Piper Jaffray Merchant Banking interview

I got a call a couple of days ago for a Merchant Banking interview with Piper Jaffray.

What differences should I expect between a merchant banking and an investment banking interview?

What are the key differences between a merchant bank and an investment bank?

and finally, if anyone has experience with a merchant banking interview, any advice would be appreciated.

Deadmau5

 
Nouveau Richie:
Give us more info.

Is this an interview for SA? FT? Lateral? Post-IB? Post-MBA? What's your background?

This is an interview for FT straight from an undergrad b-school. I have gone through several interviews with middle market/boutique investment banks (Houlihan, Sandler, Baird, etc.), but this is my first time for a merchant banking position. I already have two offers, but if I were to get this merchant banking opportunity I would take it.

Any information regarding the differences or similarities in interviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for replying Nouveau.

 
Best Response

when you're initially contacted by a recruiter, they tend to focus on "fit" and less on technical questions (in my experience). so expect questions like "walk me through your resume", "why Piper Jaffray", "what are some of your strengths", (if the job is located in another city, expect a question like "do you have ties to ---"), etc. basic stuff.

most of the recruiters i've spoken to (outside of buy-side recruiters) do not have a very strong technical knowledge base. if you pass their "first" screen, they'll pass you onto an Associate/other member of the team where the interview will get more technical.

 

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