Junior Trader - Fixed Income
Posted Sep 9, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
This role is for someone with relative value desk experience. Walk me through a relative value trade you worked on and why it made sense.
What they are checking: Whether they truly understand relative value thinking from real desk work, not textbooks.
The role is on-site in Northfield and requires relocating to the Chicago area for at least two years. How have you thought about that commitment?
What they are checking: Whether they are serious about the stated relocation and tenure terms.
The posting says hungry, disciplined and willing to put in the work. Tell me about something you got better at through sheer repetition.
What they are checking: Work ethic and the patience to develop skill over time, which junior traders need.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake on a desk. How did you handle it?
What they are checking: Honesty and speed in owning errors, which builds trust on a trading team.
What would you do
A trade you helped put on is losing money and the senior trader is away. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they follow risk limits and escalate quickly rather than acting alone or freezing.
About the work
How would you look for value in the Treasury curve, for example between the 2-year and the 10-year?
What they are checking: Knowledge of curve trades, DV01 weighting and what drives spreads between maturities.
What macroeconomic developments do you follow, and how do they affect fixed income markets?
What they are checking: Whether they connect data like inflation and Fed policy to real price moves.
How would you hedge the interest rate risk of a bond position?
What they are checking: Understanding of duration, futures and DV01, the basic tools of fixed income risk.
How do liquidity conditions change how you would execute a trade?
What they are checking: Awareness that thin markets change sizing, timing and the cost of getting in and out.
What is the basis between a Treasury future and the cash bond, and why do traders watch it?
What they are checking: Depth in a core relative value relationship common on fixed income desks.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by DV Trading.