Aside from your well-rehearsed "elevator pitch", your typo-free resume, and unblemished suit, when you're heading into a finance  interview, you need to make sure you're prepared with the right information. Because like it or not, finance interviews often require you to tackle questions other than "tell me a bit about yourself" and "what experience do you have working in a team?" Sure, you'll need to know the basics -- being able to distinguish seniority between different creditors, and being able to do some mental calculations -- but especially in entry level positions, you should have a clear picture of what's happening right now. "Where did the markets close yesterday? What do you think about our recent acquisition of [insert company name here]?"

But once the basic questions are out of the way, many firms will flip the switch. Finance interviewers are known for asking questions intended to catch you off guard. You'll need to be able to think on your feet -- and since you only have a few minutes in the grand scheme of things to sell yourself as a candidate, it's important not to stumble over "umm"s and "uhh"s while you're scrutinized.

So how do you prepare? We spoke with recruiters at three major finance companies to find out what kinds of questions they ask interview subjects when they're ready to bring out the big guns.

1. "The Pitch": Sell me this pencil, why should I buy it?
 

For a lot of finance pros, being able to sell everything from your business to your trustworthiness is crucial -- not to mention stocks and bonds. This question shows your sales ability on the spot and without much prep. For sales positions, you need to have the right instincts, and while they can be learned over time, this question helps interviewers distinguish between candidates with experience, and those who need a bit more cultivation.

2. "The Artist": Why aren't manhole covers square?
 

Nope, not a trick question; this query is meant to determine how creative you are. When Microsoft first started asking this question, it was to get perspective on a candidate's ability to reason and strategize -- key characteristics to possess if you're looking to excel in finance, which is why it is a question adopted by so many. So how should you answer? Think about practicality of design and implementation. Brains that can effectively and efficiently see a solution are always in high demand.

3. "The Brain Teaser": How many gallons of white house paint are sold in the U.S. every year?
 

This question -- and questions like it (How many pennies would fit in this room? What is the size of the market for disposable diapers in China?) -- are common with bulge-bracket i-banking firms. The most important thing to keep in mind when you're answering these kinds of questions is that they're expecting you to guesstimate, not have the precise answer. Make sure you go through your thought process out loud so the interviewer can hear your logic. Going in, you should have an idea of the basic information needed to answer the question, like the country's population, how many major metropolitan areas there are, and how many businesses operate in its borders -- but the rest is just having a clear head and thinking aloud.

4. "The Difficult Decision": It's your first day of work, and you have two items to attend to in your inbox. One is an angry customer threatening to never use our company again, and another comes from a coworker tackling an internal problem. Which do you attend to first?
 

Interviewers don't always have a "correct" answer in mind when they ask you workplace culture and behavior questions. By asking questions like this, they can get a picture of how well your problem-solving skills would fit in with their culture. What they're looking to get out of you is your manner of approaching things. How do you prioritize, and whose needs are more important? Different firms place a different level of value on intra-office organization and client relations. The best way to be prepared for this question? Determine the values of the company you're applying to by scanning their website and mentions in the news media. Does it seem to be 100% client-focused or insular and team-oriented?

5. "The Staple": Do you have any questions?
 

We know, we know -- everyone and their mother talks about how important it is to have some thoughtful questions ready when this inevitable question is popped at the end of the interview. However, it's easy to appear lazy by asking questions that have answers on the company's site or waste those precious minutes on questions that aren't productive. Or worse, saying something along the lines of "nope, no questions at all." So what are some impressive things to say? Here's a list:

-- What can I expect within the first 90 days of employment?

-- What is the last person who had this job doing now?

And if you're feeling like you can be really gutsy, asking if your interviewer has any concerns or reservations about your abilities can be a great way to give and get feedback. Plus, there's always the possibility that you'll earn bonus points for your courage.