Vault’s Verdict

Centerview is ideally looking for well-rounded, intellectually curious, self-motivated, personable candidates with strong academic records and strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and technical skills. For students, the firm’s extremely valuable internship program offers access to hands-on experience, live deal work, senior bankers, mentorship, and many intern networking/social events. Meanwhile, the firm’s full-time bankers have access to extensive career development opportunities, including ongoing training, mentoring, and early responsibility on some of the most complex, interesting, and sector-transforming assignments. In addition, given the lean deal teams, junior bankers are able to ‘play up’—taking on responsibilities well above their levels.

On the other hand, lean deal teams can also lead to very heavy workloads. That said, the firm is very focused on work-life balance; junior bankers are encouraged to take their vacation time, seniors are flexible when juniors need time away for personal reasons, deal team members cover for each other, there’s no facetime, and the firm’s culture is respectful, collaborative, and kind. As for compensation, it is extremely generous, with insiders saying it is market-leading and top of the Street. In addition, Centerview insiders say the firm’s perks like its meal stipend and expense policy are great.

With respect to the firm’s business outlook, the future is incredibly bright. Centerview has an exceptional and engaged leadership team in place, its employee morale is strong, and it is outperforming by all metrics and poised to continue to advise on some of the largest, most impactful transactions on the Street.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

• “The ideal candidate is well-rounded, intellectually curious, self-driven, and hungry to take on advanced responsibilities at a young age. You don’t need to have finance/accounting training at Centerview to excel—you just need to know how to problem solve when answers are not black and white—and nimbleness/creativity is rewarded. These are the attributes Centerview looks for when interviewing.”
• “Centerview looks for candidates who have a strong academic record and are well prepared to answer technical questions. But that’s kind of the minimum bar. After that, candidates are differentiated by being interesting, curious, passionate, and exciting people to talk to who would be a pleasure to work with.”
• “The firm’s interview process is focused on finding candidates who are not just technically competent but who also showcase a genuine intellectual curiosity and good character. I think the ideal candidate is someone who nails all their technicals, is friendly/conversational, and who has clear interests/passions outside of finance which provide them with unique perspectives.”
• “Interviews are tough to come by, and harder still to make it through. Key factors in doing so include being your genuine self, mastering technicals, having real interests, and presenting well. Centerview looks for people who have superlative critical thinking skills, deep curiosity, and boundless energy. AI-generated responses or—heaven help you—live assistance during interviews are a sure way to end your process unfavorably.”

Interview Questions

• “Market sizing questions, questions on integrity/leadership. What is an example of when your integrity was questioned and how did you react? Brainteasers and creative questions also typical.”
• “Describe a financial model you've developed and how it informed investment decisions.”
• “Mix of technicals and leadership. Not looking for robotic preparation, but rather creative and free thinking to best align with how we cover our clients.”
• “Who would be on your Mount Rushmore and why? What would you do if I told you that you could never be an investment banker? Would you survive in a zombie apocalypse?”

Intern Experience

• “The level of exposure was one of the strongest parts of the internship. I had the opportunity to work across a variety of accounts, which gave me a broad perspective and accelerated my learning. There were also many social events that helped interns integrate with the firm and build relationships across teams. Additionally, there was a clear objective to invest in interns and maximize their potential, with the intention of converting the class to full-time wherever possible.”
• “My internship experience with Centerview was very good overall. I got put on live deals along with strategic advisory work which gave me a good view of what being a banker here is really like. I was given real responsibilities and felt the firm’s commitment to mentoring junior bankers was always evident.”
• “The strongest aspect of my internship was the level of mentorship and accessibility to senior team members. I was able to regularly ask questions, walk through live work, and share my thoughts on the broader staffing assignment. This helped me understand how my work fit into broader team objectives and client outcomes.”
• “The culture and community were very strong points of the summer; I truly appreciated how kind everyone was. The firm does an excellent job of balancing the summer analyst experience in aspects of learning and creating an enjoyable time. Firm events helped build a strong sense of camaraderie among analysts as well as a collaborative culture within the office.”

