PJT Partners: public research and practice themes
Independent advisory firm. This independent page organizes general study themes alongside public background information; it is not an employer-endorsed interview guide.
About PJT Partners
PJT Partners is an independent advisory firm headquartered in New York, founded in 2015 by Paul J. Taubman. The firm advises companies, creditors, and other stakeholders on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and other strategic and capital markets matters.
Its restructuring practice is widely known for working with companies and creditors through complex financial situations. The firm also runs a strategic advisory business and Park Hill, which advises on fund placement and secondary market transactions for alternative asset managers.
That mix means restructuring and distressed concepts deserve real attention here, on top of the core M&A and valuation fundamentals every advisory interview expects.
What to emphasize in your prep
Valuationemphasis 3 of 3
Be fluent in trading comparables and precedent transactions, and be ready to explain how you would pick and defend a multiple. Valuation questions test judgment as much as mechanics.
Restructuring & Distressedemphasis 3 of 3
Understand how a capital structure breaks down in a distressed scenario, the difference between in-court and out-of-court processes, and how creditors are prioritized. That connects directly to PJT Partners's work in Restructuring advisory.
Accountingemphasis 2 of 3
Make sure the three financial statements, and how they connect to each other, are automatic. Interviewers use accounting questions to check whether you can reason quickly under pressure, not just recite a definition. That applies to PJT Partners as an independent advisory firm, whichever group you talk to.
DCFemphasis 2 of 3
Practice building a discounted cash flow out loud, from unlevered free cash flow through to a defensible valuation range. Be ready to explain every assumption, not just the formula. That connects directly to PJT Partners's work in Strategic advisory.
M&Aemphasis 2 of 3
Be ready to walk through how a merger gets evaluated and modeled, including the accretion and dilution math, and to explain the strategic logic in your own words. That connects directly to PJT Partners's work in Fund placement and secondary advisory (Park Hill).
Practice questions
How to talk about PJT Partners
- If you are interviewing near the restructuring group, put real time into capital structures, credit metrics, and how value breaks across a waterfall.
- This is a smaller, advisory-only platform. Be ready to explain why lean deal teams and closer proximity to senior bankers appeal to you.
- Read how the firm describes its own advisory and restructuring work on its site, then connect it to your own interest in complex, situational deal work.
What to expect from the process
Recruiting at independent advisory firms like PJT Partners runs through both structured campus channels and off-cycle, network-driven hiring. Deal teams are lean, so you may meet senior bankers relatively early in the process, and interviews tend to put real weight on the technical fundamentals and on why the advisory model appeals to you specifically. Processes vary by group, office, and recruiting cycle.
Frequently asked questions
More firms to prepare for
Prepping for PJT Partners? Get the full question bank as a PDF.
General educational practice prompts with study explanations for offline review. They are not firm-provided questions.
IB Atlas is an independent prep platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to PJT Partners.