Deal advisory last minute preparation

Question

Hello!

I very unexpectedly got an invitation for a deal advisory internship in just 2 days. I am overwhelmed by how to prepare properly in such short time so any advice would be highly appreciated.

Best!

Answer 1

Hi there!

You have two options:

1. Accelerate - which means basically make the best out of the little time you have available. Statistically, getting a coach is your best chance here.

2. Postpone - move the interview to a later time. You can tell them that you are unable to do the date that they suggested for personal or professional reasons. Then you need to accelerate anyway :) because most likely they're going to schedule the interview in 1-2 weeks, which is also not a huge timeline.

Sharing with you some key readings about the prep process:

Best,
Cristian

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Answer 2

Hello,

Two good suggestions (also made by others here) would be to work with a coach, and/or to ask to postpone the interview - given the timing of the invitation, it's totally reasonable at least to ask.

Aside from that, if you do have to prep by yourself in two days, I would do the following:

Read up as much as you can on M&A, the deal advisory work at the firm you are joining, what kinds of projects they do, etc.
Work through cases that focus on M&A. Try to practice a couple with a case partner (even if it's a friend/family member reading the prompts out for you).
Prepare answers for common behavioral questions (walk me through your resume; why our firm; why deal advisory, etc.)

Answer 3

Honestly? Get a coach.

Last minute preparation (2 days) is a nightmare to do. The odds of success here without having done any prep before are very very low.

Additional advice: ask them to delay the interview

Here's some crash course reading:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/pitfalls-case-interview-preparation

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-to-shift-your-mindset-to-ace-the-case

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/dos-and-donts-in-a-case-interview

https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/candidate-led-cases-what-to-expect-and-example-cases

Answer 4

Hi,

If you've managed to push out your interview as the other coaches have suggested - I'm happy to share abit more perspective having worked in PE/M&A work at BCG - just drop me a dm