Optiver

Quote from doculik:

Hi guys,

Just failed the Optiver test today :((
Here's what it looks like:
1. There are 80 questions in 8 minutes (that point should be clear by now)
2. The questions are very mixed; they're not all like a + b = ?, but rather ? + b = c, a / ?= c, ? * a = c and so on.
3. Furthermore, the fractions are killing, especially because they're never in their most simple form; let's say the correct answer is 3, among the possible choices you may have 6/2, 81/27 or some other shit like that.
4. The additions are fine, I didn't encounter any decimals, they're mostly 2x2 and 3x3 additions.
5. The multiplications and divisions are pretty tricky, in that they're something like 0.18/0.3, with possible answers 0.6, 0.06, 6 and 1.67 (0.6 is the correct answer); in the rush of the moment is definetely easy to get mixed up between 0.6 and 0.06, especially taking into account point 6, below.
They're always decimal (up to three decimals) multiplications/divisions (.006 * .5, .4 * .03) and divisions, only two or four "classical" ones, like 54 / ... = 9 and ... * 13 = 104.
6. There are 2 sheets of paper: one with the questions and one with the answers. It's a pain in the ass to compute the thing, identify the correct answer then cross the corresponding letter on the answer sheet. In between these steps, lots of mistakes can be made.

So my advice to whoever is interested, is to do the http://www.dennisfleurbaaij.com/mathtest.php tests for 3-4 days, until you can get to 60 answered questions with 2-3 wrong ones, then get yourself two pieces of paper and basically replicate what I've just said.

The http://www.dennisfleurbaaij.com/mathtest.php tests are way too difficult for what's required, namely simpler computations and especially the ability to transcribe the answers correctly.

Let me know whether you have any more questions,
More...

Is this in Chicago office ? I thought they were done hiring for the year.
 
Nope, this is the Amsterdam office. Spoke to the recruiting lady recently, told me they're running these tests weekly in Amsterdam, monthly in London and every two months in Paris.
All positions are for Amsterdam, though.
Other items I forgot to mention are that wrong answers and skipped questions cost 2 points, unanswered questions don't count (if you only got to 60, the last 20 questions are taken into account, i.e. points are not deducted).
The threshold was 54.
You can definitely train for this test in a couple of weeks, just have to train on the right questions, though.
 
Quote from doculik:

Nope, this is the Amsterdam office. Spoke to the recruiting lady recently, told me they're running these tests weekly in Amsterdam, monthly in London and every two months in Paris.
All positions are for Amsterdam, though.
Other items I forgot to mention are that wrong answers and skipped questions cost 2 points, unanswered questions don't count (if you only got to 60, the last 20 questions are taken into account, i.e. points are not deducted).
The threshold was 54.
You can definitely train for this test in a couple of weeks, just have to train on the right questions, though.
More...

Do you know if the Amsterdam site hire people from USA ?
My hunch is they probably don't because of the relocation costs and interview costs for transfering employee.
 
I don't think either, mainly because you'd have to come to Europe to take that 8 minutes test, which may be costly.
It's worth giving them a call though, it can't hurt to ask.
 
Quote from doculik:

Hi guys,

Just failed the Optiver test today :((
Here's what it looks like:
1. There are 80 questions in 8 minutes (that point should be clear by now)
2. The questions are very mixed; they're not all like a + b = ?, but rather ? + b = c, a / ?= c, ? * a = c and so on.
3. Furthermore, the fractions are killing, especially because they're never in their most simple form; let's say the correct answer is 3, among the possible choices you may have 6/2, 81/27 or some other shit like that.
4. The additions are fine, I didn't encounter any decimals, they're mostly 2x2 and 3x3 additions.
5. The multiplications and divisions are pretty tricky, in that they're something like 0.18/0.3, with possible answers 0.6, 0.06, 6 and 1.67 (0.6 is the correct answer); in the rush of the moment is definetely easy to get mixed up between 0.6 and 0.06, especially taking into account point 6, below.
They're always decimal (up to three decimals) multiplications/divisions (.006 * .5, .4 * .03) and divisions, only two or four "classical" ones, like 54 / ... = 9 and ... * 13 = 104.
6. There are 2 sheets of paper: one with the questions and one with the answers. It's a pain in the ass to compute the thing, identify the correct answer then cross the corresponding letter on the answer sheet. In between these steps, lots of mistakes can be made.

So my advice to whoever is interested, is to do the http://www.dennisfleurbaaij.com/mathtest.php tests for 3-4 days, until you can get to 60 answered questions with 2-3 wrong ones, then get yourself two pieces of paper and basically replicate what I've just said.

The http://www.dennisfleurbaaij.com/mathtest.php tests are way too difficult for what's required, namely simpler computations and especially the ability to transcribe the answers correctly.

Let me know whether you have any more questions,
More...

thanks - did the instruction say crossing or circling the answer? where did you do the rough calculation work?
 
Ah yes, the answers.

So, on the answer sheet, you cross your first attemp, you cross and circle your second attempt or you write directly the answer for the third attempt.
For instance, the question is 1 + ... = 8
with answers:
A) 35/5
B) 270/30
C) 21/4
D) 16/3

Let's assume you're not focusing enough and you cross out answer C). You suddenly realize the mistake, then you cross and circle B). Finally, you realize it's not correct and then you simply write 7 on the answer sheet.

Regarding the second question you had, you're provided with a third piece of paper on which you can write down some computations, but I strongly suggest not using it, because simply you can't afford it time-wise.

The set-up is like this:
1. on your desk you have three things: a question booklet, an answer sheet and some pieces of scrap paper
2. you go through each question, compute the answer, match it to the proposed variants, search the correct question on the answer sheet and check the right answer.
3. if you had an extra step of scribbling on a piece of paper, you can kiss those 54 question threshold goodbye.
4. my guess is that even if you instantly knew the correct answer to all the questions, you would barely have enough time to answer all 80 questions (identifying the right answer is a bitch sometimes. sometimes is very straightforward).

What the recruiting lady told us is that you should aim for 60 questions (that's 8 secs/question) and get none (or 1-2 max) wrong.
 
Quote from doculik:

Ah yes, the answers.

So, on the answer sheet, you cross your first attemp, you cross and circle your second attempt or you write directly the answer for the third attempt.
For instance, the question is 1 + ... = 8
with answers:
A) 35/5
B) 270/30
C) 21/4
D) 16/3

Let's assume you're not focusing enough and you cross out answer C). You suddenly realize the mistake, then you cross and circle B). Finally, you realize it's not correct and then you simply write 7 on the answer sheet.

Regarding the second question you had, you're provided with a third piece of paper on which you can write down some computations, but I strongly suggest not using it, because simply you can't afford it time-wise.

The set-up is like this:
1. on your desk you have three things: a question booklet, an answer sheet and some pieces of scrap paper
2. you go through each question, compute the answer, match it to the proposed variants, search the correct question on the answer sheet and check the right answer.
3. if you had an extra step of scribbling on a piece of paper, you can kiss those 54 question threshold goodbye.
4. my guess is that even if you instantly knew the correct answer to all the questions, you would barely have enough time to answer all 80 questions (identifying the right answer is a bitch sometimes. sometimes is very straightforward).

What the recruiting lady told us is that you should aim for 60 questions (that's 8 secs/question) and get none (or 1-2 max) wrong.
More...

thanks mate, any dress code? or just smart casual will be perfectly alright?
 
No worries. Business casual will do, like jeans + shirt + shoes. The dress code should be the least of your worries, especially for now.
You can be making money butt naked, for all they care. Just don't over do it.
 
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