Hi all, I worked at a large firm in M&A for over 2 years and switched to a much smaller firm. Been here about 1.5 years now, I'm doing well and got promoted and everything but want to get back to a big firm.
I have traction with some BB and elite boutiques (my main targets) and have an interview coming up with a BB in one of their top industry groups (one of the standard EBITDA-driven industries - industrials, TMT, consumer retail, etc.). I have relevant industry experience and would be shooting for a 2nd yr associate title.
Any advice for these interviews and what key points and questions to hit on? How fast can these move and can start dates be negotiated for a few months in the future?
How technical can these questions get? Quite frankly, ever since I moved to this small firm, my technical knowledge has gotten a bit rusty (we do a lot more qualitative analysis vs quantiative and modeling)
Any detailed advice would help a lot and questions I might be able to expect (especially technical side of things). Thanks!
bumpo
Went through the same process recently for lateral associate roles (only targeted EBs, wasn't interested in BBs).
Processes will really vary, some can drag out months or some are done in 2-3 weeks - either case I would doubt they'd push out a start date multiple months but probably wouldn't hurt to inquire.
At least for EBs, the questions could get very technical. For ones that focus on public corporates, I got a lot of questions on the new tax code, how it affects valuations, etc. For ones that focused on sponsor work there were detailed questions on LBOs, recaps, etc. Teams here are very lean so they need people who can jump in and properly review analyst work.
Deal experience was very important as well. Know your role and show that you are truly driving processes and doing associate level work. Also know your deals cold (multiples, valuation, comps, competitors, etc.). Literally everything is fair game
Dang that's pretty hardcore- maybe because it was an EB.
I've heard mixed things thus far. Some people have told me little to no technicals given that they assume Associates already know what they're doing and also there's a dearth of talent at the experienced associate level and thus interviews tend to be 'easier' with straightforward fit/behavioral questions.
Any other thoughts would be appreciated!
PS: Did you have a good answer on the tax code question and if so would you mind sharing your answer? :P
bump
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