Senior Associate Interviews
I know it’s been discussed previously, but can someone touch on the process of senior associate interviews. Aside from the case study, how technical are interviews at this level?
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Went through ~10 processes this summer. Overall interviews weren't very technical at all. Maybe would get 1-2 super basic questions at the end of the interview but for the most part every one was mostly focused on behaviorals + deal-related questions.
Not op, but mind pm’ing me if you’re open to discussing those processes / trade notes? Ask recruiting for vp / sr asso roles atm
Sure
did you end up securing a role?
Yes, secured an SA role in June.
Also would love to know more. Do you mind pm’ing me as well? Thanks.
Sure
Hi-- Would you mind PMing as well? I'd love to hear about your process.
Would love to connect as well - do you mind pm’ing please?
Same here - this is for MM PE Europe but interviews have been very focused on deals, sourcing (! - big one, against my expectations they really wanted to see that I have been engaged in sourcing, building advisor relationships, etc.) and the general story. At this level, a better proxy for technicals is how you walk through the deal, what work streams you covered in said deal and then on a more micro level, what exactly you did in the respective work stream (e.g., I was asked what I would put in an advisor scope/EL).
Agreed w/ everyone else - 2+ years ago my interviews were much more focused on deal work and ability to articulate investment theses than your banking type technical interviews.
On deal specific questions, how detailed / nuanced do discussions get? Is it more general structure, investment rationale, etc or do discussions ever delve into nitty gritty like “what was cost of tax DD?” or “what work was included in QoE scope of work?”
They’re gonna first ask what work streams you handled, and then ask targeted questions - for example, if you said you led the market DD (consultants), they might ask what you put in the scope, what the priorities were, how you went about underwriting findings in the report. Or for debt, they might just ask a few questions about the financing terms and if you were thinking about different structures. They won’t ask pointless stuff about the fees or anything.
Essentially, they will ask legitimate questions that you’d only really have great answers for if you actually did what you said you did. So it’s OK to exaggerate a little, but don’t have to say you directly negotiated the SPA or were solely managing the legal DD or anything outrageous.
The only technicals I ever got were for Blackstone where they asked 1 mental math question (can't believe they still do that) and a paper LBO. Otherwise nada
Really depends on the firm - have been asked to do timed modeling exams, paper LBOs (with not so easy paper math), accounting questions in some interviews. Others are less technical in nature and much more focused on deal experience like others say. Would say Sr Associate interviews tend to be more technical than VP
For VP roles, is it less likely that you'll have a timed model test? More take-home case study, if at all?
Have had timed and take home (48 hours) for VP level
Are case studies for SA/VP again 3 statement models? Or is it simpler and more focused on presentation?
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