Columbia West Capital Interview Questions

7 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (98%)

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.

4.3
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (75%)

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.

2.9
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (16%)

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.

Interviews at Columbia West Capital

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Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2022
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Phoenix
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2013
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2012
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2011
Job Title Intern
Group/Division
Location Scottsdale
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Columbia West Capital Examples

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Scottsdale
Interviewed: February 2022
Date Submitted: Jun 10, 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interview process started with a phone screen done by the Associate. Very basic tell me about yourself and behavioral. Why banking, why boutique, etc.
Interview Questions
I was not asked anything unexpected. Why you want to do banking. Where you want to end up.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in Scottsdale
Interviewed: April 2018
Date Submitted: Apr 16, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
I first networked with an analyst the CP Capital who introduced me to the VP in charge of recruiting. I had a brief introductory conversation with him and then got invited to the interview process. The first round consisted of basic behaviorals (tell me about yourself, why banking, why this firm) and dove straight into technical. Final day was in person and was a mix of behaviorals and technicals. People were super nice and culture seemed collaborative.
Interview Questions
- How does WACC change with leverage?
- What creates a circular reference in an LBO and DCF?
- What is the beta of a janitor?
- What is the average P/E of the S&P 500?
- Liquidation analysis questions ( EV is now 500, debt is 800, what is debt trading aat? What do shareholders receive?)
- What are the common valuation methodologies?
- What is the other form of P/E?
- What multiple would you use for a technology company? What's its average WACC?
- What companies do you follow in the market?
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Analyst Intern Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Scottsdale
Interviewed: October 2018
Date Submitted: Oct 25, 2019
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
The hiring process started with submitting a resume and cover letter to the admin. A few weeks after this, I had been notified by email that I was chosen to come in for an in-person interview, which lasted 30 minutes to an hour in a room with 1-2 junior employees at the firm. I was notified of an offer a few weeks after by email.
Interview Questions
There were no difficult questions to my recollection -- everything consisted of basic technicals (valuation methodologies, DCF, etc.). Although basic, the most unexpected question, relative to those I had been asked in the interview room, was a question regarding my personal future preferences on which type of bank I saw myself working at one day (whether this bank was a bulge bracket and larger bank, or more of a boutique or even regional investment bank). I interpreted this question as more of a career goals type of question.
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Phoenix
Interviewed: July 2017
Date Submitted: Aug 28, 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I emailed a resume to an office manager and received a response from an analyst and he set up a call.
Interview Questions
To be completely honest this interview was pretty standard. The interview started out with the Analyst asking me to walk through my resume. Given the fact that I had previous finance and investment banking experience, most of the time was focused on talking about how I went about certain things at my previous internship. What was in a pitchbook, what was in a CIM, how would you value a company. All of the interview questions were fairly easy and straight forward. Reviewing the main questions on the 400 guide will suffice.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Scottsdale
Interviewed: March 2013
Date Submitted: Jul 01, 2013
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
The process began with an information session within the Investment Banking Club on campus. We were introduced to the company by past interns. There was then a resume drop through email. Networking with previous interns was the key to getting an interview. There were four people interviewed out of sixty resumes submitted. There were three interviews for the first round. All with previous interns. They would then select those they wished to pass on to interview with one of the associates at CWC. Offers came directly after.
Interview Questions
Expect brainteasers. These can range anywhere from hypothetical (how many ping-pong balls fit in a 747) to math brainteasers. The previous interns love these questions. The key is to make sure you walk through the problem out loud, and show you can come up with a reasonable answer and not crack under pressure.
The best way to study for the questions is at ibankingfaq.com. They are almost a template for your interview.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Scottsdale
Interviewed: November 2012
Date Submitted: Apr 11, 2013
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interview process was done through former interns of Columbia West on campus. Interviews were both technical and behavioral in nature, and consisted of three 15-20 minute rounds. The process was fairly informal, with a submission of one's resume by email, interview, and then a phone interview with someone more senior at the firm. From what I was told, Columbia West is a small firm but has very experienced management who have connections at many bulge bracket banks.
Interview Questions
How does 10 dollars of depreciation flow through the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet?
"Walk me through your resume;" this was asked along with other standard interview question, though the difficulty varied between each round.
Some thinking questions were asked; "what is 9 to the third power?" etc. Though there was not significant pressure to answer each perfectly.
Sample Answer

Internship Interview -

Anonymous employee in Scottsdale
Interviewed: 2011
Date Submitted: Jul 25, 2012
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I learned about the firm through my school and was referred through a friend that had done an internship the year before. There was an initial screening from past interns and then one interview with an associate. The interview was more laid back than a typical investment banking interview because the firm only recruits sophomores for internships. The firm has no analysts no there is no expectation for receiving an offer after completing the internship. Candidates should be excellent students and prior experience in finance/obvious interest in the field is important to being selected. Work culture is excellent. Internship provides some of the best experience a sophomore can get outside of a financial center.
Interview Questions
Why do you want to do investment banking? The firm wants to make sure that you are serious about doing investment banking. The purpose of the internship is to help you get a strong junior internship in a financial center.
Walk me through your resume. They want to see that you display an interest in finance and that you didn't just decide to do investment banking last week because everyone else is doing it.
Sample Answer