Interview Tips

Don't start with a revenue number — start with assumptions: unit economics, pricing, market size, or same-store sales growth. Interviewers test whether you understand what's underneath the model, not just how to fill in cells.

Know the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement and exactly how they connect. Classic interview: "Walk me through what happens on all three statements if depreciation increases by $10." Practice until this is automatic.

Interviewers will ask for ballpark EV/EBITDA ranges for different sectors. Tech SaaS trades at 10–20x, industrials at 6–10x, hospitals and healthcare at 8–12x. Know the ranges and the reasoning behind them.

Structure it: (1) entry price and multiple, (2) sources and uses, (3) key value creation thesis (revenue growth, margin expansion, deleveraging), (4) exit assumptions and target returns. Concise, structured, confident.

Is it public or private? What is the purpose — M&A, fundraising, portfolio review? What timeline do you have? Asking one or two smart clarifying questions before diving in signals maturity and tells the interviewer you think like an advisor, not a technician.

Early-stage companies with no FCF, cyclical businesses at the top of the cycle, financial firms with different capital structures — all are poor candidates for DCF. Showing awareness of the model's limitations impresses interviewers as much as building it correctly.

Every behavioral answer should follow Situation → Task → Action → Result. Spend 10% on S, 10% on T, 60% on A (what YOU specifically did), and 20% on the quantified Result. Interviewers are scoring your action and your impact — get there quickly.

Build a tight set of 5 experiences that each demonstrate multiple competencies: leadership, initiative, teamwork, problem-solving, and resilience. The same story about a deal or project can answer 'Tell me about a time you led a team' and 'Tell me about a time you had to convince a skeptical stakeholder.'

'We grew revenue' is weak. 'We grew revenue 34% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $2.4M ARR' is strong. Every story needs a number — if you don't have an exact figure, give a range or describe scope ('a team of 8,' 'a $40M deal,' '3 months ahead of schedule').

Look at their career path, the deals or transactions they worked on, where they went to school. Find genuine common ground. Opening with a thoughtful observation about their background ("I noticed you worked on the XYZ deal in 2022 — that was during the rate spike...") sets a tone that few candidates establish.

Not 'What does success look like in this role?' — every candidate asks that. Ask about a specific deal the firm recently closed, a strategic shift in the group, or something you genuinely want to understand about the culture or deal flow. Show curiosity. Never ask about salary, hours, or vacation.

State your approach out loud before picking up a pen: "I would approach this as a DCF, cross-checked with comps and precedents. Let me start by walking through my key assumptions before I build anything." Interviewers grade your process as heavily as your output.

There's no single right answer in a case study — there is a better and worse reasoning process. Narrate your assumptions as you make them: 'I'm assuming a 3% perpetuity growth rate based on long-run GDP — if the business has higher structural growth, this would be conservative.' Interviewers are evaluating your judgment.

You are not building a production model — you are demonstrating financial thinking under pressure. $2.37B becomes $2.4B. 14.3% becomes ~14%. Spend your mental bandwidth on the reasoning, not the arithmetic. Precision signals you are missing the point.

After walking through your analysis, tie it together: 'Based on my DCF suggesting a $4.2B intrinsic value and comps trading at a 15% premium to that, I would recommend proceeding with the acquisition at a price up to $4.5B — assuming the synergy case holds.' A clear, defensible recommendation separates good analysts from great ones.

Research three things: a recent transaction or league table position, a specific group or sector focus, and one thing about the culture or training program. 'You are a top bulge bracket' is not an answer — 'your healthcare group closed the DaVita carve-out last year, which sits exactly at the intersection of my academic background and where I want to build expertise' is.

Practice it until it is perfectly smooth. Start with your background briefly, hit 2–3 most relevant experiences with the strongest results, mention a theme or through-line that connects them, and close with 'which is what brought me here today.' Never go over 2 minutes. Never underdeliver in under 60 seconds.

Some firms are suit-and-tie conservative. Others are business-casual. Tech-adjacent groups skew more modern. Research the office culture via LinkedIn, alumni, or Glassdoor before the interview. Showing up in a formal suit to a casual culture can signal you haven't done your homework just as much as showing up underdressed.

Send a brief, personalized thank-you email to each interviewer within 24 hours. Reference one specific thing you discussed — this proves you were genuinely engaged. If you met 4 people, send 4 different emails. For superday interviewers, a handwritten note sent to the office still stands out in 2026.