Investment banking · M&A · restructuring
Moelis interview process
A HireVue-style screen, then junior-banker first rounds, then a Superday of three to six interviews spanning analyst to MD.
- Rounds
- 2
- First round, Final round
- Questions in the bank
- 10
- Graded, firm-specific
Practice a real question
Answer one Moelis question
Graded by AI in about twenty seconds. No account needed for this one.
Why Moelis, and why the specific group you are targeting (M&A or Recapitalization & Restructuring)? Give an answer that would fail if you swapped in another independent advisory shop.
Could you answer this in an interview today?
How Moelis interviews
Moelis & Company is an independent advisory firm founded by Ken Moelis, running a global M&A, restructuring, and recapitalization advisory platform with an entrepreneurial, fast-moving culture. It recruits through separate Students & Graduates and Experienced Professionals tracks and screens explicitly for client-relationship skill, collaboration, drive, resilience, curiosity, and analytical thinking.
A junior works in a flatter structure than a bulge bracket, with earlier senior-banker exposure across a broader mandate than a single-product boutique. The interview tests hard technical mechanics early with junior bankers, then shifts weight toward market awareness and commercial instinct once senior bankers join the conversation at Superday.
Step 1
First round
A HireVue-style video screen, then phone or virtual interviews with one or two junior bankers.
- Expect a resume walkthrough plus why-banking and why-Moelis questions.
- Early technical content centers on three-statement linkage and building a DCF from memory.
Step 2
Final round
Three to six back-to-back interviews with bankers ranging from analyst to managing director.
- Junior interviewers continue to drill core technical mechanics directly.
- Senior bankers shift weight toward market awareness and commercial instinct.
What Moelis tests
Share of the 10 Moelis questions in our bank by topic. Each topic links to a worked example.
- Paper LBO30%
- Three-statement questions20%
- Enterprise value bridge10%
- Valuation multiples10%
- DCF questions10%
- Accretion and dilution10%
- Behavioral questions10%
- Three-statement linkage and building a DCF from memory, expected cold.
- Differences between trading comps and precedent transactions.
- Technical modeling tests and case studies at Superday.
- Commercial instinct and market awareness once senior bankers join.
From the Moelis question bank
Real questions from the set. Open one to answer it with grading.
- LBO IRR: $200M EBITDA at 10x entry, 60% debt, exit at 10x after paying down $400MPaper LBO|Advanced
- What add-backs would you expect in a distressed company's adjusted EBITDA?Three-statement questions|Advanced
- Given EV/EBITDA of 10x and Net Debt/EBITDA of 4x, solve for enterprise valueEnterprise value bridge|Advanced
- What would you check in a CIM to gauge private equity interest?Valuation multiples|Advanced
- Walk me through a DCF (Moelis technical)DCF questions|Basic
- What is accretion/dilution analysis?Accretion and dilution|Basic
- Walk me through an LBO modelPaper LBO|Advanced
- What is the fixed charge coverage ratio (FCCR)?Three-statement questions|Basic
How to stand out at Moelis
- Build a DCF and walk the three statements from memory under time pressure; junior interviewers test this cold.
- Save your strongest market and commercial-awareness material for the senior-banker portions of Superday.
- Show real comfort with a flatter, faster-paced, less hierarchical environment than a bulge bracket.
- Give a specific why-Moelis answer distinct from a generic why-boutique pitch.
Keep going
Moelis free path
- Step 1Why Moelis, and why this group?Behavioral questions · Basic
- Step 23 paper LBO questionsGraded with feedback
- Step 32 three-statement questionsGraded with feedback
- Step 41 enterprise value bridge questionGraded with feedback
Moelis pages
- Moelis interview questions
Ten worked questions and the full process
Practice the topics
- Paper LBO
Worked example plus a graded set
- Three-statement questions
Worked example plus a graded set
- Enterprise value bridge
Worked example plus a graded set
Other investment banking firms
- Houlihan Lokey
Advisory firm with a leading restructuring franchise.
- Jefferies
Full-service investment bank with broad sector coverage.
- Rothschild & Co
Global independent financial advisory firm.
- Deutsche Bank
Global advisory and financing platform with European depth.
The full set
Practice all 10 Moelis questions
Every question above, graded with feedback, inside the Moelis set.
Practice Moelis questionsFree account, no card. 5 AI-graded reps a day for 3 days from your first rep.