Why not work for a hedge fund instead if you’re passionate about investing? (Private Equity Interview)
The key here is to emphasize your interest not only in investing, but also in learning more about business strategy and being more hands on with the direction of portfolio companies. As the owner of a company as opposed to a minority investor, you have almost complete control and can help determine which growth strategy […]
Why this firm (private equity)? (1 min)
For this answer, you should combine some subjective reasons about the team and people as well as more objective reasons about the track record and focus of the private equity firm. For example, you should mention any subjective reasons about the team, and it helps tremendously if you’ve had a chance to talk to somebody […]
Why private equity? (1 min)
There are two or three ways you can answer this question. You can tell a story about how you became interested in private equity, or you can list a number of reasons you’re interested in private equity, and back them up with examples from work or even school. You can also combine these two methods […]
Walk me through a deal you’ve worked on. (1-2 min)
First, you should provide the context of the deal and company. Explain the target business in an easy-to-understand way, and describe its key segments. Provide a quick overview of the acquirer and its strategic rationale. It’s important to explain upfront why the deal is happening and what the industry backdrop is. For example, is this […]
What are your three greatest strengths?
You should just be relatively honest about your three greatest strengths, while avoiding overconfident answers like intelligence. Passion, attitude, leadership, intellectual curiosity, work ethic, and resilience are some examples. First, list your 3 strengths. Then use this opportunity to tell a quick story about each strength and provide an example from work, school, or extracurricular […]
What is your greatest strength?
This is a personal question and you should generally just be honest about your greatest strength, but make sure the wording is right. Passion, attitude, leadership, intellectual curiosity, work ethic, resilient; the list goes on. Don’t say something that makes you seem cocky, like intelligence (everybody in IB is intelligent to some degree). Ideally, you […]
Why this bank / firm?
To master the “why this firm” question, it’s best to speak to somebody in the firm to ask what they like about the firm, and what the people in the team are like. It’s very hard to tell the true culture or strengths of a specific group in a specific bank. You should split your […]
Why investment banking?
There are generally three approaches to this question. You can list a number of reasons (e.g. 3) and explain each reason. This approach is the most easy and logical. However, you can also tella story about how you became interested in investment banking, and mention a few concrete reasons during the story. Finally, you can […]
What makes a good investment banking analyst or associate?
The purpose of this question is to see if you understand what it takes to excel in IB. Here are some examples of important traits: Strong work ethic Necessary to survive the hours and stress of the business; IB hours can be anywhere from 80 to 100 hours a week Attention to detail Bankers need […]
What’s Your Greatest Weakness?
Contrary to popular belief, you do want to give a real weakness instead of a “fake” weakness. However, you must frame it in a way that shows you have a strong awareness about this weakness, and have made significant steps to improve. Try to avoid cheesy weaknesses like “work too hard.” Weaknesses like “focus too […]
