Drake Star Partners Interview Questions

10 total interview insight submissions

Interview Experience (68%)

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.

3.2
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (89%)

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 (59%)

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.

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

Interviews at Drake Star Partners

Year Position Location Group/Division Experience Difficulty
2022 Investment Banking Analyst New York Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) Negative Easy
2021 Analyst London Mergers and Acquisitions Positive Average
2022 Associate New York N/A Very Negative Very Difficult
2022 Summer Analyst New York Investment Banking Neutral Average
2022 Summer Analyst Los Angeles Mergers and Acquisitions Neutral Average
2021 Senior Associate New York Mergers and Acquisitions Neutral Easy
2019 Intern Los angeles Investment Banking Very Positive Average
2020 Associate London Investment Banking Neutral Easy
2020 Associate New York Investment Banking Positive Average
2020 summer analyst Los Angeles Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) Positive Average

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: July 2022

Application

Phone Interview
Other

Interview

First received an introductory call from a recruiter, got the first round interview with the firm a week later, then a four hour modeling test three days later.

Interview Questions

What are the three financial statements and how do they connect?

Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in London

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: June 2021

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Skills Test

Interview

3 round interviews. First impersonal talk with analyst, little techical knowledge. 2nd was more of a fit test. Usual why IB, why this Bank etc. 3rd interview with partner again more of a fit.

Interview Questions

They were all typical questions. Why IB, why tech, why small bank etc.

Associate Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: May 2022

Application

1 on 1 Interview

Interview

First round was supposed to be intro discussion, but interviewer was incorrectly instructed to perform 30-minute fully technical interview instead. Had no understanding of the group and what they do outside of the posted job description. Interviewer didn't seem interested in my background at all to understand if I'd even be a good fit.

Interview Questions

Walk me through a DCF. What are the different ways to calculate terminal value.

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: February 2022

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Background Check

Interview

Applied on linkedin, reached out to analyst and recruiter, got a "chat" with the analyst which served as a first round, then 4 hour modeling and skills assessment, then VP interview, then recruiter interview, then request for referrals.

Interview Questions

What a time when you had to work with a hard team member, hard supervisor, etc.?

Summer Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Applied Online

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: March 2022

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

Very casual interview, mostly about resume, behavioral question, asked about the detail of past experiences.

Interview Questions

How did you do the M&A deal in the last internship, how did you contribute?

Senior Associate Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: May 2021

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

I was reached out by a third party recruiter for a Senior Associate role and was initially rejected by Drake Star. They then came back in two weeks saying they would like to interview me. I spoke to their VP and he indicated that the initial rejection was because I was too experienced and they didn't think I would be happy spending 3 years grinding it out in the bullpen. We then spoke about the progression time line at the firm and it appears that getting promoted to VP and above is quite difficult. Given that I would be going in as a Senior Associate, the 3 year timeline to VP and not much growth thereafter was concerning. I ended up withdrawing my name from the process because there were better options.

Interview Questions

Nothing too difficult, simply talked about my background. Next steps were case studies but I doubt these differ from case studies (3 statement with supporting schedules, DCF, comparables, LBO) at other firms.

Intern Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Los angeles

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Other

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: February 2019

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview

Interview

Consisted of a phone interview and 1 on 1 second round. A lot of technicals and conceptual questions

Interview Questions

What happens to statements when amortization increases by $10

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in London

Outcome

No Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: December 2020

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test

Interview

Series of calls with analysts, associates and senior bankers. All fit, no technical. Followed by modelling test.

Interview Questions

No real difficult questions. Mostly fit, why DS / why not somewhere else.

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York

Outcome

Declined Offer

Interview Source

Staffing Agency

Length of Process

Less than 1 month
Interviewed: December 2020

Application

Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test

Interview

Submitted through headhunter. Had a call with their VP, Associate, CFO, and a few MDs/Partners. Had a modelling test/presentation/case study prior to speaking with CFO.

Interview Questions

No particularly difficult questions. A few standard technicals, questions around why I would want to leave, why DSP, and questions around my deal experience.

summer analyst Interview - Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles

Outcome

Accepted Offer

Interview Source

Recruiter

Length of Process

1-2 months
Interviewed: April 2020

Application

Phone Interview

Interview

The interview takes about 20 minutes. Some basic behaviorals (tell me about yourself, etc), and then technicals (accounting, three basic valuation models, DCF)

Interview Questions

How does debt to equity ratio affect WACC?