PJT Partners interview questions

The core liquidity tool for any distressed-company engagement.

What makes a 13-week cash flow forecast useful in a restructuring?

A first-round question on recognising when a company needs restructuring advice.

What are the early warning signs that a company may need restructuring advice?

A core concept tested across restructuring and distressed-investing interviews.

What is the fulcrum security in a restructuring?

A core product question for an analyst supporting the first days of a Chapter 11 process.

What is debtor-in-possession financing, and why might a lender provide it to a company already in bankruptcy?

The basic first workstream on any new restructuring mandate.

What belongs in a distressed company's capital-structure summary, and why is it important?

A common terminology question in early-stage distressed situations.

What is a forbearance agreement, and why would a lender agree to one?

A first-round restructuring question testing the practical purpose of a Chapter 11 filing.

What is the automatic stay in Chapter 11, and why can it preserve value for a distressed company?

Tests capital-structure mechanics in a consensual restructuring case.

Why would creditors agree to exchange debt for equity, and what determines the ownership split?

The first analysis a restructuring banker runs on a new situation.

A company calls you in distress. What is the first analysis you run, and what determines whether they have a liquidity problem or a solvency problem?

A practical liquidity-reconciliation question for a restructuring analyst reviewing an asset-based revolver.

A retailer has $80m of eligible receivables at an 85% advance rate and $50m of eligible inventory at a 60% advance rate. Its revolver commitment is $90m, outstanding borrowings are $78m and letters of…

A Chapter 11 governance question for restructuring candidates.

What is an official creditors' committee in Chapter 11, and what does it do?

A technical question on setting recoveries in a restructuring.

How does valuation of a distressed company differ from valuation of a healthy company?

Modern restructuring interviews expect candidates to understand out-of-court liability management.

What is a liability management exercise, and why is it contentious?

A core Chapter 11 transaction concept for restructuring analysts.

What is a Section 363 sale, and why might it be preferable to a plan of reorganisation?

A senior restructuring case testing whether a proposed Chapter 11 plan can bind a rejecting creditor class.

A company proposes a Chapter 11 plan with $300m of reorganised enterprise value. It has $120m of first-lien debt, $150m of second-lien debt and $110m of unsecured notes. The first lien is paid in…

A restructuring analyst case involving liquidity triage, DIP financing, and creditor negotiation under a Chapter 11 timetable.

You advise the first-lien lender group of a specialty retailer that will file Chapter 11 in ten days. The company needs DIP financing, but its sponsor wants to provide it on terms that may dilute…

A synthesis case in restructuring interviews.

How would you decide whether to pursue an out-of-court restructuring or file Chapter 11?

A restructuring analyst prioritization lab testing liquidity control, stakeholder sequencing, and executable contingency planning.

You advise a retailer whose revolver agent has sent a reservation-of-rights notice. Payroll is due in five days and suppliers are shortening terms. Rank the actions as the stakeholder situation…

A restructuring analyst live case balancing liquidity, stakeholder leverage and recoveries.

You advise a sponsor-owned distributor with one week before payroll and a blocked revolver draw. Decide what to do as facts arrive, then send the senior team a restructuring recommendation.

Material in restructuring and in acquisitions of loss-making companies.

A target has $500m of NOL carryforwards. How much is that worth to an acquirer, and where does it go in the valuation?

Core technical for restructuring groups and distressed funds.

Walk me through a Chapter 11 process, and explain what a debtor actually gains by filing.

A senior technical question on competing creditor rights in a distressed capital structure.

Why does the intercreditor agreement matter in a restructuring?

Standard opener before the interviewer drills into whichever one you seem least sure about.

What are the three primary valuation methodologies? Rank them by the valuation they typically produce and explain why.

Asked when discussing how a signed deal actually gets to closing.

What is a break fee, and what other deal protections does an acquirer negotiate? Why don't boards simply agree to whatever the buyer asks?

Common in restructuring, credit and corporate banking interviews.

Define the cash conversion cycle and its components. A company's CCC moves from 45 days to 70 days year over year, what would you investigate?

Relevant given the volume of separation activity across large caps.

Compare a sale, a spin-off and a carve-out IPO as ways to separate a business unit. When would you recommend each, and what makes carve-outs operationally hard?

Tests judgement about tool selection rather than mechanics.

Name situations where a DCF is the wrong tool, and explain what you would use instead in each case.

Shows up in M&A and restructuring where NOLs are a material part of deal value.

What creates a deferred tax asset? Explain how net operating losses are valued in an acquisition and what limits their usefulness to a buyer.

Asked in M&A groups and activist defence practices.

A client receives an unsolicited hostile bid. What defensive measures are available, and how would you advise the board to think about them?

A first-round distressed-credit question testing whether a candidate understands why secured creditors can permit a Chapter 11 process without surrendering economic value.

What is adequate protection in Chapter 11, and why does a debtor need to provide it to a secured lender?

A realistic workflow question when a stressed borrower offers material non-public information to a lender group before an out-of-court restructuring.

You own a meaningful position in a stressed term loan. The company's adviser asks you to join a creditor group and sign an NDA to receive a restructuring proposal. What do you assess before signing,…

The core quantitative exercise in distressed credit.

A company has $400m first lien, $250m second lien and $300m unsecured notes. Normalised EBITDA is $120m and comparable businesses trade at 5.5x. Calculate recoveries and identify the fulcrum security.

Tests process judgement in a restructuring where speed and stakeholder consent change value.

Compare a prepackaged Chapter 11 with a free-fall filing. When would you favour each, and what does the choice mean for creditors?

This is a foundational recovery question in credit sales, trading and research interviews.

A company has a first-lien loan, unsecured bonds, and common equity. Rank them in a restructuring and explain why the ranking matters even when the company is current on interest.

Relative-value credit interviews test whether candidates can combine documents, recovery analysis and market pricing into a trade.

A company's first-lien term loan trades at 92 and its unsecured bond trades at 78. Both mature in three years. Under a downside case, you estimate enterprise value of 85 for every 100 of first-lien…

Core to restructuring, special situations and distressed credit interviews.

What is the fulcrum security? Walk me through how you'd identify it, and explain the loan-to-own strategy.

Common in equity research, credit and restructuring interviews.

You're handed three years of financials for a company you don't know. Name the specific red flags you'd screen for and explain what each one might indicate.

A FIG superday tests whether you can challenge a management presentation that reports strong AUM growth but weak underlying client demand.

An active asset manager reports AUM up 12% year over year, calls it evidence of strong demand, and is seeking a premium valuation. Your work shows market appreciation contributed 15%, net client flows…