Undergrad Summer PE Interview at Top MM Fund?

Not sure how I managed to get this interview given that I am a sophomore and just applied through OCR, but I was notified today that I will have a 20-30 minute phone interview on the 28th.

What kind of questions will I be asked? Fit? Market? Techinical?

Thanks!

18 Comments
 

given that i have done 0 prep thus far, (was planning to prep over winter break for january recruiting), what should i work on during the weekend? can someone prioritize for me lol thx

 

First question for any type of interview is usually: tell me about yourself and why you want to work for us? Expect variations on that question. Know your story! There is a thread that talks about that on WSO as well as Mergers and Inquisitions. I suggest you look there. Review some of the WSO video library interviews. I am sure there are videos for PE analyst positions. They will show you what types of questions you can help prepare for.

 
Best Response

I have a had a few undergrad PE interviews so far this semester, this is what I needed to know...

1) my resume in and out 2) Situations that exemplify leadership, crisis management, conflict, etc 3) The Firm - locations, team size, deal flow (recent transaction), types of typical deals, specialization (if they have one), portfolio companies - all this should be accessible through their website 3) Basic Accounting - three financial statements and how they are intertwined, what is EBITDA, Constructing cash flow statement through indirect method 4) What is Lev Fin, What is Private Equity, Why Private Equity 5) Brain Teaser to test logic 6) Basic DCF model - how to calc WACC

For the most part, it was fit though. They don't expect someone to be a whiz, but they do expect you to know the basics. I was also asked a favorite movie, sports teams, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck

 
Universitei give up

what the fuck? you should be fine.

I would expect the LBO related questions described above. financial statement and dcf should be down cold by now if you have the slightest interest in IB/PE. know your story. it is not going to be easy and you will have to stand out as much as possible (im assuming you don't have any finance experience or finance knowledge due to your bitching above) knowing your shit helps you do this.

 

Relax. People on this site get so carried away its ridiculous. I've had a few MM PE internships at good firms and the interviews have not been that intense.

1 - By far most important is how comfortable you are talking about your story/resume/why you want to work there

2 - Basic Acctng/DCF 3 - Very basic understanding of what an LBO is and how it is used 4 - Basic thoughts about direction of economy

Most MM PE firms take on interns as free labor with no intent for a full-time offer. Therefore, it makes sense that they want someone who can speak/they like. You aren't going to be doing anything that intense and they know you are a sophomore so they won't expect you to bust out a full-blown LBO case study. I honestly doubt you get many technicals if any.

The most important thing is that you go in relaxed and comfortably talk about yourself and why you want to work there (to learn). If you want to PM me the firm name I may have interviewed there before.

 

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