Interview prep, written down.
Real questions, real answers, and the study plans people actually use before a finance interview. For the underlying concepts worked in full — DCFs, WACC, LBOs, and the rest — see the concept guides.
25 Finance Interview Questions You'll Actually Get Asked
The real rotation: accounting flow-throughs, valuation walkthroughs, LBO mechanics, and the behavioral question that trips up more candidates than any technical one.
How to Prepare for a Technical Finance Interview in Two Weeks
A day-by-day plan for the two weeks before a technical round: what to actually memorize, what to practice under a clock, and what to skip.
Excel Shortcuts Every Investment Banking Analyst Should Know
The keyboard-only shortcuts that separate a first-year who's still reaching for the mouse from one who isn't, organized by what you're actually doing at your desk.
What “Accretive” and “Dilutive” Actually Mean in an M&A Deal
Pro forma EPS math with worked numbers: the all-stock P/E rule, the debt and cash versions, breakeven synergies, and why accretion says far less about a deal than candidates assume.
How to Write a Coffee Chat Request Email (With a Template)
Finding the right person, the one line that actually gets a reply, a template worth adapting instead of copying, and how long to wait before following up.
IRR, MOIC, and Payback Period: When Each One Lies to You
Three ways to score the same deal and three different answers: the MOIC-to-IRR bridge, why a dividend recap moves one number and not the other, and what each metric quietly hides.
Investment Banking Interview Prep by Firm: Goldman, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and More
The process, not just the questions: Morgan Stanley's group exercise and stock pitch, Lazard's technical-heavy first round, and why prepping the same way for every firm misses what actually differs.
Reading a Comps Set: What Makes Two Companies Actually Comparable
The screens that make a peer set defensible, the adjustments that make the multiples honest, and the four things to check on someone else's comps page before you trust the median.
Reading a 10-K Before an Interview: What to Extract in 20 Minutes
A route through the filing rather than a read of it: what the cover page gives you in a minute, what MD&A is actually telling you, the three notes worth opening, and the sections to skip outright.
Strategic vs. Financial Buyers: Why the Same Company Is Worth Two Different Numbers
Synergies against standalone cash flow, EPS accretion against IRR, and no exit date against a fund life — why two buyers price one target differently, and how the pitch changes with the buyer on the other side.
Common LBO Interview Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Where LBO answers actually break: sources and uses that don't balance, unlevered cash flow in a levered model, assumed multiple expansion, exit math that forgets the remaining debt — and a paper LBO clean enough to run out loud.