Discussion Transaction Experience in Lateral Interviews
Hey all, I have a lateral analyst interview coming up with a BB and could use some perspective from people who've been through it.
My deals: I'm about 4 months into my first analyst role on a lean M&A team (5 people). We have 5 live deals and I listed all of them on my resume. Honestly, I only know them at a high level. So far I've been staffed mostly on pitches and execution support: formatting CIMs and valuation reports, moving charts from the model into the CIM, that kind of thing. I haven't done much real analysis on any of them.
How hard do lateral interviewers usually grill you on deals at 3 months? Should I be able to talk about valuation and model structure, even though that's not what I worked on? And how do I describe my role honestly when it's mostly been support work, without it sounding like I did little?
Their deals: I followed the 400Q guide and prepped the basics on a few of their recent deals: background, rationale, price, and my opinion. But I'm not sure how deep to go to hold a 5–10 minute conversation. They obviously know these deals far better than I do. Is the move to share what I know, give a real opinion, and then ask good questions? Or do they expect more?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s how to approach your situation:
1. Discussing Your Deals
2. Handling Questions on Valuation and Models
3. Discussing Their Deals
4. General Tips for Lateral Interviews
By framing your contributions effectively and demonstrating curiosity about their deals, you’ll position yourself as a thoughtful and motivated candidate. Good luck!
Sources: My Path - MBA Banking Associate to PE, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/breaking-into-private-equity-from-banking?customgpt=1, "Walk me through a deal" for consultants, How to Talk About PE Deal Experience?, How did you transition from an analyst/support role to a sourcing/production role?
first thing, listing all 5 deals when you only know them at a high level is the bigger risk here. interviewers pick the deal they want to dig into, so I'd trim the resume to the ones you can actually talk about and know the basics cold: the company, what it does, why the deal is happening, rough size, and where your team sits in it.
for your role, just say what you did in plain terms. something like "I've mostly been on execution support and pitch work, formatting the CIM and keeping the numbers tied to the model, and I've been trying to pick up more of the valuation side." that's fine at 4 months. nobody expects an analyst that early to have built the model, but they do expect you to understand how it works, so be able to walk through the valuation approach on at least one deal.
for their deals, what you listed is the right base. the thing that makes it a real conversation is having a view and a couple of good questions, like how the multiple looks against comps. say what you know from public info, give an opinion, ask something, and don't pretend to know more than the press release says.
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