The IFC YPP Interview is divided into 2 rounds. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for 1st round interviews. First round interviews are scheduled for mid-October to early November each year, dates pending. All candidates who make it beyond the initial application process will receive a notification. Expenses to attend the first-round interviews are borne by the applicant as most first-round interviews will take place on school campus’ and/or via webex/skype.
All candidates who make it beyond the first-round interviews will receive a personalized notification. The IFC pays for all specified expenses related to second-round interviews including travel, hotel and food.
IFC YPP Interview Model
After the first round interview, the Shor-Listed candidates are invited to the IFC Head Quarter (Washington, DC), with all related costs sponsored, to a panel interview. For the On-Site Interview, generally, IFC uses the traditional, technical and behavioral-event interview model with the purpose of testing the candidates’ technical knowledge, competencies and their general domain about the organization’s operations, objectives and mission.
IFC YPP Interview Questions
Candidates are usually asked three types of questions: a) Introductory and Traditional questions; b) Technical Questions; and c) Behavioral-event questions. Below, we present relevant examples about these types of questions extracted from the website Glass Door which contains real testimonials from candidates that passed through the IFC interview process.
a) Introductory and traditional questions (questions regarding the main motivation that led the candidate to apply for the IFC YPP or questions about their experience and employment history. Examples:
- What do you know about IFC?
- Why do you want to work for IFC?
- Walk me through your CV highlighting what you think is relevant for IFC
- What other companies are you/will you apply for?
- What skills do you possess?
- Tell us about your past experience about climate finance
b) Technical questions related to IFC’s working areas, such as investment and financial analysis. Examples:
- You have a company which just raised 100 million in debt how does it impact each financial statement?
- Why is EBITDA sometimes not a good proxy for cash?
- Which would be the best investment structure for the IFC to invest in a hypothetical foreign project: debt or equity.
- Walk me through the entries of an income statement or statement of cashflows
- Could you calculate EBITDA margin? (They may present some figures and ask the candidate to make assumptions about it)
c) Behavioral-event questions to test the capabilities of the candidate in dealing with challenge situations, in order to perceive competencies. Examples:
- Did you have an experience when you have too much pressure from work and you have to multi-task? How did you deal with it?
- Tell us about a challenging project and how you made it work?
- If you have been given a proposal by your boss what are the key things/analysis that you would do to make investment decision?
- What was your experience dealing with clients?
To help you feel more secure and greatly improve your performance during the IFC YPP interview stage, OpenIGO Network has developed a mock interview, as per the IFC YPP model, with a specialized professional who has extensive experience. Click on the link below to find out more about our IFC YPP Mock Interview service:
Mock Interview