Vault’s Verdict

Perella Weinberg is looking for hardworking, intelligent, ambitious, and coachable self-starters who are eager to learn and thrive in a fast-paced environment. The firm runs a valuable internship program, during which students are exposed to meaningful projects and have the opportunity to be a fully functional member of the team, getting a strong understanding of what it’s like to be a full-time banker. Perella Weinberg offers extensive career development opportunities for its full-time professionals—junior bankers receive excellent formal and informal mentoring, gain exposure to senior bankers and clients, and get experience in various verticals. 

Hours can be long, as is expected in the industry, but there is a strong emphasis on work/life balance. And the firm does a great job accommodating personal needs, including taking parental leave, observing religious holidays, and keeping family commitments. Although there is a firmwide goal to have employees use all their vacation, some bankers say it can be difficult to take time off and you may not be work-free when on vacation. Meanwhile, compensation and benefits are extremely generous, with insiders saying pay and perks are at the top of the Street. Perella Weinberg also gets high marks for its wellness initiatives, including budgets for social events and monthly well-being stipends and allowances.

With respect to DEI, the firm offers many programs for diversity and inclusion and is focused on having people with different backgrounds and perspectives on its team. However, some bankers say that while the firm is very encouraging of diversity at the junior level, the firm is less diverse at the senior level. As for Perella Weinberg’s business outlook, it is very strong. Perella Weinberg has a strong leadership team. The firm has recently hired several senior people who fit in culturally and contribute to the top line. Employee morale is high. And the majority of the firm’s bankers are confident in the trajectory of the business.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“The firm does first-round interviews, and then candidates are invited to the office for a Super Day, which consists of four interviews. Candidates are ideally notified within 24 to 48 hours of their Super Day if they receive an offer. The firm is looking for intellectually curious individuals with a positive attitude and interest in learning.”

“We do a first-round interview followed by an in-person Super Day. We're generally looking for well-rounded, collaborative people who have done very well in school.”

“Ideal candidate is very intelligent, a self-starter, coachable, receptive to feedback, eager and willing to learn, able to figure things out on their own, hungry, looking to work hard, able to thrive in a fast-paced environment, and genuinely interested in the work.”

“The firm is seeking hard-working, well rounded, honest individuals.”

Interview Questions

“What are the three main financial statements? Walk me through the major line items of an income statement, the components of the cash flow statement, and the components of the balance sheet. How are the three main financial statements connected? Why EV/EBITDA vs. Equity Value/EBITDA multiple? What are the primary methodologies for calculating a terminal value in a DCF analysis? Can you select a business which you’ve been following recently and explain their business model to me? How does this business generate revenue and how effective are they at doing so?”

“Combination of fit and technical questions, depending on the role. It’s very important that an individual can fit in well culturally with the ideals of the firm.”

“Explain Enterprise Value. Comment on recent market developments and how your interests play along.”

“Walk me through a DCF. What is the bridge from equity value to enterprise value?”

Intern Experience

“You will get exposure to meaningful projects and have the opportunity to be a fully functional member of the team. You'll finish the summer internship knowing what it's like to be a full-time banker.”

“Perella Weinberg has a very structured 10-week internship. They understand that they have recruited students ranging from the Investment Banking Workshop (IBW) at Kelly Business School (Indiana) all the way to others who have a more liberal arts background. Due to this understanding, the training program in week one helps to get every intern on the same footing. Perella Weinberg also provides constant support and training throughout the 10 weeks and consistent touch points to know how you are progressing as an intern.”

“Best parts: Generalist program, excellent learning opportunities, hands-on modeling experiences, and exposure to clients, and the training programs throughout the summer to enhance learnings. Worst part: Generalist program makes it somewhat difficult to determine which group you want to join.”

“High level of responsibility and involvement. Great people and camaraderie. Only downside: late nights.”

Career Development

“The seniors are very open and receptive to mentoring. Additionally, when you ask for certain projects, the staffers listen and try their best to give you a holistic experience.”

“High degree of formal and informal mentoring. Entire team is accessible at all times, both within deal teams and across the firm.”

“You get meaningful exposure to and mentorship from partners and MDs very early on in your tenure. The experiential learning opportunity is robust, and analysts can develop client facing responsibilities early on in their tenures.”

“The firm provides great career development. I have already been asked to stay on as an associate and am able to try out different verticals to see what I am interested in. I have also seen multiple people lateral to other groups easily.”

Quality of Life

“Strong emphasis on work/life balance, with a firmwide goal to have employees take their entire vacation. The benefits program is the best on the Street.”

“The firm does a great job accommodating personal needs, such as paternity leave and the ability to observe religious holidays and attend family celebrations. Everyone is expected to take two one-week vacations per year. The only reason for the long hours is client demands, but that is to be expected in this industry. Everyone on the team goes a long way to optimize the effort and minimize the risk of unnecessary work.”

“People respect vacation time at the junior level. Work/life balance is a little difficult given nature of the job, but people respect time outside of office. A lot of fun firm events!”

“The firm is very supportive of vacation and protecting weekends unless absolutely necessary.”

Salary and Benefits

“Compensation is very competitive and comprehensive. The firm started giving stock following its public listing as part of bonuses.”

“Overall compensation package is very good, with very good healthcare coverage too. The firm could improve in terms of child-care options.”

“Strong salary and bonus—equity compensation has performed well.”

“The Firm pays at the top of the Street and also pays into your 401(k) every two-week pay period.”

Wellness Initiatives

“The firm is doing a very good job with dedicated team budgets for social events, monthly well-being stipends and allowances, and general willingness to accommodate personal events and need for some personal time/days off.”

“Lots of different programs for wellness, including monthly stipend, free therapy sessions, etc.”

“Firmwide monthly wellness reimbursement.”

“The firm has a wellness subsidy of $50 per month and an outdoor space at the office which is very helpful for employee wellness.”

Diversity and ESG Initiatives

“The firm is doing a fantastic job—everyone feels very welcome and judged on merit and content of their character, not any D&I characteristics. Every team is a unique blend of people from numerous backgrounds, including female, LGBTQ, international people in leadership positions, etc.”

“The firm is very encouraging of diversity at a junior level, but there are very few diverse leaders within the firm, and stats reduce as you increase in tenure in terms of diversity.”

“The firm offers many programs for diversity and inclusion. The firm is very focused on having people with different backgrounds and perspectives. I am a Latino male. They have a lot of opportunities for us.”

“Printing has been minimized, usage of proper plates and silverware is encouraged (vs. disposable), our team does charity events together one to two times per year, while the firm participates in charity events too. Individual team members proactively contribute to multiple charity initiatives and seek participation of other team members.”

Business Outlook

“As long as the overall M&A industry’s health is solid, Perella Weinberg is very well positioned for growth. The firm’s leadership has been doing a very good job hiring new senior people who fit in very well with the culture and contribute to the top line. Compensation package is very attractive and work/life balance is above average for this industry.”

“Perella Weinberg has very strong leadership. The firm has hired very well in recent years. Morale is very high, and the majority of bankers are very confident in the trajectory of the business.”

“The firm is public, which helps for transparency; goals are clearly shared with employees as well. The firm is very focused on growth and is ambitious. This creates learning opportunities for employees but also results in a shifting culture in some cases.”

“The firm is transparent with its employees and the Street. It has fantastic leadership.”