Coming up with model questions asked within asset management firms in Scotland is as difficult as coming up with a model answer that’s guaranteed to blow any potential employers’ socks off.

Questions will vary by area of expertise, seniority and whether the firm you’re interviewing with is a boutique or a large investment house.

However, based on conversations with recruiters and asset managers north of the border, we’ve managed to ascertain an idea of what you will be asked in an interview and what they do (and don’t) want to hear.

Tell us about the decision making that influenced your performance

“If they’re an experienced investor with a good performance track-record, the figures only tell you so much,” says Richard Barry, HR manager at Baillie Gifford. “What we’re looking for is more qualitative information about the decision-making process, about their investment style and, ultimately, whether their skills or approach matches or adds to what we already have in-house.

How do you interact on a day-to-day basis with the team around you?

“This is usually for a head of desk role, and simply we’re looking for an answer that doesn’t smell,” says Graeme Knox, director of asset management headhunters Knox Consultancy. “The key is to be open and honest. Most firms want a motivator and driver within the team, someone who can evidence influential leadership, not directorial leadership. If it’s for a more junior role, it’s to test team working skills and how much influence you’ve had over the investment decisions.”

Can you tell me a time when you worked as part of a team to overcome a problem?

“Normally it’s less about pre-preparing questions and more about identifying the competencies we want to see from an individual, and how we can probe to get them to show evidence of this,” says John Jackson, chief operating officer at Cornelian Asset Managers. “Questions like: Faced with a challenging situation, what did you personally do to resolve it? What worked well, what did not work well? What have you learnt from it that can be applied in the future? Give me an example of a project or an area where you were criticised. We don’t expect them to be perfect, but we want to see how they reacted when things didn’t go well.”

How many haggis could you fit in Edinburgh castle?

Or, in other words, expect the unexpected.

“It’s expected that interviewees are competent and knowledgeable in their particular area, but we want to test how flexible they are,” says Colin McLean, managing director of SVM Asset Management. “We’ll ask their views on a more unfamiliar area, which tests their thought processes, and tells us if they’re able to synthesise various, and original, sources of information and remain sceptical across a diverse range of topics.”