Private Capital Advisory interview prep?

I was recently approached to interview for a tier 1 PCA team (EB like EVR/LAZ/PJT) and am trying to figure out how to best navigate and approach interview prep. The interview is early next week and I haven't had a chance to connect with anyone on the team to gain perspective on the group and how they run their processes. For context I'm an AN1 (only 6 months in) at a MM firm where I focus particularly on M&A execution.

Can I expect the interview process to be like a traditional IB gig? Are there any specific PCA technicals that I should study up on? Any guidance as far as resources for secondaries (particularly from an advisory standpoint) would be greatly appreciated. If anyone could also give some color on a traditional LP and GP led transaction process including work streams and what the responsibilities of a junior banker looks like that'd be great as well. Thank you!

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I interviewed for a full time analyst role, I interviewed during the fall of 2020 for the group you mentioned. The first round was the most technical interview I ever had in my life. 30 questions that were probably split 1/3 beginner 1/3 intermediate 1/3 advanced. Doesn’t sound horrible but having a VP ask you 10 advanced technicals was not easy. Difficult pen and paper questions with leverage/multiples involved as well as super niche capital market/PIPE questions you’d only know if you had exposure or prepared extremely well. The super day was a case study about a multi billion dollar PIPE deal the group advised on and I had 24 hours to prepare. Thought I did well on the case, but did not get the offer as I ran out of time as my presentation carried on too long which didn’t leave time for that many questions. But that was a blessing in disguise because of the sweatiness and bad culture as I heard from a friend that the group head who interviewed me in the case session was a total nightmare

 

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