Private Equity Interview Questions

Build the technical and investment judgment required in private equity interviews, from paper LBOs and returns bridges to deal experience, diligence and investment committee thinking.

This practice bank contains role-specific technical and behavioral questions with structured model answers. Visitors can filter by topic and difficulty, bookmark questions and track readiness; five questions per career are available in the free preview.

What to prepare

• Paper LBOs and model mechanics
• IRR, MOIC and returns drivers
• Investment thesis and diligence
• Deal experience and portfolio judgment
• Why private equity and behavioral fit

Representative private equity interview questions

1. Motivation & fit: Walk me through your resume.
2. Motivation & fit: Why private equity?
3. Motivation & fit: Why not stay in investment banking?
4. Motivation & fit: What makes a good PE associate?
5. Motivation & fit: Do you consider yourself a risk-taker?
6. Motivation & fit: What do you do for fun / what are your hobbies?
7. Motivation & fit: What other opportunities are you considering?
8. Motivation & fit: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
9. Motivation & fit: What is your biggest failure/mistake, and what did you learn?
10. Motivation & fit: What is "Tell me about a time when…"?
11. Accounting & the 3 statements: Why is each financial statement inadequate on its own?
12. Accounting & the 3 statements: How do the 3 financial statements link together?
13. Accounting & the 3 statements: What is d&A increases by 10 (40% tax): what happens across the statements?
14. Accounting & the 3 statements: How do you calculate the change in net working capital?
15. Accounting & the 3 statements: Walk me through free cash flow.
16. Accounting & the 3 statements: What is the difference between levered and unlevered free cash flow, and why does that distinction matter in practice?
17. Accounting & the 3 statements: You sell PP&E with book value 50 for 100 with a 50 note payable: walk through the entries.
18. Accounting & the 3 statements: What is a non-cash charge?

Related interview guides

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• Asset Management Interview Questions
• Hedge Fund Interview Questions
• Equity Research Interview Questions

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