Associate Lateral Process?

Been out of the recruiting game for ~ 2 years now and working at a BB in a fairly niche coverage group (real estate, FIG, mining, etc) as a second year analyst (up for promo this year). Been looking at lateralling given how hot the market is right now, but completely out of touch with what interviews look like for A2A laterals.

My main concern is I'm fairly deep down the rabbit hole in my sector which has pretty niche valuation metrics, so if I were to recruit for i.e. a generalist M&A program as an associate, I'd be pretty behind the curve relative to others who worked in M&A / diversified / industrials / etc. 

Generally for A2A associates, what would the interview process look like? Is there always a modelling component or is it moreso speaking to your deal experience if you already came from a reputable shop?

6 Comments
 

Speaking with friends interviewing for ASO laterals and seeing the process my BB group is running, there won’t be a modeling test like PE, just a technical interview, but maybe not even that / it could just be part of a 30 min interview is technicals. They’re more focused on fit. Wouldn’t be surprised if EBs are more intense on technicals though.

 

Was an A2A associate lateral to an EB, the interviews were 75% fit and 25% focused on my coverage group specific technicals. Nothing like analyst interview technicals though, all more case like (e.g. what would you propose we do if we had to advise a client to do x,y,z). Also had a 2 hour modeling test on site, LBO + M&A model.

 

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