Lateral Hire: Passed the take home Case Study - Now What?

I have been in the work force for about a year (2015 grad) and am seeking to move laterally into an analyst position within the restructuring group at a well respected boutique.

I participated in a phone screen and was asked to complete a take home case study a few weeks later. A few days after submitting, I was notified that my case study passed the review of the team and that I would be coming in for the "next round".

Can anybody shed some light (from past experiences of their own or having conducted similar processes themselves) on what I can expect in the process moving forward? Given the language of the HR communication, I expect that this is not a final round interview. Should I expect my next interview to focus primarily on my case study? Also, should I expect that additional portions of the interview process will remain technically focused, or will it transition to more of a fit based exercise?

Any insight is appreciated

 

Take a look at my lateraling guide. It should help you with some of your questions.

What did this case study consist of? Did you build a model or value something?

Lateral recruiting is very ad-hoc. There is no set schedule, so don't fret if you have to wait a bit (again, this is not like FT recruiting where silence is usually a sign of being dinged). Your final-round interview will most likely focus entirely on your deal experience (assuming you're already in IB). You may get asked a few technicals, but they will most likely be very straight-forward (e.g. walk me through a merger model, how does increasing leverage affect IRR).

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Thanks for the response, always appreciated.

First round consisted of a phone screen, which was straightforward - conversation with an analyst, walked through resume, quals, etc. - good guy, relaxed and straightforward

The case study consisted of a restructuring proposal (term sheet and excel model) for a given company in distress.

Following that, I was asked in office (for what I assumed to be final round or close to) - interviewed with team members across all levels. Most of the conversation focused on my case study answer, while the other portion was asking questions, discussing engagement history, employee roles, etc.

I have now been asked back for a definitive final round. Provided I have already completed the case study and had discussions focused on my response, I was curious what this final round would consist of. Is it possible to take a step backwards and go back to the typical technicals (also distressed rx focused)?

Is it possible that its going to be strictly focused on my work experience (was not discussed in great detail)? Alternatively, I'm thinking it could be just focused on fit - making sure I'm comfortable to work with for extended hours and can be a part of the team?

Let me know what you think - any guidance is always welcomed

 
Best Response

@blood on the trees", your interview process does not sound atypical. Maybe someone cannot make up their mind, maybe someone was out of the office the first time that you were in, maybe the MD traveled and already forgot what he thought of you, etc. I wouldn't sweat it.

Your final round interview will most likely be entirely fit. I would expect to be asked about your resume, transaction experience, and questions to gauge how you handle certain processes. I would be prepared for technicals, but doubt you will get any. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that getting technicals at this stage of the interview process should be a red flag for YOU. Technicals are meant to weed out non-serious and sloppy candidates- the bank should have already done so at this point. At this point, I would hope the only question left for the bank is whether or not you can fit in.

 

To echo what was said above, I feel all lateraling experiences are unique. Are you already in IB or RX? Sometimes the company knows that you are coming from out of the industry and they know theyll have to train you regardless so they may not focus as much on deep technicals but instead they make sure you are a good fit and smart enough to learn the business. On the other hand there are some companies that want you to come in ready to hit the ground running even if you have no industry exprience so they may grill you.

If I were in your shoes I'd rather be over prepared than under prepared considering there is no way you can predict what they'll ask you since all experiences are different. Being able to talk about yourself and your previous experiences is something you should already be very comfortable, so IMO it would hurt to practice more techs and refresh on some topics. Good luck.

 

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