Acquisition Associate Recruiting

Recently I have been contacted by several recruiters about acquisition associate recruiting. Seems like the process for Summer 2021 start dates will begin this upcoming summer. For anyone that has recruited for these roles before, what does the process look like and is there anything specific I should focus on studying for these interviews?

My background is that I have been in Asset Management for almost two years with a top 5 REPE firm in terms of AUM.

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That sounds odd, it sounds like you are post grad with a couple years of experience. I have not seen a recruiting process start a year out for a position post grad. Anyways, acquisition interviews generally (in my experience) have two (or two and a half) modes:

1) Market talk, the interviewer will ask you about markets he likes and your thoughts, maybe you'll have the opportunity to discuss markets you are more familiar with.

1.5) You talk about deals you've done, the assets, the tenants, the markets.

2) This is the big one in which all acquisition interviews devolve into. Once you've talked about the markets/sellers/buyers you've done does in/with then it becomes a game of "do you know." Think back to that post grad party where there was another alum from your school there, inevitably you both start listing off people you know from school, students, teachers, whatever just trying to find people in common you know. This is what a lot of acquisition interviews turn into. You and the interviewer talking about brokers and other equity people you both know, trying to find people in common you know in the industry.

 

Thats so weird to hear, for a post grad position do they have the opening currently or just expect openings to come up? When would they make the official hire? Is it 9 months of interviews or a very delayed start? I can see how this works hiring undergrads out of college but hard to imagine for working people.

Generally for acquisitions positions they need people ASAP as that's holding up capital deployment. I have not gotten a call where they didn't want someone yesterday.

 

That's right, I have about two years of experience in Multi Asset Management under my belt, hence why the recruiting structure looks a bit different. Appreciate your guidance on the interview, could definitely see them being interested in market knowledge/industry relationships.

What should I expect in terms financial/technical questions? Assuming it will be more complicated than "what's a cap rate" haha

 

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