Have heard 2 opposing views: one is to interview early, even when you're unlikely to take the job so that you gain interview experience.
The other side is that, because recruiting is so time intensive, you shouldn't take interviews / recruit "for the reps"
What do you think?
| +106 | Is Everyone Too Bearish on PE? | 34 | 12h |
| +48 | Why would anyone do PE in long term in 2026? | 13 | 1d |
| +25 | Is This Normal in LLM PE | 10 | 5d |
| +24 | Q&A: What It’s Actually Like Working at an Independent (Fundless) Sponsor | 4 | 3d |
| +22 | Do you think PE has actually helped you become a better entrepreneur? | 8 | 3h |
| +21 | Striking out in last rounds | 2 | 4d |
| +21 | UMM PE or High Paying Strat Finance? | 13 | 1d |
| +16 | Portfolio Marks | 8 | 1h |
| +15 | DELETE | 1 | 2d |
| +15 | Overwhelmed by amount of data / granularity | 3 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Personally I find refining my prep spending more hours to thoughtfully prepare is way more useful than taking an interview underprepared.
pro: get data on real questions (you can get this anyway)
con: kill your confidence if you’re underprepared and don’t perform well
It’s definitely worth taking a not-as-exciting-opportunity interview as prep in advance of a (or ideally several) top-choice process. Very helpful to have a dry run on your story, suss out common questions on (/ reacting to) your background, etc. PE interviews are ultimately very formulaic, and you’ll be way more comfortable after a few, even if the technicals don’t overlap (and a lot of time they do).
The above doesn’t apply for on-cycle, obviously, since an earlier process may physically prevent you from participating in another.
Et repellat laudantium facere animi et. Exercitationem provident doloribus alias et quidem ullam voluptatem. Omnis architecto commodi at eum sit. Nisi molestiae hic molestiae exercitationem. Et dolor commodi aut aut explicabo qui tempore. Dignissimos voluptatem quo animi in vel non.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...