Answering this question is fairly easy. All you have to do is share which achievement you’re the proudest of. A rule of thumb is to use an achievement that isn’t highlighted on your resumé.

Here is how a WSO user answered:

“For my proudest achievement, I discussed how I was training for a marathon. I discussed that I was never good at running and that it took me six months to build up the stamina to be able to run the marathon.”

Think of this question as a logic gate: one true and one false. So if you ask a question that goes through both gatekeepers, it will always return a fake answer to you.

Here is how a WSO user answered the question:

“I approached this question with the idea that the gatekeepers would contradict each other. And so, the question I would ask each of them is, ‘What will the other gatekeeper tell me about the information behind the door?’ One of them will lie, while the other will tell the truth. Then, it’s up to me to determine which one is telling the truth.” 

There can be several reasons why you want this job. However, the best way to answer this question is to explain how this position can help you to achieve your professional or personal goals.

Here is how a WSO user answered this question, noting that they were interviewing for an entry-level private equity role:

“Having spent time working in investment banking, I decided that now is the time to pursue a career in private equity.

During my time at school, I became aware of the differences between the sell-side and buy-side, which helped me to figure out what my true interests were. And so I decided on private equity.

The primary reason for this is that I prefer to work on long-term deals rather than short-term ones, as I did in my investment banking role. With that being said, my main reason for being interested in this role is because this is the career that I want to learn and grow in.”

There are several ways by which you can analyze a company. It just depends on what you’re looking for from the analysis.

For instance, you can perform either a SWOT or PESTLE analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, and the impact of external factors on the company.

You can also look into the company’s financials if you’re interested in finding out more about its performance.

You can talk about KKR's scale, deal activity, and even their culture when answering this question. Also, if you mention something along these lines, then the interviewer will know that you took the time to research the firm, thereby showing actual interest.

This is what a WSO user said when asked this question:

“Year after year, KKR has been recognized as one of the leading firms in the private equity field due to their innovativeness. I read somewhere that KKR is responsible for popularizing the LBO strategy.

And so, as a young professional in this industry, I want to work for KKR because of this same level of innovation that I hope to gain one day.”

Ideally, you should be able to solve this question numerically if you were given some information about companies A and B. However, since it wasn’t provided, you have to make assumptions or provide a general answer and share your thought process.

Here is what a WSO user said about this question.

“Since there was no information given, I explained how I would get my answer to show that I understood what the question was asking. I said that I would use Market Capitalization, P/E, and shares outstanding to calculate whether or not earnings per share is greater or lesser.

If EPS is greater, then it would be accretive. On the other hand, if it’s less, it’s dilutive.”

Convertible notes are structured as debt investments but have a provision that allows the principal plus accrued interest to convert into an equity investment at a later date.

They're pretty popular among startups, and that’s because it not only allows startups to raise debt at a lower cost (due to the equity provision) but also defers placing a valuation on a company.

As discussed, following the news is important when working in finance. If an interviewer asks you this question, they want to know whether or not you’re up to date with what’s going on in the markets.

CNBC is a good resource that updates according to the market’s performance. There is also a section that discusses what was moving in the pre-markets.

This is an example of a real estate-focused question. Since KKR has multiple divisions, you can expect some specific questions for the division that you’re applying for.

This is what a WSO user said:

“You can use several different metrics for underwriting. Some of the most important ones that would assist in a real estate transaction are 1) Cash on Cash, 2) Equity Multiple, 3) IRR, and 4) Rent.”

Below are the steps for modeling an LBO, as provided by a WSO user:

1. Calculate Entry assumptions (Total Enterprise Value - Debt = Entry Equity), and create sources & uses to figure out exactly how much investor equity to contribute. 
2. Adjust the balance sheet with new debt/equity figures.
3. Project out operating statements to get the Last Twelve Months (LTM) EBITDA, Free Cash Flow (FCF) for debt paydown. 
4. Calculate Exit Purchase Price with exit multiple x LTM EBITDA - Outstanding Debt + Excess Cash = Exit Equity. 
5. Calculate the Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) from Exit Equity/Entry Equity and IRR from MOIC over the time horizon.

For this question, you would need to be aware of the clients that the firm works with. Additionally, it would be helpful if you can gain some insight into how these companies are performing so that you can be better prepared for this question.

Here is what a user said:

“Based on the companies that KKR works for, I would recommend that they short Magic Leap. From what I know, it seems that this is their worst investment given the company’s performance.”

For this question, you could mention that your skills are directly transferable to the new role. Highlighting that you have transferable skills is always a good idea since these skills are always in-demand.

Here is how a WSO user approached this question:

“In my previous role, I was a sales representative for a tech firm, and while my responsibilities are different from that of a financial analyst, I believe that the skills I learned in tech sales will be helpful in this new role.

