Terra Firma Interview Questions

5 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (82%)

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 (82%)

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

Interviews at Terra Firma

Get Prepared
Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2016
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investments
Location London
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Year 2016
Job Title
Group/Division Generalist
Location London
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
1st Year Analyst
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Financial Institutions Group (FIG)
Location New York
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Analyst
Year 2015
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Generalist
Location London
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy
1st Year Analyst
Year 2011
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division
Location London
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Terra Firma Examples

Summer Intern Interview - Investments

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: 2016
Date Submitted: Apr 01, 2016
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
3-4 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
IQ / Intelligence Test
Personality Test
Interview
1) Online app screening
2) Four psychometric tests (maths, verbal, fit)
3) 3 f2f interviews with members of the team
Interview Questions
Why should they hire be over other very strong candidates
Depreciation methods and affect on cash flows
Basic val/lbo models/quesitons
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in London
Interviewed: 2016
Date Submitted: Mar 26, 2016
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
IQ / Intelligence Test
Personality Test
Interview
Applied online. Got an invitation to do some tests online (numerical, verbal and situation) then an invitation to meet 3 members of the team.
Interview Questions
- Why should I hire you for my team? What would you bring to the table?
- What deals that we made were interesting to you?
- What questions do you have for me?
- Do you have any technical background? How do you value a company?
- Why Terra Firma? Why our company?
- Why private equity and not investment banking or a startup?
- What would you be doing in the next years? Are you interested by our analyst program? Are you here for the long term or only to learn during the internship? Would you see yourself working fulltime?
Sample Answer

Internal Wholesaler Interview - Financial Institutions Group (FIG)

Anonymous employee in New York
Interviewed: 2014
Date Submitted: Dec 23, 2015
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Group interview, followed by two one day interviews. Simple asked about finance background and sales capabilities.
Interview Questions
There were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepareThere were no difficult questions, just prepare
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: October 2015
Date Submitted: Oct 25, 2015
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Other
Interview
Two weeks after submitting the online application, I was invited to complete a first-round one-way video interview. Figuring the questions can be only motivational/competency-based at this stage, I did detailed research about the firm. The interview consisted of 5 motivational questions, with a 1-minute time limit to each of them. There was also a 30-second to 1-minute thinking period before each question, depending on its difficulty. Overall, the questions were plain vanilla (how did you choose your degree/major, why the industry, why the company, why you), but the format of being recorded while trying to maintain eye contact with the camera made it rather awkward.
Interview Questions
Why did you chose the degree/major you have chosen?
Why do you think Private Equity is the right industry for you?
What do you like the most about Terra Firma's Analyst program?
Why do you think you would be an asset to our business?
(+ OPTIONAL) Is there anything else you would like to add to your application?
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview -

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: January 2011
Date Submitted: Mar 15, 2013
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
Started of with a phone interview with a head hunting firm. I was called in for a psychometric test, which consisted of math, english and a few questions on personality. Of the 25 people present, only 10 were shortlisted to meet the Associate and one of the Directors from Terra Firma. My first round of interview with the Associate consisted of the questions - If I gave you 100,000 GBP, how and where will you invest it? What makes you stand apart from the other candidates applying for this position? What is one of the most undervalued industry in your opinion? How much revenue do you think Odean (Cinema hall, and portfolio company) make? - Guesstimate. The Director had very technical questions - How would you value a company? What is IRR? What would you look for in a company to invest in? Sort them as per importance (Management, growth, etc)
Interview Questions
If I gave you 100,000 GBP, how and where will you invest it? - This was a tricky and unexpected question as I had to clarify if I was allowed to invest in stocks, bonds, fixed income etc. Impressed with my follow on questions, i was told to choose a few stocks - which I was then able to pitch. However I was asked in particular for industries I hadn't worked in before (Aero space, etc)
What would you look for in a company to invest in? Sort them as per importance (Management, growth, etc) - This question has no right answers, and the Director interviewing me, made me back track a couple of times. I realise now that it was the conviction with which I spoke out that made him question me. The most accurate answer in my opinion (realized at a later stage) was the Return on Investment, which would give the optimal amount of return on the amount invested
Sample Answer