First Steps
Methods & Tools
Preparing for a finance interview can quickly feel overwhelming, especially if it’s your first in-person interview at an investment bank, private equity firm, or venture capital company. These interviews are often quite challenging, typically testing your technical knowledge, personal fit, and even mental math skills right on the spot. To make a confident impression, you’ll need more than just what you learned in class.
With a structured plan, you can build your preparation step by step and focus on the topics that truly matter in the interview.
Key Components of a Strong Finance Interview Preparation
To prepare effectively for a finance interview, you should understand the interview process, master the technical basics, practice typical interview questions, and polish your personal presentation. These components are interconnected and the better you align them, the more confident you'll be during the interview.
Here’s how to approach your preparation step by step, so you can impress both technically and personally.
1. Understand the Interview Process in the Finance Industry.
A typical finance application process involves multiple stages. After the CV screening, there are often online assessments and short phone or video interviews. These early steps primarily assess your motivation, communication skills, and basic numerical understanding.
However, the most critical step is the in-person interview. This is where it’s decided whether you can impress not only on paper but also in person. Most companies structure this interview in two parts:
The technical interview tests your knowledge of balance sheets, income statements, cash flows, key metrics, and valuation methods. The key isn’t just having the right answers, but being able to explain complex topics clearly and logically under time pressure.
The personal fit interview assesses whether you fit the team and company culture. Interviewers look for motivation, behavior, resilience, and relevant examples from your academic or professional background that highlight your soft skills.
Keep in mind: Every company may structure its process and interviews differently. Be sure to research the specific companies you’re applying to and gather insights from other candidates. You can use our Q&A section or browse our finance blog for company-specific interview guides that show what to expect in each selection process.
2. Build Up Your Financial Knowledge Strategically.
To stand out in a finance interview, it’s not enough to just memorize terms. You need a solid understanding of how everything fits together and the ability to explain it clearly. Make sure to cover the following key topics:
- Balance sheet: Understand the structure of assets and liabilities and how different transactions impact the balance sheet.
- Income statement (P&L): Know the flow from revenue to net income and understand items like depreciation and interest expenses.
- Cash flow statement: Learn the distinctions between operating, investing, and financing cash flows, and how it links with the balance sheet and P&L.
- Working capital: Understand how receivables, payables, and inventory affect capital tied up and why it matters for daily operations and valuations.
- Free cash flow: Be able to explain how it’s calculated and why it's a key metric for investors.
- DCF model for valuation: Grasp the basic structure of a DCF model (forecast, discounting, terminal value), including concepts like WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) and FCFF (Free Cash Flow to the Firm).
- Valuation multiples: Be ready to explain how EV/EBITDA or P/E ratios are used and what to watch out for.
These examples offer a great starting point, but it’s important to dive deeper into other finance concepts and models to build a broad and solid understanding.
3. Practice Technical Interview Questions.
Once you’ve understood the key finance concepts, focus on applying them in interviews. Technical questions are a standard in nearly every finance interview – whether you’re applying for investment banking, corporate finance, or private equity.
These questions aren’t meant to trip you up with complex formulas. Instead, interviewers want to see if you think logically, understand the material, and can explain it clearly. Regular practice is essential.
Typical questions you may encounter include:
- Can you explain how the three financial statements are connected?
- What’s the effect of increased depreciation on the financial statements?
- How is a company valued using the DCF method?
👉 Check out these comprehensive question sets from our Case Library with typical technical questions to practice with:
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