Breaking into M&A – Fit [EN]

While a high level of technical proficiency is necessary to succeed in your M&A and Corporate Finance interviews, it is not sufficient on its own. The “fit” that you are judged to have with the interviewer is equally important – and is an aspect often neglected by candidates, focused more on mastering technical questions. This is a mistake since being able to respond well to fit questions requires a similar amount of work – with rigour and plenty of practice. This course aims at taking you through this preparation process.

Fit questions are meant to help assess whether you have the requisite personal qualities required to contribute constructively to the team. To succeed in demonstrating a good fit means showing that you have the drive necessary to work and thrive in a fast-paced and often high pressure environment. It means showing as well that you are a team player and a companiable colleague to be with during the long hours in the office. It also means demonstrating that you are an effective communicator who can be trusted to work directly with clients. All of this need to be conveyed through responses that are clear, structured, and backed up with concrete examples drawn from your personal experience. Naturally, this requires thorough and prior preparation.

The importance of fit questions is accentuated by the fact that they are asked at the very start of interviews. Your responses therefore determine the first impression that your interviewer will have of you.

The aim of this course is to provide you with the framework and tools necessary to respond convincingly to fit questions: to be able to present yourself – the famous elevator pitch – positively and succinctly, to demonstrate your keen motivation for joining the team in question, to respond clearly and thoroughly to thorny open-ended competency-based questions.