Piper Jaffray Interview Questions

135 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (97%)

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.

3.9
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (92%)

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.

2.8
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (97%)

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.

68%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Piper Jaffray

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
1st Year Associate
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2020
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Pharmaceuticals
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Minneap
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division N/A
Location San Francisco
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Houston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2019
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Minneapolis
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Minneapolis
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location New York, NY, USA
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Minneapolis
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Average

Interview Questions & Answers - Piper Jaffray Examples

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: April 2020
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
I was reached out to by a recruiter who set up a phone interview and then moved on to a zoom interview.
Interview Questions
Why do you want to leave your current company?

Associate Interview - Pharmaceuticals

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: July 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
I applied online on the company website and received an interview after about 2 weeks. It was a zoom call with a Director.
Interview Questions
Director was very technical. This was for their healthcare group. The Director said she wanted someone with an advanced MD or PHD degree in life sciences. I didn't have either.

Standard valuation questions (i.e. DCF).
She asked if I knew how to value pre-revenue healthcare companies.
She asked if I knew how to analyze clinical trials.
Are you familiar with any immuno-oncology firms?
Are you following any healthcare deals?
Are you following any coronavirus vaccine companies? What are the different platforms?

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Minneap
Interviewed: March 2019
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
6-9 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Presentation
Skills Test
IQ / Intelligence Test
Personality Test
Drug Test
Background Check
Interview
Regardless of where you are in the interview process, it's important to practice interviewing and to be prepared for the typical interview questions you'll be asked during each step in the process. It's also important to have questions ready to ask the interviewer.
Interview Questions
Dining with job applicants allows employers to review your communication and interpersonal skills, as well as your table manners, in a more relaxed (for them) environment. Depending on the interview process of the company you're interviewing with and the type of job you are applying for, you may be invited to a lunch or dinner interview.

When you have made it through the first interview, then a second interview might make you think that you're done with the interview process and you'll soon find out whether you'll be receiving a job offer. That's not necessarily the case. You may have to participate in a third interview and possibly more interviews after that. A third interview typically involves a final meeting with the hiring manager and may provide the opportunity to meet more of your prospective colleagues.

Summer Associate Interview

Anonymous employee in San Francisco
Interviewed: January 2019
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 recruited through a target on-campus MBA recruiting process in 2019 for first-year full-time MBA students. I had a coffee chat, closed-list invite event, phone screen, follow-up calls, on-site coffee chat, 1-1 interview and am going for a Super Day in San Francisco.
Interview Questions
I was asked fairly standard questions. The most difficult question that I was asked was how to value an early-stage biotechnology company that is pre-clinical and does not have positive net income. I was also asked to do standard accounting questions such as walk me through a gain on a sale of an asset that is on the book for $100 and sold for $120 through the three financial statements. I was asked some behavioral questions around whether I can handle working 100 hours a week, what the role of an Associate is and why I'm interested in the group.

Summer Intern Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in Houston
Interviewed: August 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Interview
networked into two first round into 4-interview onsite, moved very quickly because i was a bit late to the process
Interview Questions
i didn't receive any unexpected or difficult questions since i had already done a lot of banking interviews, not really sure what else to discuss within these 500 minimum characters so here's some lyrics from drake.

wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and wishin'
They wishin' on me, yuh
I been movin' calm, don't start no trouble with me
Tryna keep it peaceful is a struggle for me
Don't pull up at 6 AM to cuddle with me
You know how I like it when you lovin' on me
I don't wanna die for them to miss me
Yes I see the things that they wishin' on me
Hope I got some brothers that outlive me
They gon' tell the story, shit was different with me
God's plan, God's plan
I hold back, sometimes I won't, yuh
I feel good, sometimes I don't, ay, don't
I finessed down Weston Road, ay, 'nessed
Might go down a G.O.D., yeah, wait
I go hard on Southside G, yuh, Way
I make sure that north side eat
And still
Bad things
It's a lot of bad things
That they wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in Minneapolis
Interviewed: February 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Reached out to an alumni that is currently Head of Investment Banking at the firm. A couple days later I received an email from HR that they appreciated my interest and asked that I get on the phone within the next couple of days with the HR manager. After that, I was asked to skip the technical portion of the process with an existing analyst and come straight to the super day.

During the super day it consisted of roughly 3-4, 2 on 1 interviews. The associates and VP within the group offered the most technical questions and the MD's were more fit. Heard back a couple hours later that I didn't receive the offer.
Interview Questions
If you had a company with 0% debt on the cap structure, how would that affect the levered and unlevered beta. As a follow up, what would be a good substitute to use for the beta?

Asked a lot about prior experience. Mostly deal specifics:

-Walk me through XX deal on your resume
-What was the process like?
-What was your role?
-How did you position the company to potential buyers?
-What were the multiples of the deal and was that above or below the expected range?

They also asked what the 10-year treasury closed at the day prior.

1st Year Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Minneapolis
Interviewed: September 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Got on the phone with a few bankers from the group, then set up a 1v1 where I was asked a few technical questions. Superday was a few weeks after that, and consisted of mostly behavioral questions, but also included a PowerPoint skills test as well as a somewhat unorthodox technical interview which was pretty accounting-heavy. I was given a packet with financial statements and ~20 written out questions to talk through.
Interview Questions
The most difficult part was the technical question packet I was given as this was a lot different than the typical 400-question sheet I had studied. It was almost like a mini-case with mostly accounting questions. I was asked about margins, how items flow through the statements, opinions about the company, and some accounting-specific items like days-sales-outstanding and other similar ratios. This was definitely something that I was not expecting and had not seen at other interviews before. If you know your accounting should be fine.

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in New York, NY, USA
Interviewed: March 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
2 people. Behavioral then technical. Behavioral is just about the resume and asking about your background.
Interview Questions
They asked a brain teaser and a few merger model questions. The brain teaser was talking about how New York could save itself if a meteor came down. They also asked about the markets and industries that I think are interesting. Therefore, know a lot about the trends in the markets and what industries are doing what.

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Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: September 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Submitted resume through a connect at the bank. Was then contacted for a standard phone interview. Got an email for a superday a couple weeks later.
Interview Questions
Most of the interviews consisted of the standard investment banking questions. They placed a large emphasis on why banking, why Piper, and specifically why technology. Only technical questions I received involved DCF and calculating WACC. I had a banking internship this prior summer so a lot of my conversations were geared towards my deal experience. 6 interviews total, all one on ones. Only difficult question asked was "how many weddings are there in the United States each year?" Overall straightforward questions.

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Minneapolis
Interviewed: July 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Interview
I was expedited to a super day after several employee referrals. Only two techincal portions of the super day, but bypassed one after I gave a strong answer to the first question.
Interview Questions
The only question that kind of tripped me up was "what is on a P/L." They wanted me to go into deep detail for this which kind of threw me for a loop, but the rest of the questions were basic technicals. I did not get a single true behavioral question during the entire super day. All of it was conversational and "tell me about this." There was a lot of room for questions at the end of each interview so have some prepared and be ready for a 20 minute conversation that you take the lead on. Fairly easy super day.