Lazard

This is just my personal opinion.

To me it seems like Lazard is considered a very prestigious firm. That being said, many try to use it as a stepping stone towards their next step in "the track". For this reason, I think they work you very hard knowing that you will probably exit after two years. Basically, you pay your DUES and you exit with some great opportunities. I have heard from a friend that their restructuring groups stays very busy.

I did go through the SA interview so this is first hand. Interview was ALL technicals (a lot of general finance, valuation, accounting, limited LBO stuff). They also asked why banking and what do you know about Lazard.

Hope this helps.

Ah sh**, all technical? Any specifics on the harder stuff?

What reason would you say for Lazard? Obviously since its a top bank, but do they want to hear that generic stuff, or something more relevant to the culture?

Thanks phantom

sent you a pm.

sent you a PM

How does Lazard compare to Rothschild on a global basis? I know Rothschild doesn't have a whole lot of North American presense and are tranditionally very strong in Europe. Any insights would be helpful.

poleish/phantom/elan thanks for the PMs, greatly appreciated.

IB in Asia - can't help you since I don't know much about Rothschild. I know that overall Lazard seems to be much higher (global and domestic). In Europe, Rothschild may be stronger, but both names definitely cannot hurt you.

hey, could you guys PM me the same information? thanks a lot!

Me as well- thanks.

ME as well...thanks guys

I would try something to the effect of:
-Boutique is more focused in abc segment(restructuring i think for lazard) which you think is very interesting and would love to learn about
-at a boutique as opposed to BB, you are a part of a leaner team, get to work on a broader range of functions, more of a 'jack-of-all-trades.' BB has 15 people for every task. At a boutique you could be doing various functions, you may have to do x, y, and z on lean boutique team while a BB will just source X to their X-guy and Y to their Y-guy, and Z to their Z-guy.
-you look forward to working closely with experienced bankers and learning from them in a closer setting

Most of this advice is reverberated from a friend of mine who was at Houlihan Lokey(prob Lazards #1 competitor, and equally if not more prestigious) for several years

This is my opinion, but I would think a firm like Lazard would want to know why Lazard as opposed to a BB. And you really need to sell that the BB is for certain types of people and Lazard/HL is for certain types of people. You are the Lazard type, this is where you would excel the BB is not the place for you.

.

Does anyone know if Lazard actually takes people from non-targets, for SA or FT?

I get the feeling that my interview is kinda a joke or something, and may only be for my contact there hahha.

I highly doubt they would waste time and money by interviewing someone they had no intention of hiring. My guess is that if you have an interview, you have a legitimate shot at getting the position.

Even if they do not recruit at your school, your contact got you the interview and now you have the same chance as everyone else- you just need to interview well. Good luck.

Thanks lightsout - I guess I was really surprised about getting an interview there, and since my contact there was the MD for an alum's IPO, I wanted to make sure that my resume is what actually got me in the door for the interview (rather than the MD sucking up to the alum).

PM me anything. I have an SA interview soon.
Thanks

anyone who says Houlihan is Lazard's #1 competition should be discounted severely. i am ex lazard and never ever ever once heard of HLHZ even BIDDING with us for a deal. Lazard competes with all the BBs on just about everything.

interview for lazard will be fairly technical. culture there is very "sophisticated" and they dont really just hire monkeys, they hire analysts who they believe are exceptional in comparison to others. as a result, the quality of lazard's analyst class tends to be higher than most, if not all banks. for the most part, it is expected that you leave after 2 years, and most analysts place fairly well. a tough experience, as it is as an analyst anywhere, but i truly believe i got more out of my 2 years at laz than my other banking peers.

Would interviews be technical for lib arts kids as well?

Anyone willing to let me on the PM bandwagon? Thanks in advance.

could i also get the PMs? Thanks.

Could I get the PMs as well, please?  Thank you.

Don't mean to burden, but could I also get the PM? Thanks.

im interested in joining their team in brazil. could you PM me any info regarding the firm you would rather not post here.

 
Could you PM me as well. Thank you.

Doubt the guys all PMed each of you. So I'll try to put it in this post.
Culture: Lazard is a very tight-knit culture, across the entire bank - something you'd expect with any boutique.
Interview: Depends on interviewer I think, but I would be prepared on technicals VERY well. The interview may not be all that technical, but I think given the small size, understanding the basics is almost a given (unless your not a finance major). So bottom line, be prepared 110% on fit/tech questions.
Lastly, do research. Something I obviously didn't do when I started this thread, but having done the interview as well as some research, you can find some stuff out there on your own as well.

