William Blair Interview Questions

229 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 (95%)

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 (100%)

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.

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

Interviews at William Blair

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2020
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2020
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Generalist
Location Chicago
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location San Francisco
Experience
Negative
Difficulty
Difficult
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)
Location San Francisco
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2018
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Investment Banking
Location San Francisco
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
3rd+ Year Analyst
Year 2018
Job Title 3rd+ Year Analyst
Group/Division Equity Research
Location Chicago
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Generalist
Location Chicago
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Difficult
Student / Prospective Monkey
Year 2019
Job Title Student / Prospective Monkey
Group/Division Generalist
Location Chicago
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average

Interview Questions & Answers - William Blair Examples

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago
Interviewed: June 2026
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied online for full-time recruiting process. Had 3 rounds including superday, all Zoom. Mostly behavioral questions around why IB, MM, WB. Strong emphasis on why Chicago makes sense. Only technical was really doing a paper LBO
Interview Questions
None

Summer Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Chicago
Interviewed: March 2025
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interviewed through an accelerated program. Online screening and then in-person super day with 4 back to back 1 hour interviews.
Interview Questions
Paper LBO was expected

SA 2027 IB Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago
Interviewed: January 2026
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
1:1 with 2nd year analyst, what are some operating metrics whats EV/EBITDA mean, walk me through 3 financial statements. Behavior was walk me through your resume, why blair, why boutique banks, why IB specifically
Interview Questions
Whats EV/EBITDA and when would you use?

Private Wealth Management Intern Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Chicago
Interviewed: October 2025
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
2-3 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
You need an employee referral to apply 90% of the time. Moreover, there is no hirevue but instead a 30 minute phone call screener, and then a 30-minute final-round interview. Everything is behavioral and very basic PWM questions.
Interview Questions
"Tell me about a time..." questions most of the time, but then they asked, "How do you go about explaining something very complicated to someone who is not experienced in the area?"

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Atlanta
Interviewed: August 2026
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
I applied online for the Investment Banking Associate, Tech Enabled Services position. A member of William Blair’s Talent Acquisition team reached out shortly afterward to schedule an initial 30-minute phone screen. The recruiter discussion covered my background, interest in William Blair and the Tech Enabled Services practice, the Atlanta/Chicago teams, Associate-level responsibilities, and the overall hiring process.

Following the recruiter screen, I was invited to a second-round 30-minute video interview with a Vice President on the Tech Enabled Services team via Microsoft Teams. The conversation was professional and focused on assessing my experience and fit with the team.

The process moved relatively quickly. There was approximately one to two weeks between the recruiter conversation and the second-round interview. About a week after the second interview, Talent Acquisition informed me that they had decided to proceed with other candidates whose backgrounds more closely matched the team’s needs.

Overall, the process was organized and communication from the recruiting team was timely and professional. I had two interview stages: an initial recruiter screen followed by an interview with a banker from the Tech Enabled Services team.
Interview Questions
One of the more specific questions was around my experience executing sponsor-backed sell-side M&A transactions. The interviewer was particularly interested in whether I had worked on sell-side processes involving private equity sponsors and how much direct execution responsibility I had across those transactions. They asked me to walk through relevant deals, my specific role, the buyer universe, valuation and transaction structure, diligence, and how I interacted with financial sponsors. It became clear during the discussion that the team was specifically looking for candidates with meaningful sponsor-backed sell-side transaction experience, in addition to broader technology services M&A experience.

Analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: August 2026
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
HR Resume Screen, then one-on-one interview with vice president, after that would be a virtual superday. Interview included behaviorals and a simplified paper LBO
Interview Questions
Paper LBO, asked for reasoning behind assumptions / tested if they were reasonable

Investment Banking Analyst Interview - Healthcare

Anonymous interview candidate in Chicago
Interviewed: August 2026
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Interview was with a VP. First half was behavioral, asking about my previous IB internship, deal experience, and typical stories. Then the technical portion was only related to LBOs. Was a 5 part question where I kept getting new information and had to either do calculations/give my thoughts. Final part was calculating IRR and MOIC from a high level paper LBO.
Interview Questions
Heavy emphasis on LBOs.

Associate Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Chicago
Interviewed: June 2026
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Mix of behavioral questions (why banking, why WB, why Chicago), market sizing questions, and a paper LBO for just 1 interview
Interview Questions
Scrutiny around why Chicago, why banking, why now

Summer analyst Interview - Investment Banking

Anonymous employee in Chicago
Interviewed: January 2024
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Fast track interview consisted of a few preliminary screens from analysts and then 4/5 interviews from senior levels for 30 min each, ranging from behavioral to technical.
Interview Questions
The LBO question

M&A Associate Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous interview candidate in London
Interviewed: January 2026
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Presentation
Interview
Recruiter put me in the process for IB Associate in WB in London. 1st round was a 30-min video call with HR. Next round was a 1-hour interview with a VP (behavioural + technical). Next round was a take-home 2.5hr case study (Teaser+3-statement+Profile review). Next round was 2 separate interviews with the team's Directors. Last round would be meeting the MDs.
Interview Questions
Talk me through a deal + specifics. How do you usually calculate the equity ticker? EV to EqV bridge?
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