Vault’s Verdict

A very prestigious independent investment banking firm, PJT Partners is ideally looking for driven, hardworking, intellectually curious, adaptable, team-oriented, down-to-earth candidates with strong communication, analytical, and technical skills—and the potential to become partners. For students, the firm runs an extremely rewarding and valuable internship program. Interns get significant hands-on experience on live deals, exposure to senior bankers, and access to a great mentorship program culture, which provides a ton of guidance and support. For its full-time junior professionals, PJT Partners offers extensive career development and growth opportunities, including a culture that encourages and invests in learning and skill development, early responsibility on high-profile transactions, the ability to work closely with seasoned bankers, and a strong mentorship program that provides personalized guidance.

Although the work can be intense and demanding and the hours long, seniors are very respectful of juniors’ personal time and understanding of outside commitments and responsibilities. In addition, PJT Partners provides various remote periods during the year that greatly help when it comes to work/life balance—three weeks in August, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last week of December. Meanwhile, compensation is very generous. Salaries and bonuses are top-of-the-Street, and perks and benefits are plentiful. Insiders especially appreciate the vast amount of wellness offerings, which include regular meditation sessions, mental health breaks, free mental counseling sessions, on-site annual flu shots and wellness assessments, gym membership discounts, equipment purchase discounts, and more.

As for D&I, the firm is highly focused on increasing underrepresented groups within its ranks and has a very inclusive culture. While there are a significant number of women in leadership positions and among the junior ranks, certain teams are still underrepresented with women. With respect to PJT Partners’ business outlook, it is incredibly bright. The firm’s business is growing quickly, its global platform is evolving and expanding, the firm is well-positioned to thrive in both strong and challenging economies, and there is a lot of confidence in the ability of senior leadership to maintain the firm’s upward trajectory.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“PJT seeks candidates who are highly driven, intellectually curious, and possess strong analytical skills. They should excel in a fast-paced environment, demonstrating both a strong work ethic and the ability to think critically under pressure. Ideal candidates are team players with strong communication skills, showing confidence in working with clients and senior professionals. Adaptability, attention to detail, and the ability to balance multiple tasks effectively are crucial, as well as a genuine interest in finance, business strategy, and problem-solving.

“We are seeking candidates who are team-oriented and want to get into investment banking for the right reasons (i.e., intellectual curiosity/interest in the industry). Intelligence and technical abilities are a prerequisite.”

“Looking for hardworking, collaborative, genuinely down-to-earth, highly motivated, and friendly individuals who have strong technical abilities and truly want to be at PJT team player.”

“I was recruited out of MBA. The process was smooth and similar to other firms. Ideal candidates care about their work product and client’s success, are down -to-earth, well-rounded, hard-working, and have potential to become a partner one day.”

Interview Questions

“Our first-round interview is highly competitive and fully technical in nature. We ask candidates to apply real-world responses to hypothetical situations across valuation, the market, and corporate finance. Our Super Day includes a case study in which candidates are asked to opine on a real transaction.”

“Walk me through your resume. LBO, merger math. Walking through income statement, how D&A flows through financial statements. Tell me about company that is interesting to you and why. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult boss to work with. Why PJT?”

“Digging deep into my resume bullets, behavioral questions, technical questions that are harder than the ones I had faced at bulge brackets.”

“Detailed financial analysis, your perspective on certain recent transactions, paper LBO, accounting questions.”

Intern Experience

“My internship experience was incredibly immersive. I was given the opportunity to work as a core member of my deal teams, owning several aspects of the deal process directly, ultimately leading to the closing of multiple transactions during my internship. There was a sharp learning curve, which required significant work to push through but turbocharged my development in a way I believe no other internship could.”

“My investment banking internship at PJT Partners was exceptional. I was given significant responsibility, working on live deals that offered hands-on experience and real impact. Meeting influential professionals provided invaluable insights, and the supportive team fostered both learning and independent growth. It was a rewarding experience that greatly enhanced my skills in finance.”

“Strong mentorship culture. I had a staffing buddy (analyst), junior mentor (associate), and a senior mentor (partner), who all provided great guidance and support. The well-known investment banking hours were difficult to adjust to at the start.”

“Realistic experience: I was exposed to many industries and deals. They definitely did not hold back on the hours or try to make banking feel like less work than it is, but that made the transition to full-time much easier and enjoyable.”

Career Development

“PJT Partners offers outstanding career development opportunities. The mentorship program provides personalized guidance from experienced professionals, fostering both growth and confidence. The support system is unparalleled, with a culture that encourages learning and skill development. Working closely with seasoned professionals has not only enhanced my technical abilities but also provided valuable insights into the industry. PJT truly invests in its people and their career growth.”

“Informal mentorship has been the most beneficial to me at PJT. A few senior individuals have taken me under their wing, allowing me to take on roles as an analyst that a typical VP would do to ensure I’m getting the experience I want and am progressing within my career.”

“There’s ample opportunity, mentorship, and budget, especially for top talent/go-getters. Partners are accessible to people at all levels throughout the firm. Reviews and growth are taken very seriously. At times, it feels more implied than explicit regarding what it takes to move to the next level, which can be challenging for some but great for others. I prefer that model because it’s more flexible and avoids people checking boxes to advance in their career.”

“The firm has an active and engaged Talent Development Committee, which focuses on ensuring career development coaching and opportunities across levels. PJT is still relatively new in its corporate history (nine years old). So, to date, there have been fewer opportunities for professionals to move across business units or to international offices. However, given the firm’s collaborative nature, senior management is now encouraging more cross-business movement and career development opportunities.”