For what it's worth, there's an interview with Bruce Wasserstein in the Jan 2008 HBR. It has some info that might be useful, such as what sets the firm apart, how the firm nurtures young talent.

thanks guys - i made it to the final round - keep in mind that i'm applying to a fin advisory position, but it's with a group that is not as competitve as M&A
 
any thoughts on final round? more technical?

how was the first round? as technical as described in this thread? thanks

it was alright - i would say a combo of fit/tech
 
anyone know the chances for an offer at final rounds haha?

curious, too. going to have an interview with them.
And could I also get the PM. really appreciate it.

lazard is so elite. my friend got his rejection letter by mail. lol

 
That is hilarious.

I can offer some insight. I have been to the final round for the FT Analyst position in their London office. Send me PM's with questions and I would be happy to answer them.

Anyone know how quickly they get back to you regarding a SA offer? I had my final round in NY earlier this week.

For those at schools where Lazard recruits for SA for Financial Advisory, do they only recruit for M&A and restructuring, or do they recruit for a general pool like most banks?

I interviewed with them for a SA position and the interview was VERY technical. By far the most technical I've had. They also seemed to be more formal than most banks (i.e. no casual talk or joking around).
They haven't made their decisions yet for 2nd rounds, so I still don't know how I did.

I have to say I disagree with this whole technical interview viewpoint. My Lazard SA interview was completely non-technical. It was all competency/fit questions, like Why Lazard? Why banking? How do you work in teams? What makes a great banker? etc. I really think it depends on who your interviewer is, probably best to prepare for technical Q's just in case, but don't be shocked if it's a bit more informal.

i agree with joefish. my lazard interview was almost all fit. the closest thing i got to a crazy technical was, "would I use a higher or lower discount rate for a start up"? i know they have the rep for being the arrogant white males, but everyone i met was extremely nice, and very helpful.

with that said, i of course did not experience a summer there yet, so not really sure how they are. will definitely let you all know.

Recently I've had this discussion with my frd about Laz vs Roths if one wanna do M&A advisory (especially restructuring)... if its in the US, there is no doubt that Laz will be a better option in terms of prestige, exit opps, etc. However, is this still applicable to their London/European offices? It seems that Roths' presence in Europe is a bit greater than Lazard...

Just curious - were you guys finance majors, or more liberal arts?

In one round of interviews with 2 M&A guys, one was all fit and a really easy going guy - the other drilled me for the entire 30min, and was about as uptight as they come

While not every interviewer will be the same, it can't hurt to be on top of your game technically

from way back when, was pretty technical

for me, they had some technicals, but not really.

however, i have heard that one of my friends girlfriend is this pretty cute looking asian girl and they weren't too bad on her. maybe things have changed from way back when it used to be technical heavy.

Wow i just discovered this site and its been great.
Wish i knew of it before i went for all my interviews.
Anyway my experience with Laz was that the MDs were
all less technical. Its the Analysts/ Assoc/ VPs who may ask
more technical stuff.
Is it true that the Lazard SA prog is generalist? or do they put
you into groups. If so when does this grouping happen?
Thanks!

actually my lazard interview was my most difficult. They asked me fit questions for 10% of the time; the rest was very very technical.

BTW, how are lazard yearend bonuses for first years? I haven't seen much on vault. this firm's so mysterious. anyone have any idea?

SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER ASAP!! Merrill lynch or Lazard?!? i have to choose soon

Lazard's year end bonuses aren't as high as the top end BBs, but I have heard that their salaries are 65k. Merrill is notorious for being stingy with their bonuses - although I'm not sure if this is true @ both the senior and junior levels.

Again - choose which firm you like better. Choosing between ML and Lazard is also tough because you have to weigh in if you like being in a boutique-ish environment. Do you want the typical analyst experience? Go with Merrill. Do you want more responsibility - understand the full complexity of the deal process? Go to Lazard. Do you want to do restructuring/M&A, or do you want to be thrown in an industry group?

Its very tough to tell you which one to choose - I think only you can do that. If it were me - I like the Lazard experience - I like that most Lazard analysts go H/W b school. However, I don't like that many Lazard analysts can't say that they "love" working for Lazard.

Sorry to go off tangent, but you would use a higher discount rate right? Reason being the cost of debt from the WACC formula would be more expensive since there is higher risk?

My first round with Lazard was all technical. Hardest technicals I have ever gotten. They were even more technical than some boutiques that can't afford to take art history majors, etc.

Also they were very formal, very serious, and very unfriendly.

I definitely would not joke around or say anything remotely humorous. They seemed very uptight and elite.

How is Lazard SF? I presume they would mostly deal with TMT and life sciences? Any restructuring/M&A there?

The cost of debt is probably higher but the substantially increased risk inherent in a start-up increases the cost of equity as well (think Beta in the CAPM).

in fact, cost of debt is usually irrelevant in that it almost never factors in WACC as startups rarely have debt - they just can't get any. of course, I'm thinking tech startups. Asset heavy startups use secured financing and preferred equity to get the ball rolling.

I don't know where you are getting this from. Last year LAZ paid street just like everyone else. 60/70/80 just like everyone else as well.