Imperial Capital Interview Questions

20 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (95%)

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
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (94%)

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 (54%)

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.

36%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Imperial Capital

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Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
2nd Year Analyst
Year 2019
Job Title 2nd Year Analyst
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
2nd Year Analyst
Year 2021
Job Title 2nd Year Analyst
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Generalist
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location New York
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
2nd Year Associate
Year 2017
Job Title 2nd Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average

Interview Questions & Answers - Imperial Capital Examples

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: September 2019
Date Submitted: Dec 14, 2022
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
The interview process was structured and I got to meet a few different analysts at the company. The interviews were technically difficult and behavioral as well.
Interview Questions
$10 of Depreciation
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: February 2021
Date Submitted: Aug 31, 2022
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Background Check
Interview
Initial phone screens, flew out to meet in person, great culture and team, very smart people and strong deal flow. Good exit opps and strong MDs.
Interview Questions
Walk me through an LBO
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: October 2019
Date Submitted: Mar 11, 2021
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied online and got a first round in September. Mostly technical questions but all are found in the guide. Then an in person superday which was mostly fit based.
Interview Questions
Went into details on WACC - why is it important?
Sample Answer

Internship Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: December 2019
Date Submitted: Mar 08, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Began with 2 Phone Screenings.

First one was very simple, if you have your simple technicals down, you are free to go.

Second one was pretty hard, they asked you about the difference between multiples on companies that own their equipment and the one with lease on their equipment.

Superday was 2 hours, 2 analysts and 2 VP. Analysts will ask a little more technicals, but very simple ones on Accounting. VP's will ask you more fit and behavioral.
Interview Questions
They asked some questions about the difference between bank debt and high-yield debt, basically to gauge your understanding of senior and junior debt. With that being said, they asked me about at what value they would trade at.

They gave multiples on the EV to find purchasing price and you will be given the debt amount to find the rate at which the bank debt was traded at and how the high-yield was traded.

Rest of the technicals were pretty simple, they asked a little about Mergers and why one would carry out a M&A.

Have your basic knowledge on Accounting. Guide should be enough on this one.
Sample Answer

Intern Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: October 2018
Date Submitted: Jan 16, 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Had a first round phone interview based on majority behavioral type questions. A few technicals, revolving around restructuring and valuations.
Interview Questions
The interview started with a walk through of your resume with a tell me about yourself question. Why investment banking? They asked if you were to explain to a friend what investment banking is how would you go about doing so. They also asked about your personal life and had several behavioral questions to see if you were the right fit. Asked about a team experiences and a challenged you faced during this time and how you overcame that challenge. Regarding the technicals, definitely know the discounted cash flow valuation.
Sample Answer

Investment Banking Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: October 2018
Date Submitted: Dec 08, 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
First round phone interview - 30 minutes of basic technicals on accounting and valuation. Second round interview was more behavioral and was only asked a couple technicals, more focused on why IB and why this firm etc.
Interview Questions
There were not many unexpected questions. I was asked the basic accounting and valuation questions. How are the three financial statements linked, how does $10 increase in depreciation affect the three statements, how do you calculate FCF starting from revenue, what are the ways to value a company, why does precedent transactions give the highest valuation, what are synergies, how do you calculate terminal value in a DCF. Second round was all behavioral, asked about my previous experience, why I was looking to switch industries, etc.
Sample Answer

summer analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in New York
Interviewed: April 2017
Date Submitted: Aug 15, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Very straightforward- quick phone screen to make sure you did your homework on the firm followed by some questions regarding your prior experience roles and outside hobbies
Interview Questions
what do you do for fun?
how is your prior experience going to help you excel in this role?
why imperial capital?
why investment banking?
can you handle the long hors?


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Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: February 2018
Date Submitted: Mar 27, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
I reached out to the head of HR and got a first round Skype interview with one of the analysts. After that, I went into the LA office for a superday which consisted of 5 or 6 1-1 interviews with various junior employees.
Interview Questions
The most difficult question was a finding the tax rate for a company when given a P/E ratio, EV/EBITDA, D&A, interest expense, and total debt outstanding. That was the only especially difficult one. I was asked about LIFO and FIFO and which one is preferable in an inflationary environment. If you know the difference between the two, then it's a straightforward question. There were a couple brain teasers thrown in but I don't think they cared as much about the right answer as they did about your logic and approach.
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: July 2017
Date Submitted: Jan 30, 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Initially applied through OCR, but continued to network with the reps that came out. Eventually led to 3 informal phone interviews before the lead went cold. 2/3 were pretty technical with some behaviorals sprinkled in here and there.
Interview Questions
None were really that difficult, but the attitude of the interviewers made the calls rather stressful. I think the hardest question they asked was the simple $10 depreciation question. The interviewers each time were very monotone and were clearly trying to "psych me out". Other than the depreciation question they asked me to recite the layers of the capital stack, go through my resume in detail with them asking questions about each experience point, and asking why I went to the school I did. Overall not too bad but just seemed unnecessarily stressful.
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: February 2017
Date Submitted: Apr 06, 2017
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Applied online and was contacted for a first phone interview with a VP. Next was a modeling test and then in-person interviews.
Interview Questions
The in-person interviews were mostly fit, get to know you type questions and a few technicals that weren't that difficult. The most difficult part of the interview was the modeling test in which you are asked some questions about an investment deal that a private equity client is assessing. The questions revolved around how much initial investment will be needed and how much the selling shareholders get. You are given about two to three days to complete and submit before the in-person interviews.
Sample Answer