealistic.
What was expected to take one person a couple of days to complete later proved to be a much more daunting task. Each individual input was taking over an hour, and with nearly fifty plans to enter, the original timeline was simply impossible.
I spoke to my superiors and explained the problem. The scope of the project was much different than what had been presented. I needed more hands and a more realistic deadline. At the end of the day, I was able to bring on several more project team members and complete the project in a satisfactory amount of time.”
Describe a time when you received difficult feedback. How did you respond?
Example Answer:
“During my junior year of college, I took an advanced level English course. The teacher was not particularly fond of me or my writing style and made no effort to hide their displeasure.
Despite being an accomplished writer with no negative feedback in any of my previous courses, this particular teacher graded my papers harshly. The midterm paper was particularly bad.
I set a meeting with the teacher to discuss the grading. She went through a long list of reasons why my writing and my paper were not worthy of a higher grade.
Every teacher has their own opinions, and I was not going to change hers. But, I took notes during the meeting and made sure to address every issue she raised with the next paper. Consequently, my grades improved.”
Describe an experience with creating a presentation for school, internships or volunteer activities. How did you know your presentation was successful?
Example Answer:
“I worked on the school newspaper when I was an undergraduate. I started as a contributor but worked my way up to editor-in-chief. Unfortunately, during my senior year, there was an incident that caused some tension between the newspaper staff and the school administration.
An article was published that the administration felt was unacceptable. The newspaper staff understood that the topic was controversial but did not feel they should be censured simply due to this fact. Freedom of speech is, after all, important.
We were forced to meet with representatives to plead our case. The article itself was already out there, and there was not much either side could do at that point.
However, we needed to reach an agreement about issues like these going forward. The administration felt we should have to run any article topics that seemed even remotely controversial through them for approval or denial. We disagreed.
While no true agreement was reached, we were successful in our argument. We were able to maintain our freedom of speech and placate the administration. We formed a committee made up of all on-campus publications and a few administrative representatives to meet on a monthly basis.”
Tell me about a time when you were confused about the details of a request. What steps did you take to clarify things?
Example Answer:
“I worked remotely for a few years after graduating college. While we are still easily able to communicate via email, video calls, and messaging services, it can sometimes be difficult to reach the person you need.
When I am confused about a task or project request, I will always try to resolve my confusion on my own first. This particular position had me on the marketing team. I was asked to create an email sequence for an upcoming product release.
Unfortunately, the request was very unclear. I was given little to no information about the product or the goals of the email campaign.
Unlike some smaller issues, this was not one I could resolve on my own. So, I reached out to the product team first for clarification. I needed to understand the product in order to create the email copy.
I was able to procure a product guide from the product team that detailed the product and its features, target audience, and other important details I needed.
Once that was cleared up, I reached out to my superior on the marketing team to get a better understanding of the goals of the email campaign. The goals guide the copy just as much as the topic, so they are just as important to understand.
Once both issues were resolved, I was able to complete the project successfully.”
Answering brain teaser questions
Brain teaser questions in an interview setting can show the interviewer a lot about the candidate. Not only will it show how you react to unexpected situations, but it can also display your problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills.
These puzzle-like questions require you to think outside the box with a mixture of both analytical thinking skills and creative thinking skills.
Some brain teasers that JP Morgan is known to ask are:
How many trees are there in Central Park?
How many people set foot in the Vatican during an average day in July?
How many windows are in this building?
How many houses higher than 20m are there in NYC?