Advice for Private Credit Interviews
Hello, I am preparing for a private credit interview that will take place in the following weeks for a Direct Lending team. I am curious what type of questions will be in the interview and in future ones to come if I do well. I already have access to WSP courses, but I'm not sure if that is enough or the right way to go about it.
For background context, I just finished my sophomore year of college as a finance and econ major, so I have some previous knowledge.
Would really appreciate any advice on:
- What technicals or case questions are most common in private credit interviews?
- What are the best resources or frameworks to prepare for credit underwriting or deal walkthroughs?
Thanks in advance for any help — happy to pay it forward later!
I was in the same position sophomore year too. Generally PC, is a lot less sweaty than IB or PE but no reason not to do your homework beforehand if you have time. Research the industries/verticals your team(s) primarily invests in, understand what makes a "good" credit investment opportunity (debt vs equity perspective), and know the lingo generally. Mergers & Inquisitions has a good primer, but it's a bit extensive, Hope this helps!
Thanks so much this is super helpful, really appreciate the insight. I’ve been spending time getting familiar with credit metrics and how lenders think about risk vs. upside, but I wasn’t sure how deep to go into traditional valuation methods.
Would you say it’s still worth brushing up on things like DCFs, comps, and LBOs just to build that baseline knowledge? Or is that more useful contextually (e.g., understanding how sponsors think) rather than something I’d be expected to walk through in a credit interview?
Thanks again this really helps me focus my prep.
For a sophomore SA they probably won't expect much modeling out of you (if any), but being familiar with LBOs isn't a bad idea. DCFs and comps are less helpful since you're probably lending directly to a sponsor or the business itself who have already determined a purchase multiple / capital needs.
Got it that makes a lot of sense, thanks again. Just to clarify, this would actually be for a junior summer analyst role, not sophomore. Given that, do you think it’s more likely that some basic LBO modeling or credit case work would come up in interviews or on the job?
Totally understand that DCFs and comps aren’t super relevant here, I appreciate the explanation on that. Just trying to get a sense of how much modeling depth to aim for.
I haven't heard of anyone getting a traditional "case study" for SA (not to say they don't happen), but questions about why a company would take on debt vs equity are important. Paper LBO is fair game, and if you wanted to practice modeling one I'd check out Peak Frameworks practice template.
Did you use peak frameworks?
I didn't before the interview, but later on, to get up to speed. But I was interviewing for a sophomore postions, so my technicals were more conceptually based
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