Vault’s Verdict

DC Advisory is ideally looking for technically sound, personable, motivated, intellectually curious candidates who take initiative. The firm’s interns have access to meaningful live deal experience and mentorship from senior bankers. Overall, interns get a high level of responsibility. Meanwhile, the firm’s full-time junior bankers have access to numerous career development opportunities, including the flexibility to move from one industry group to another, the ability to work with various MDs and deal types, excellent training, valuable on-the-job experience, and clear paths for promotions. However, career guidance and development can be dependent on the senior bankers you work with.

DC Advisory does a great job when it comes to providing a healthy work/life balance for juniors. There is a hybrid work model that allows professionals to split time between the office and working from home, and staffers try not to overburden juniors with work. In addition, there are protected Saturdays, protected vacations, and protected holidays. As for compensation, salaries and bonuses are generous and very competitive compared to the Street average, but benefits such as 401(k) offerings could be improved.

The firm is committed to improving its diversity hiring and retention efforts. DC Advisory’s three banker-focused affinity groups for employees and allies (women bankers, LGBTQIA+ employees, and ethnic minorities) are effective. However, diversity recruiting at the senior-banker level is still a work in progress. As for DC Advisory’s business outlook, it is very bright.  Deal flow, employee morale, and the leadership team are all very strong, and the firm is growing.

Hiring Process

“The process is reasonable, with one to two screens, a Super Day, and then offers. Nothing out of the ordinary. The ideal candidate is intelligent, prepared, genuinely interested in banking and DC Advisory, and, perhaps most importantly, does not bring an ego.”

“The ideal candidate we are seeking is a personable and technically sound individual who can contribute to the company culture and projects from day one.”

“Interview/callback process is pretty organized. Ideal candidate is motivated, takes initiative, pays attention to detail, and is intellectually curious.”

“We have a thorough process to screen, interview, and attain high-caliber employees.”

Interview Questions

“Some interview questions include how one would go about valuing a company and what one would look for in a healthy high-growth company. Other questions were behavioral and went really deep on why I wanted to work in investment banking industry and what motivates me to be successful/get out of bed in the morning.”

“Analysts typically go through a phone screen, first-round interview, and a four-interview Super Day. Typically, a mix of behavioral and technical questions to determine fit culturally and technically.”

“Walk me through a DCF. Walk me through a $10 increase in depreciation. What kinds of multiples would be used if one is trying to value a young company?”

“I had to do an LBO exam. It was pretty extensive.”

Intern Experience

“Real deal experience, senior banker access, and meaningful work experience. I received a true investment banking experience, and it solidified an interest in this career. There was no real downside.”

“Some of the best aspects included the mentorship portion where we directly talked with an MD and/or analyst throughout the summer, the work that was given to me, and the culture. The only part that could’ve been better was I only got experience on one live deal.”

“The hours were pretty long and grueling during the internship, but I got a lot of meaningful live deal experience, which was very educational. Some of the analysts I worked with were a lot of fun to be around. It was nice having a weekly call with my staffer to check in and occasionally exchange feedback.”

“High level of responsibility, live deal experience, mentorship from current senior and junior bankers. It was slow at times, but overall I kept busy.”

Career Development

“The best aspect is the flexibility to move from one industry group to another. They do a good job in making me work with various MDs and deal types. I feel comfortable going to my staffer and asking to be put on a deal within a specific industry and know that he will do his best to accommodate my request. One negative is the three-year analyst program vs. two.”

“DC Advisory has a clear roadmap outlining success factors and what we need to master at each level. This roadmap is analyst all the way to managing director. It defines competencies at each year and shows us the knowledge we need to attain along the path. After you have been with the firm 12 months as an associate or when you are ready, you are matched with a senior executive member to help you with goal development and career pathing.”

“The best aspects of my firm's career development opportunities are the third year as an analyst and the path to make it from analyst to associate. On the downside, within three months on the job, the program is not really a generalist program anymore.”

“Training and on-the-job experience is second to none, and the firm presents ample opportunity for promotions, especially at the junior levels. Junior bankers generally have a say in the kind of transactions they want to work on and get real exposure to all aspects of live deals. On the negative side, guidance is very hit-or-miss depending on the senior banker, and remote work has exacerbated this problem, as very few senior or even mid-level bankers come into the office regularly.”

