Advent International interview process

1. Step 1

   First round

   A 30 to 45 minute phone screen with an alumnus or junior professional, then one-to-one technical interviews with early-career investment staff.

   • The opening call screens for fit and motivation before any technical work.
   • Technical interviews cover LBO mechanics, basic valuation, and your deal experience.
   • Interviewers in these rounds are typically HR or junior investment professionals.
   • “Walk me through your resume.”
   • “Why private equity, and why Advent International?”
   • “What is an LBO?”

2. Step 2

   Case or modeling test

   A timed LBO build, reported at 40 minutes for a two-statement model up to 2 hours for a three-statement model at associate level, then a 20-minute verbal case, in person.

   • You build a two- or three-statement LBO model for a fictional target from given transaction assumptions under a hard time limit.
   • The associate-level build is reported to include PIK interest, OID, and mandatory amortization in the debt schedule.
   • You then argue verbally which characteristics make the target attractive and which two metrics you would prioritize as CEO.
   • A separate single account describes a 48-hour take-home memo instead, so ask which format your cycle uses.
   • “What are the target's most attractive characteristics, and which two operating metrics would you prioritize as CEO?”

3. Step 3

   Final round

   A commercial or consulting-style case on a potential investment, a behavioral round on commercial judgment, then senior partners on fit and sector conviction.

   • A commercial or consulting-style case asks you to assess a potential investment and its market dynamics without a model.
   • The behavioral round probes investor instincts rather than technical skill.
   • Senior partners in later rounds focus on cultural fit and sector conviction.
   • Come ready to speak credibly to at least one of Advent's five sectors.
   • “Tell me about a time you led a team under a tight deadline.”

Share of the 6 Advent International questions in our bank by topic. Each topic links to a worked example.

1. Accretion and dilution67%
2. Behavioral questions33%

• An LBO model built correctly under a hard time limit, 40 minutes to 2 hours by level, with PIK, OID, and amortization mechanics.
• Verbal business judgment: naming and defending what makes a target company fundamentally strong.
• Sector conviction in one of business and financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial, or technology.
• A specific, researched answer on Advent itself, not a generic private equity motivation pitch.

Real questions from the set. Open one to answer it with grading.

• Source-based IC challenge: large-scale industrial carve-outAccretion and dilution|Advanced
• Update the thesis: local-market work overturning a global pricing assumptionBehavioral questions|Advanced
• Commission commercial diligence: country-level margins, separation services, labor obligations, andAccretion and dilution|Advanced
• Challenge the deal team: global and local teams disagree about theBehavioral questions|Advanced
• Test an add-on: a local water-treatment provider with distinct serviceAccretion and dilution|Advanced

• Name a specific Advent deal, a named executive (David Mussafer, Tricia Glynn, Christina Drakos), and a sub-sector you can go deep on: payments, cybersecurity, chemicals, luxury, beauty, or pharmaceuticals.
• Frame your investment thesis around working closely with management on a bespoke plan, echoing Advent's own partnership language, rather than a pure financial-engineering pitch.
• Ask early which case format your cycle uses. A 40-minute model, a 2-hour three-statement build, and a take-home memo reward different preparation.
• Practice arguing a business case verbally, not just modeling it. Advent's one fully documented case is judged on your spoken reasoning as much as your model.