Canaccord Interview

I went to the IB superday at Canaccord a few years back (pre-credit crisis time period). Everyone I met was very laid-back and very nice to talk to. No "pretentious, I went to so and so school bullshit". Predominantly fit, and very little technical as far as I can recall. That being said, know your valuation techniques inside and out. If someone says depreciation goes up by 10 how does that affect all the financial statements, don't answer with "they change".

Know the history of the firm a little bit so it shows your interest in the firm and that you took the time to learn about them. It has nothing to do with being an IB analyst, but all it takes is one MD remembering that Joe Schmoe really took the time to prepare for the interview to give you the upper hand. Fyi, Canaccord Adams was born after Adams Harkness and Canaccord Capital merged. Also, Adams Harkness was always known for its equity research reports, and when I brought it up in the interview, the interviewers always reacted positively.

The process for me went as follows: on campus interview, led to superday at their office in downtown boston, and then offers were extended a few days later. The superday was a full-day event, starting in the morning with a presentation/breakfast from the CEO of the IB department. Once the presentation finished we jumped into interviews. There were a lot of interviews, and I interviewed with everyone from Analysts to the CEO of the IB department. Also, analysts and associates stuck with mostly technical questions and a few fit questions. Anyone above Associate was concerned with why Canaccord Adams, why Boston, why IB, etc. Interviews ended late afternoon. Then all the candidates were taken out to dinner with employees ranging from analyst to md's and the informal "would i want to be stuck with you at an airport" portion of the interviews began. went to a great restaraunt, followed by a club somewhere in boston at which point associates and analysts were going around talking, hanging out, and drinking with the candidates. i felt the process was very straightforward and fair.

i did not receive an offer from them, but based on what i saw, they have a pretty good culture relative to the BB and MM firms I interviewed at. If you know your basic finance/accounting (specifically questions I mentioned above), have a decent head on your shoulders (aren't awkward as all hell), and have a good story about why boston and CAdams is a good fit for you, you'll do just fine.

as far as the tech/life sciences group is concerned, i met with a few people from this group during the superday. very nice, and very excited about the growth in the area. i would try and look up what deals they have recently completed (info available on their website), and what the big deals in the industry are. no need to start talking about ebitda multiples or anything, but just have some understanding of where the industry is headed in terms of trends.

i hope this helps a little bit, if you have any specific questions, feel free to pm or post them here and I'll see if I can answer them. best of luck at the interviews!