Quality of Life

“The work/life balance has been exceptional so far. With the exception of one weekend when I spent nearly the entire weekend working, my weekends have been very open so far. I usually don’t work late during the week at all, although I do have some long days here and there, which I don't mind.”

“The firm does a good job in advocating for a good work/life balance. But it can be difficult to achieve, because the firm encourages cross-office transactions, so I could be working two different time zones—with the expectation of getting up as if I were working on EST yet going to bed late for PST.”

“The best part is DC Advisory has a hybrid work model so people can work from anywhere on Monday and Fridays with the expectation of being in the office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. They DO NOT monitor our entry badges or track our time. We are all treated like adults and respected with respect to face time and being in-person in the office. Another best part is DC Advisory is committed to protected Saturdays, protected vacations, and protected holidays. Senior bankers manage client expectations so they know when to expect work products. We also do not receive new staffing assignments on Fridays after noon unless it is a unique client circumstance. Senior bankers respect our time, as they want their family time, too. Our staffers also have a healthy budget to take us out socially at any time. Finally, we have very strong deal teams where the bankers are very committed to each other’s success regardless of level. A negative is we need more VPs and senior associates in the middle. There is so much work and not enough time.”

“Staffers are generally understanding when you are overburdened and do their best to protect hard workers. Conversely, hard workers/top performers pick up the slack for underperformers, and there is a real ‘have/ have not’ dynamic among junior bankers depending on performance and ability.”

Salary and Benefits

“Good base salary, insurance plans, benefits, and paid time off, and signing bonus was great. Also, free Ubers home if you work after 7 p.m. in office, and free dinners if you work late.”

“The best aspect is the firm's ability to pay Street salary and bonuses while still maintaining a family-feel. In other words, the pay matches some of the biggest banks, yet I'm still close with all my coworkers and bosses as if it were a family office. The worst part is the company does not match 401(k) in any aspect.”

“Great salary and bonus. Some benefits are lacking but no complaints. No office perks.”

“Salary is on par with the industry average. Flexible work-from-home policies, no 401(k) match, could cover more medical benefits.”

Wellness Efforts

“The firm does not have many formal wellness efforts or initiatives in place (that I'm aware of). However, the fact that the firm tries its best to make sure you have work/life balance shows me that they do make an effort for wellness.”

“HR ensures people take vacation at least once a quarter and do try to protect Saturdays. Some MDs are really great at respecting time, while others actively fight against it. Work/life balance really comes down to the MD.”

“Encouraging us to use PTO and lots of happy hours are great, but the company needs to figure out a way to actually listen to the employees and learn what really matters to them.”

“Our firm has many touch points for mental health, as well as a friendly and approachable team that’ll help you through anything going on.”

Diversity and ESG Initiatives

“The firm makes huge commitment to diversity. It has four international affinity groups focusing on women bankers, the LGBTQIA+ community, ethnic minorities, and a business partners network. Each group also has allies that help kickstart initiatives driven by these groups.”

“The company has created several initiatives in an effort to address some of the potential issues that the industry has dealt with in the past. For example, they offer some initiatives for specific groups to discuss certain things and create a more social environment. I've noticed during training that my national analyst class is comprised of some of the most diverse people that I have seen in the industry.”

“Only one woman of color throughout all analysts and associates. That being said, everyone is respectful, and the firm is actively trying to increase diversity recruiting.”

“The best part is their efforts to get women and people from a wide range of schools, and the worst part is their lack of diversity in senior bankers. We have frequent ESG initiatives highlighted throughout the firm, including minimizing paper printing and sustainable deal toys.”

Business Outlook

“We are a global firm that has U.S. offices that are growing at an incredible rate, so we are always very busy. And the company's culture is really a breaking down the silos environment, as junior analysts have access to senior people. What sets us apart in terms of competition are the quality of the deliverables that we provide for our clients. We go above and beyond at every point, including doing the customer file and models in-house for all our clients.”

“Although it can be difficult to balance quality of life with cross-office transactions, it definitely is one of our strengths. Not only can MDs from different offices bring in their expertise on deals, analysts can as well. We also boast an impressive amount of international expertise, and we are more than comfortable bringing in a deal team from Europe or Asia and asking for their help with PE firms and other relationships.”

“Deal flow is strong, and morale is typically good. Leadership has a great reputation and is always there to help out the junior people in the firm.”

“Our firm has a strong outlook, and we’ve been growing, including building out a new sector (healthcare) practice. The employee morale is strong, and the momentum is building for a winning team.”