For one, tech sales require you to present and deliver, especially when trying to sell your product. In an analyst position, this can translate into being confident enough to present your findings or even pitching a stock. This is one way in which I believe my skills are transferable.

As for how I’d go about the transition, I plan on using the skills I have and learning more as each day goes by. I know that there will be challenges, but I am confident in my skill set and my ability to quickly adapt to new environments.”

We all have failures. It happens. But what’s important is how you turned your failure into a learning lesson. And so, while this question is asking about your biggest failure, you should mention what you learned from it.

Here is what a WSO user said:

“For my biggest failure, I discussed not getting top-ranked at my last job. I talked about why it occurred and what I could have done differently to have been ranked higher.

I then said that it's taught me a lot and that I wouldn't make the same mistakes again in my future jobs. I mentioned that ever since that incident, I have been top-ranked every single year.”

By asking this question, the interviewer wants to see how you would implement valuation methods in a scenario. Since there is no right or wrong answer, be sure to be thorough with your explanation and try your best to support your answer.

Below is an answer provided by a WSO user:

“Of the three main valuation methods, it would be best if you compare the coal mines to comparable valuation. By looking at other coal mines and their value, comparing it proportionally by size, you could get a fair estimate of the current value of the coal mine.”

By asking this, the interviewer wants to see if you’re able to read between the lines. Hence the reason they started the question with ‘before Mt. Everest was discovered.’

The right answer is Mt. Everest. Even if it hasn’t been discovered yet, Mt. Everest is still the tallest mountain on Earth.

The answer to this question is dependent on what the economy would look like at the time. And so, there is no definite answer here. To best prepare for these types of questions, you should follow the news so that you can get an idea about the economy and what’s affecting the industries.

With a career in finance, you can expect to have a heavy workload, and there are times when additional tasks will be added. By asking this question, your interviewer wants to see how well you prioritize and deal with heavy workloads.

There is no doubt that this can be overwhelming, but having a structured way to handle these workloads can help to lighten the load.

Here is what a WSO user said when asked this question:

“I understand that each assignment is important, but given the time crunch, I would do the easier essays first and then tackle the harder ones. My philosophy is to get the low-hanging fruit out of the way so that I can make opportunities available.”

Valuation methods are important because they help to determine the value of a company or an asset. Several different techniques can be used, but there are three major ones. These are:

• Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
• Precedent Transaction 
• Comparable Analysis 

When asked for the three main techniques, you should state the ones mentioned above. Try to avoid using shortened names for them, i.e., DCF, precedents, and comps. Saying the full name seems more professional.

For a company to be considered a ‘good LBO candidate,’ it should have stable cash flows, good management, and little investments. These are three examples of some factors to look at, but there are more.

When asked to choose between two options, there is a strong chance that there’s no wrong answer. This question is an example of this. To answer this correctly, you must support your choice with sufficient reasons.

This is what a WSO user said:

“The healthcare care industry is definitely more defensive, but that is if we're talking about established pharma. If we are talking about negative cash flow biotech firms, then tech is more defensive.”

This question is meant to determine how you handle conflict or, in other words, what’s your conflict resolution type. There’s no right way to answer this since these questions are designed in a way that will help your interviewer gain some insight into your behavioral style.

However, there are some things you can keep in mind when sharing your story. This is how a WSO user suggests to go about answering:

“First, I stated the scenario of the failure encountered, explained the environment and what led to it, and then addressed it by clearly laying out the specific steps taken to resolve the failure, which included working with teammates and being highly communicative.

Then, I explained what specific lessons and takeaways were learned from this experience and how it has been worked on to improve since.”

As of right now, oil is a hot topic, and you should have some knowledge of what’s going on in the commodities market as it relates to oil.

Since your interviewer is asking you what you think would happen, you can have your own opinion. Just do your best to support your opinion. You can pull information about oil from OPEC+, CNBC, and Reuters.

Below is a sample answer provided by a WSO user:

“I strongly think that oil can make a comeback, but it would take a while to see some significant chances. In South America, there is currently an ongoing project to extract oil. However, the project is slow, and that’s why I believe that there’s a chance that oil will rally.”

Depreciation expense if the lease is an operating lease; most companies are valued on EBITDA, so a company with depreciation expenses would have a higher EBITDA and thus warrant a higher valuation with the same multiple as a company that leases their stuff.

This is a personal question and would only be applicable if you invest or trade in the stock market. Here is what a WSO user said:

“Due to market volatility and recession fears, I would be cash heavy; however, since I am in for the long term, I would start to purchase equities.”

If you don’t invest, then you can answer the question hypothetically. This would show the interviewer that you are aware of the market conditions and how certain factors can affect the markets and your portfolio.