Blackford Capital Interview Questions

7 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (83%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.8
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (82%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (2%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

7%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Blackford Capital

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Industrials
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
2nd Year Analyst
Year 2020
Job Title 2nd Year Analyst
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2020
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2020
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Grand Rapids
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average

Interview Questions & Answers - Blackford Capital Examples

JA Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: July 2021
Date Submitted: Jan 24, 2022
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Personality Test
Interview
Began with a phone screen, then a call with an analyst. Following I had to build a DCF and LBO model along with some powerpoint material. Final round after that.
Interview Questions
Final round and second round were very technical, but not too bad
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Industrials

Anonymous employee in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: September 2021
Date Submitted: Jan 23, 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Hiring process started with a 30-minute phone interview and was just a mix of behavioral questions. The next stage was Excel + PowerPoint assignment focused on data management and industry research skills. The last stage was 1:1 interview with small amount of behavioral questions and majority of technical questions. Everyone in the process was very respectful.
Interview Questions
Walk me through the typical LBO transaction.
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: January 2020
Date Submitted: Jun 05, 2021
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Skills Test
Background Check
Interview
Applied online. Consisted of 3 rounds with a final case study presentation. First two rounds were mostly behavioral and used to determine "fit." I had prior banking experience, so I did not experience really any meaningful technical questions. Research the firm and your interviewer's as much as possible, firm fit is critical there.
Interview Questions
What is the best company you worked on (no further guidance was given)?
Sample Answer

Junior Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous employee in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: April 2020
Date Submitted: Nov 23, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Skills Test
Personality Test
Interview
Had a few phone screen calls. Call with an Associate for likeness. Then a call with a MD who had me present a stock pitch, CIM/CIP review, and a LBO model during a zoom call. Skills test was during the presentation, in depth knowledge of a LBO and basic financials is needed. Overall took 2.5 months to get fully hired. Solid talent pool.
Interview Questions
They will ask questions till you can't answer and I ended up being asked the multiple range of a certain company in the Food & Bev space. Couldn't list the range off the top of my head.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: March 2014
Date Submitted: Oct 22, 2015
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
I first met their team at an on campus information session in January of 2014. The founder and MD is a UChicago undergrad alumnus. Talked to a couple of the associates at the info session, followed-up with them afterwards and was invited to do a phone screening. The phone interview was with 2 associates and was basic "walk me through your resume" type stuff. A few behavioral questions but they are mostly looking for a reason you are interested in private equity. I got called back for a one on one interview that was half behavioral and half technical (walk me through how a how a change in X flows through the financial statements, walk me through an LBO, some short cases mainly focused on valuation). The last interview was a 2 on 1 covering lots of the same technical topics. They grilled a little bit more on background here, really trying to see how you handle stress.

They got back to me about a month later. Very nice people. Straightforward interview process .
Interview Questions
"It's pretty late in the game -- why don't you have an offer yet?"
>I was honest and explained that I'd started looking late but pivoted and talked about how their firm really caught my attention.
"We recruit both undergrads and MBAs for internships and we're not taking many people. Why should we hire you over an MBA?"
"In our info session we walked through an LBO valuation. What did we do wrong?"
>I said they'd underestimated interest payments for mezzanine debt. For this one I'm not sure they had something particular in mind -- they just wanted to see what you could pick out. After you say what they got wrong, they grill you on it for a few minutes to make sure you have a rationale for it. Follow up questions were about the specific impact of that mistake on the company's growth, free cash flows, and longer-term cap structure.
Sample Answer

Private Equity Summer Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in Grand Rapids
Interviewed: December 2014
Date Submitted: Mar 10, 2015
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Group Interview
Presentation
Skills Test
Other
Interview
It was a 3 on 1 interview consisting of HR, Alumni, and Associate. First 15 minutes was a behavioral interview consisting of fit and general industry knowledge questions. Questions were fairly standard and easy as long as you knew the space and why middle market/show interest in trends in EBITDA and Debt multiples. Private equity case study followed where you were a PE investor and they were the company selling. You had to ask certain questions about cash flows, EBITDA, debt load, product, management, etc. and then come up with a valuation based on an implied multiple range for the industry and your conclusions based on their answers. They never got back to me though despite generally positive feedback.
Interview Questions
1. What are the essential things companies look for in a PE acquisition?
• Stable cash flows
• Management capacity
• Debt levels
• EBITDA criteria
• Historical transaction multiple for the industry (need to acknowledge if this is middle market or not)
2. PE Case study (interviewers simulate a target company and you are the PE analyst)
• How would you value the company?
• What questions do you ask? (see #1)
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Strengths: Multinational, attention to detail, communicative
• Weaknesses: Sometimes make hasty decisions, sometimes do not recognize priorities
4. Why Private Equity/What do you know about middle market PE transactions?
• Higher multiples nowadays, strong recovery/valuations
5. Talk to me about a deal on your resume?
6. Do you intend to pursue a long-term career in the US?
• Chicago/New York as major financial centers, more developed financial markets
• Incredible opportunity to interact with intelligent people with diverse backgrounds in the US
• Better deal flow, more transparency
• I can contribute in terms of perspective, multinational insights (works better if interviewing for a firm with international branches)
Sample Answer