What are you most proud of in your career to date? Whatever it is, be prepared to talk frankly and in detail about how you are an agent of value creation. Maybe your research helped a company develop a new product line, or your ideas spurred cost savings on benefits. This could be from developing operational efficiencies to ferreting out information that helped save money on a M&A deal. You should be able to walk into an interview with four to five solid examples of how your actions directly saved your previous employers money. This goes to the very core of what it means to work for a private equity firm. Tell me what you did in your last position that helped your company find value? Questions during an interview with a private equity firm tend to fall into four categories-your expertise, knowledge, character, and vision and goals. Especially with hypothetical questions, you need to at least discuss the various value opportunities in dismantling a portfolio company’s unprofitable divisions, spinning off pieces, or just closing up the whole company and selling the real estate it has for a profit. Period.” So don’t make the mistake of putting a target or portfolio company’s interests ahead of the fund’s or firm’s. That’s all well and good, and it’s often true, but we’re there to find value and make money. “We present ourselves as a hope for troubled companies, someone they can turn to. “The industry has a sort of PR campaign going that says we’re good for companies,” says one managing director of a small private equity firm.
Second, remember who you’d be working for-the private equity fund’s shareholders and the firm itself, not the portfolio company. Present yourself as an aggressive value seeker, but one who does his or her homework.
Be strong and stick to your convictions, but don’t be cocky. Their investments are for the long haul, and they don’t invest lightly. That may be all well and good for a position on a trading desk, but private equity firms tend to prefer more cerebral, thoughtful candidates. The first is projecting the kind of hot-shot aggressiveness that seems to be the Wall Street stereotype. In any case, there are a handful of mistakes that, firms say, candidates make in their interviews. As a general rule, the more experienced the candidate, the longer the interview process will be. Candidates who advance past these initial steps will often be taken out to lunch or dinner with senior team members, who will again assess their fit and ability to interact with coworkers and clients. Junior candidates and recent MBAs can expect to be asked to complete modeling tests and personality assessments. Some firms also ask candidates to complete a paper LBO or walk through a case study. In these, you will answer questions about your background or experience, and the hiring manager assesses your credentials and personality to see if you are a good match for the firm. Although the interview process in private equity varies by firm, all applicants will participate in a “fit” interview.
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