Career Development

• “The core of training is through a mentorship/apprenticeship model—not formal exercises. Centerview operates lean deal teams, and by virtue of the small size of the firm (and the quality of the partners), you are guaranteed to be working with the best in the industry on some of the most complex, interesting, and sector-transforming assignments. Junior bankers are given significant room to ‘play up’—taking on more responsibilities than bankers many years/levels above are generally tasked with. While this can be challenging, it is rewarding and ensures that Centerview bankers develop a well-rounded skillset well ahead of the curve.”
• “Quality of deal flow is incredible, and staffers do an excellent job of getting juniors a health mix of deal types. We have two European offices and I know people who have jumped around offices (meaning moving to UK from NYC and vice versa) for various reasons with no to little friction.”
• “The best aspect is the amount of attention and effort that goes into developing you as an analyst. Courses are taught by bankers, not third-party services, you are given exceptional responsibility as an analyst, and staffing system listens to your preferences and goals. I can’t pinpoint a ‘worst’ aspect. I think that some of the back-office support could be more built out, but otherwise I have no complaints.”
• “Plenty of opportunities for continuous education. The analyst training program is very robust and all managed in-house. This is the only firm I’ve worked for with formal training beyond the analyst program—upon promotion from associate to principal, the firm hosted a full-day offsite to go over training for the new role, which also included the opportunity to socialize with other first-year principals across the global offices.”

Quality of Life

• “No face-time culture despite five days a week in office. Firm is great at letting you unplug (sleep-in) after late nights if nothing pressing the next day. There is definitely a culture of recharging the battery when you can, and staffers are motivated to keep people from getting overworked.”
• “Really good culture—people are not cutthroat or out to get you, and everyone respects that you are your own person. Hours are certainly long, but you are treated with deep kindness and respect.”
• “Founders/senior partners are very focused on delivering a great experience, including a sustainable work-life balance. We work very hard, but they encourage people to take their vacations and are always flexible/open when people need time away for family/personal reasons.”
• “People genuinely care about work-life balance. Banking is a hard job, but Centerview is very intentional about ensuring people are able to do it sustainably. Deal team members regularly cover for each other to ensure personal commitments and plans remain honored.”

Salary and Benefits

• “Exceptional pay and great meal stipend and expense policy. Firm sponsors a lot of events and dinners to build camaraderie at the junior level. Absolutely no complaints on any aspects of compensation.”
• “Market leading bonus, free meals in office, business class travel. Seniors are encouraged to take teams/mentees out for networking dinners. Firm really takes care of its people.”
• “Top of Street all-cash comp. Additional bonus and sabbatical offered to analysts who stay on as associates. Great general perks and policies here. Very high dinner stipend compared to all other banks, free gym in office, no ‘after 8 p.m.’ rule for calling Ubers home. Since seniors want you to stay long term, people are generally more accommodating of plans and such (especially on the weekends) versus other firms. However, no 401(k) match.”
• “Top of the street compensation—higher than all banks and almost all buyside opportunities. In-office breakfast and lunch is great. Healthcare coverage is excellent.”

Business Outlook

• “Excellent leadership. Senior team members make time to communicate their vision for the firm to the junior employees. Senior bankers are exceptional at what they do. Morale around the firm is good.”
• “Founders and senior partners very invested in the culture; it gets a lot of focus from top to bottom and it shows through. Very collegial overall—much more than at other places I’ve seen.”
• “Centerview wins through any cycle. The ‘strategic advice‘ bedrock of the firm’s approach ensures that teams are deeply embedded within the most important clients across any sector, and when this is the case, there is always something to do. The firm withstands downturns because of its teams’ importance to clients—who often need Centerview’s advice in bad times more than in good times!”
• “By any metric relative to our size (and even on many metrics for any firm of any size), Centerview outperforms. The outlook for our business model remains strong—we focus on working with the most important companies on their most important issues, and this skillset is increasingly sought after. Centerview wins by providing advice that is more tailored and, hands down, better than that of our competition. We must keep that edge in place—assuming we do, the future here remains very bright indeed.”

UPPERS

• “There is no better culture on the Street and the people are truly amazing—supportive, caring, intellectual, and hardworking.”
• “Exposure to high-profile clients and transactions, generalist experience, good foundation for analysts—firm invests heavily in the career development of their bankers.”
• “The compensation.”

DOWNERS

• “Lean deal teams are a double-edged sword—while you get more experience as a junior banker, you do end up working a lot and the hours are fairly unpredictable.”
• “No protected weekend policy.”
• “Generalist model involves working on industries you do not enjoy.”