Behavioral

Question 1

Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 1

Strengths:

1. Attention to detail
2. Work ethic
3. Writing / communication skills

Weaknesses:

1. Lose the forest for the trees / bogged in detail
2. Taking on more than I can handle
3. Lack of experience

Question 2

Tell me about a time you were on a team and there was a conflict. How did you handle it? What role did you play? Tell me about a difficult teammate?

Answer 2

As president of JD/MBA Ass’n, led a 12-person student trip to Lisbon. Two roommates were disagreeing about whether they were splitting work fairly, leading to problems. I played the broker: invited them to dinner and we hashed it out, avoiding a potentially ugly situation.

Question 3

What concerns do you have about banking?

Answer 3

With the summer behind me, not much. I think I can handle the hours.

Question 4

An analyst is leaving to join a PE fund - how do you motivate them?

Answer 4

Pitch them on reputational harm: your reputation is hard to build and easy to destroy, so don’t let your hard work go to waste by losing sight of the present.

Question 5

Why our bank? What other banks are you interviewing with? Where are we on the list?

Answer 5

• [For all boutiques] - size, quality and culture.
• A few boutiques with strong RX
• [Depends] - high / in the running

Question 6

I am about to go list out candidates. Is there anything you want to leave me with?

Answer 6

I’m a great choice to fill your RX ASO position because I have relevant skills (e.g., credit, legal) and a demonstrated interest in the field.

Question 7

Can you handle the hours? What were the hours like at your previous job?

Answer 7

Yes. An average of 90/week this summer. Similar expectations when I was contemplating BigLaw.

Question 8

What is the risk for us in hiring you?

Answer 8

Age / inexperience. However, I make up for it with discipline and willingness to learn - wasn’t an issue for CS.

Question 9

Favorite thing about finance?

Answer 9

It is always evolving and at the fore, so there’s always something new to learn.

Question 10

Talk about a time you’ve had to take a risk.

Answer 10

Re-recruiting right now risks my offer at CS, but I think the upside is worth it.

Question 11

Talk about some multiples for different industries.

Answer 11

• Airlines / retail: EV / EBITDA
• Auto: EV / EBITDAP[ensions]
• Exploration / oil: EV / EBITDAX (exploration)
• Tech: EV / Unique visitors, EV / page views

Question 12

What would your best friend say annoys him most about you?

Answer 12

I can sometimes be demanding. I set high expectations for myself and expect the same of others, but that isn’t always reasonable - different people are good at different things, so expectations have to account for that.

Question 13

Tell me about a deal you’re following.

Answer 13

LSE’s acq. of Refinitiv:

• $27B in TEV ($14.5B for equity, paid in stock; $12.5B in assumed debt)
• Shows exchange business is revolving. Given decreasing margins in that business, exchanges are selling market data as add’l revenue streams. See ICE & NASDAQ deals.
• Interesting given Refinitiv was just carved out of Thomson REuters for $17B last year - Blackstone may have been able to extract more value using its extensive banking and buy-side contacts.
• Positive market reaction for LSE suggests they paid less than they could have and synergy value is preserved. Claiming 350M/yr (pounds) in cost saves.
• Integration risks (headcount), above-target leverage and antitrust concerns
• GS/MS advising LSE, Evercore, Canson Capital and Jefferies advising Refinitiv.

Question 14

What was your favorite class and why?

Answer 14

Cases in Bankruptcy and Reorganization with Max Holmes. Socratic method-based discussion of six large bankruptcies, culminating in a group research report on which post-bankruptcy security you’d rather own, and why. Cool way to assess students.

Question 15

Why banking?

Answer 15

The notion of being a company’s trusted adviser and helping with its most demanding issues excites me.

Question 16

What angers you?

Answer 16

When people don’t want to get better. Making mistakes is normal and even desirable, but it’s frustrating when someone makes mistakes and doesn’t care to improve from them, especially in a team setting.

Question 17

Describe your leadership style.

Answer 17

Lead by example - don’t ask people to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, and be with them in the trenches.

Question 18

Tell me about a time you had to deal with a dysfunctional team member.

Answer 18

This summer, I was staffed with a summer analyst who essentially disengaged herself from the deal. I tried getting her to help, but she considered herself too busy to help. Rather than complain, I did the work myself because it had to get done.

Question 19

Banking equals lots of hours - why should I feel comfortable that you would be able to handle the hours?

Answer 19

It was not an issue this summer and I was gearing up for similar hours when I was contemplating BigLaw.

Question 20

What is your value proposition? Why should I hire you over some of the other candidates here today?

Answer 20

For a restructuring group, I’m the ASO candidate who offers a combination of credit skills, legal skills and a demonstrated interest in restructuring. I may have less of the learning curve to climb than others.