Why are you interested in joining our Energy team?

The answers for this one tend to be more varied, because you can cite a number of different factors to prove your interest in the field:

 A family background in the industry (e.g. your uncle owns an oil & gas company).

 Recent trends that you’ve found interesting (e.g. the search for unconventional oil and gas reserves).

 Specific companies or situations that you have followed (e.g. if Exxon-Mobil gets into some type of scandal, makes a big acquisition, and so on).

You can also talk about more general points, like wanting exposure to a variety of different deal types but all within the same industry, or eventually wanting to become an advisor to companies in this industry.

Sample “Good” Answer: “Sure. Well, of course, I would love the opportunity to join any group at your firm, but Energy is definitely my top choice because of my own background and interest in energy M&A deals and my future goal of working to advise companies in the industry.

My family has always been involved in the oil & gas business and my uncle used to own a few oil wells, so I was exposed from an early age – and since then, I’ve been following the big trends in the industry like the search for unconventional reserves and the debate over whether or not we’ve hit ‘peak oil.’ I’ve also followed recent deals like Chesapeake Energy’s divestiture of 3 natural gas fields in Wyoming, and energy-related deals

interest me because they tend to be much different from deal activity elsewhere – more financing is necessary, and divestitures, spin-offs, and JVs are much more common.

Finally, in the long-term I’m very interested in becoming an advisor to oil & gas companies and energy investment banking is one of the best ways to get there – so your energy group is my top choice because of my background and interest in the field, and my long-term goals.”

Why It’s a Good Answer: You know the drill: acknowledge that anything is good, give a few concrete reasons why you’re interested in this specific group, and then give specific details around industry trends, your background, and any deals you’ve followed.

Your long-term goal tends to be more important if you’re at the MBA level or beyond – don’t emphasize that part as much if you’re an undergrad or recent graduate.

Leveraged Finance sits in between M&A and DCM because you work on debt financings, but do so mostly for M&A deals and leveraged buyouts, as opposed to funds for “everyday use.”

So your answer should also be in between what you would say for either of those groups:

 You like following the markets and understanding how debt financing works…

 But you also enjoy working on and following deals, including mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts, and want that aspect as well.

 And, you want to gain the in-depth technical skills that you’ll get in a Leveraged Finance group.

Here, you can cite a recent leveraged buyout to prove your interest in the field and show that you understand what the LevFin group does.

Although exits to private equity and mezzanine are common from Leveraged Finance, you shouldn’t mention those in your answer because you want to seem relatively committed.

If they press you on your future plans, you can say that you’re open to a number of things and that whatever you do, you want to be close to deal financings.

Sample “Good” Answer: “Sure – I’d definitely be interested in any group that has an opening, but Leveraged Finance is my top choice because I like following the markets and understanding how financings work, but I also enjoy deal work and I want to gain the advanced technical skills that you pick up in LevFin.

The first part is what makes Leveraged Finance most interesting to me: the fact that it’s sort of a combination between the DCM and M&A groups, since you work with debt but

you analyze it in the context of M&A and LBO deals. And I’ve always been interested in leveraged buyouts and have followed news on them over the years, including recent deals like Blackstone’s $4 billion LBO of Starpeak Holdings.

I also want to gain the in-depth technical skills you get in Leveraged Finance – modeling debt and deals with many tranches of debt gets tricky, and there’s nowhere better to learn those advanced skills. Again, I’m definitely open to other possibilities but

Leveraged Finance is my top choice because of my own personal interest in LBOs and deal financings, and the technical skills you learn.”

Why It’s a Good Answer: The same format as everything else here – I’m sure you see the pattern by now. The only difference to note is that leveraged buyouts (LBOs) are better to cite in your reasoning for why you want to work in Leveraged Finance, whereas normal M&A deals can be better for industry groups and M&A groups.

Educational Background Questions & Example