<p>I have a "30-minute phone interview" with a private equity firm tomorrow. Do you guys have any tips to study for the interview? What kind of questions would they be asking?</p>
<p>Is it a fund or a fund of funds?</p>
<p>If it is a fund, probably be able to go through most valuation methods (LBO in particular), know about bolt ons/rollups, know your accounting, and probably some things about when/how to harvest companies.</p>
<p>I’m guessing it’s going to be more fit since you appear to be a sophomore. Know about private equity really is, why you want to do it, know about the firm etc. I would be surprised if they ask you LBO questions.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input guys. I figured it should’ve been more about fit too since I’m only a sophomore and he said it was the first round interview.</p>
<p>I’ll let you guys know how it goes and if I need anymore advice for round 2. =]</p>
<p>I also have no idea if they are a fund or fund of funds. Do you guys think I should ask them about that at the end? Would it seem like I know my stuff and is interested, or will it just make me look like a noob?</p>
<p>do they have a website?</p>
<p>you probably want to see if they are doing private equity or venture capital. Likewise, there are lots of moving parts to a private equity firm. Sales, investment, compliance, legal, etc. You might want to clarify what part they are looking for.</p>
<p>Don’t ask them. If the firm is an elite one, then asking would likely end your interviewing process on the spot. Find out yourself through google, network, etc. When I interviewed for a PE firm (think Bain Cap, Blackstone), the first round is about fit and very laidback. The second round get super intense; you really need to know your stuff, or else you get knocked out without a warning. PE is harder to break into from undergrad than Goldman and JPM.</p>
<p>Yea im sure a sophomore from Cal who cant tell the difference between buyout and fund of funds is interviewing at BX and Bain Cap. It’s probably some small RE firm and it’s going to be all fit.</p>
<p>demoz,</p>
<p>I don’t know if you are done with interview or not but I here are some suggestions.</p>
<ol>
<li>Learn about the company. If you can’t tell the difference between DF vs FoF, or PE vs VC, then you are on the right track to fail the interview. All this info is available on their website. Trust me.</li>
<li>1 Round interview is always about fit. They will just try to see if you are interested in the area. Your passion will play a big role.</li>
<li>During the 2 round you will get questions about LBO, BOD, J-curve, etc. However, don’t worry. I knew nothing about those things and I am a finance major, I still made the cut. However, to my defense, I know technology well and I did a lot of research about the VC companies, VCs and recent deals.</li>
<li><p>Dress to impress. I really felt confident that day and dressed nicely. The first interview with the principle (who is responsible for the interns) went very well and he basically told me what I will be doing very soon. It really felt like I was already in. My second interview went well too even though I didn’t know much about the financial modeling but the Associate of the company really liked me. Also, he was from my school. That was a great surprise to me! I researched all of them on linked in. I suggest you do the same.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, know that getting an internship or a job in VC/PE is like winning a lottery. If you didn’t, move on because the likelihood of getting an interview at a different firm is so low that you might just try McKinsey or Goldman Sachs.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>EDIT: Dressing part if for the second round, because I assume you will be interviewing at the office.</p>
<p>Also, ask a lot of questions that show that you know the company. Don’t just ask something you can find online. Ask some questions about their funds and specific companies that they invested in.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the support everyone. Unfortunately, I haven’t received a phone call yet so I’m assuming I didn’t make it to the second round. I think the biggest problem was that my interviewer wanted to see if I could commit AT LEAST 20 hours a week and I told him I’m not sure if I can make it to that many hours according to my class schedule.</p>
<p>I will try again for another PE/VC/IB firm for the summer. In the meantime, I did manage to nail an interview with Merrill Lynch and thus secure an internship with their Wealth Management program for the winter through spring.</p>