Quality of Life

“Although the work is demanding, the firm is excellent about working hard to produce extremely high-quality work efficiently, then enjoying your personal life. While people are very respectful of your personal time, they also have high expectations for your work product and expect you to take ownership and prioritize work when necessary. PJT is certainly above average about respecting personal time, especially if you’re producing quality work.”

“The firm provides remote periods in August (three weeks), the week of Thanksgiving, and end of December. These are greatly appreciated. PJT employees are extremely busy year-round, so offering this flexibility allows for some ‘found-time’ in the times of year where other businesses would naturally slow down. It’s a huge benefit and extraordinarily important to employee morale and perception of the firm. There are also ongoing touchpoint efforts: weekly lunches, weekly summer happy hours on the roof deck of the NYC office, etc.”

“PJT leadership makes an effort to enable people to take time off and provides a lot of flexibility around things like hours/days in-office, which has improved quality of life as we have more optionality to work from home if needed. Unfortunately, client service hours and unpredictability are always going to present a challenge, but I think PJT does a good job trying to help manage this within teams.”

“People work very hard at the firm, but people are people at this firm. Senior leaders are understanding of outside commitments and responsibilities, especially when people have young families. Ultimately, banking is a tough industry that makes it tough to be fully able to have great work/life balance. There are long nights and weekend work, which comes with the territory. But teams are pretty understanding. They don't try to create unnecessary work and try to be considerate of your weekends.

Salary and Benefits

“Excellent pay and benefits packages. The compensation is highly competitive, and the benefits are comprehensive, providing strong support for both personal and professional needs. It’s a rewarding place to work with a package that truly reflects the value they place on their employees.”

“Overall, I’m very satisfied with the compensation. PJT’s comp is top of the Street.”

“Top-of-Street salary and bonus. Very competitive benefits. No paid gym or gym in the building. Seamless and Ubers home are a life saver.”

“I’ve been very satisfied with the compensation and benefits at the firm. The Mega Roth 401(k) benefit is easily my favorite perk and a great way for young professionals to accelerate their retirement savings. I feel very grateful for my level of compensation and admire how professional the firm was around bonus season.”

Wellness Efforts

“Plenty of wellness opportunities, including a standing yoga/meditation weekly exercise, gym/membership discounts, equipment purchase discounts, one-time vacation expense reimbursement, flu shot/wellness check events, mental health breaks when needed, etc.”

“PJT has a lot of different wellness benefits. One of the benefits PJT offers is free therapy sessions with an independent provider that is paid for by the firm but doesn’t provide any information to the firm on services used. Additionally, PJT provides a wellness stipend upon promotion, which is very generous and can be used for whatever brings comfort/wellness to the employee. Additionally, the firm has been focused on addressing current situations in the banking industry pertaining to banker wellness and health, and ensuring that bankers are looking out for one another and are aware of the resources available to them.”

“PJT Partners takes well-being seriously, offering fantastic initiatives like weekly group meditation sessions to promote mindfulness and reduce stress. Additionally, the annual wellness screenings and flu shots provided ensure that employees’ health is a priority. It’s a supportive environment focused on both mental and physical well-being.”

“Protected Saturdays, regular meditation sessions, check-ins with staffers when working longer hours than typical, free mental counseling sessions, on -site annual flu shots/wellness assessments. Plus, a small gym reimbursement, which could be better.”

Diversity and ESG Initiatives

“I’m a woman and I’ve noticed that there are a lot more women in senior roles here than at my prior job at another bank. I think PJT is overall very inclusive, and the firm takes feedback very seriously and works to implement it in effective ways. As a result, women and people of diverse backgrounds stay at the firm and continue to progress into more senior roles.”

“Truly inclusive environment; doesn’t feel phony at all. Firm doesn’t heavily focus on DEI efforts but embodies them. Certain teams are underrepresented with women, but that’s not the case firmwide. That’s partially due to industry—the restructuring industry is male-dominated.”

“We are focused on increasing representation within our ranks of demographic groups that are underrepresented in our industry. Senior leadership includes racial/ethnic and gender diversity. Genuine focus on ensuring we offer a welcoming environment for diverse talent.”

“We have a significant number of women in leadership positions, both in the executive team and among the banker population. This creates a great pool of role models and mentors for other women at the firm. We could improve in having more institutional support and promotion of our ERGs, including for Black and LGBTQ+ professionals as well as for women.”

Business Outlook

“Firm’s outlook is very positive. We have been growing at all levels, particularly the partner level, in the past 12 months. We have several groups that are starting to reach critical mass and will supplement the groups that have carried the firm historically. General consensus at the company around strategy is very positive, as our business units work very well together.”

“Commitment to evolving the global platform with an eye for the future that is, in my opinion, virtually unparalleled among boutiques. Determination to compete with top firms across all groups, with the spend on senior and junior talent to match. Belief in the firm’s value proposition as a trusted advisor of top companies in a broad variety of sectors and regions. While employees are expected to give their all, there is strong confidence in the ability of senior leadership to maintain the firm’s upward trajectory.”

“PJT Partners has a very bright business outlook, with strong confidence in CEO Paul Taubman’s leadership. The firm is well positioned to thrive in both strong and challenging economies, thanks to its robust restructuring and M&A practices. It’s also exciting to see PJT’s thoughtful global expansion, such as the recent acquisition of deNovo in Dubai, which underscores its commitment to growth and innovation.”

“I’m incredibly bullish on PJT. Advisory unit is growing quickly and accelerating, thanks to key strategic hires at senior levels. Restructuring team has unparalleled reputation and continues to have record years thanks to innovation in liability management market. Top leaders have long-term perspectives.”