Lazard Investment Banking Summer Analyst Interview Guide

No two Lazard investment banking summer analyst candidates experience the same interview. The screening step, the interviewer count, and the technical depth all vary. The heaviest technical questions often show up in the first round, and the Superday that follows runs closer to conversation.

Interviewers in every version of the process push back even on correct answers, so expect a follow-up on reasoning you've already explained. Lazard hires summer analysts as generalists across M&A and restructuring.

This guide breaks down each stage of the Lazard IB summer analyst interview process, what interviewers look for, and how to prepare with real example questions, actionable tips, and resources.

Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview process

The Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview is a rolling process with 2 live stages: a short first round with junior bankers, then a Superday with senior bankers. Superday interviews are sometimes scheduled across several separate days.

Here's an example of what the interview process can look like:

• Online assessment and video interview: A timed aptitude test and a recorded fit interview, standard in the UK but inconsistent in the US
• First round: One conversation of 20 to 45 minutes with 1 to 3 junior bankers, roughly a month after applying
• Superday: Interviews with 3 to 6 senior bankers, usually in person at the hiring office

Lazard IB summer analyst recruiting timeline

Lazard reviews IB summer analyst applications as they arrive and fills seats before the posted deadline, so when you apply changes your odds. The US application splits by office and by division, and you choose one seat when you apply.

Key application dates

• Applications open: December 15 for the US 2027 cycle, with 2028 dates unposted as of September 2026
• Application deadline: February 21 for the US 2027 cycle
• Recruiting policy: Rolling review, with roles closing early once seats fill

Typical interview process and response times

• Application to first contact: Usually 1 to 3 weeks, and closer to a month in some offices
• Online assessment and video interview invitation: Within a week of applying, where that step applies
• Time to complete the assessment: About 3 days from the invitation
• First round to Superday invitation: Roughly 1 to 3 weeks
• Superday to offer: Same day to 48 hours
• Application to offer overall: Between 1 and 2 months

First rounds cluster in late January and February, and Superdays follow in February and March. Start networking 6 to 12 months before the window opens, which means summer or early fall for a December application.

The UK and Europe run on a separate autumn calendar, and Lazard's 2026 UK internship window ran from late September to mid-October. UK final rounds follow the assessment center within a week, and offers carry a 1-week acceptance deadline.

Networking and coffee chats before the Lazard IB summer analyst interview

Most candidates reach Lazard's investment banking summer analyst process through cold email. Lazard is an elite boutique with just over 3,000 professionals, so its campus presence is thinner than a bulge bracket's. An internal referral moves your application faster than one submitted on its own.

A single managing director conversation can produce an analyst introduction and a list of names to contact next. Expect these calls to run conversational and behavioral, with the banker testing whether you can hold a discussion before deciding to refer you.

Restructuring bankers may open by asking directly whether you want restructuring. Say you're interested in restructuring and in M&A coverage, because Lazard's summer analysts work across both. Bankers who pass you contact names sometimes ask you not to cite them, so email those people within a few days and leave the referral out of your message.

Bankers on these calls look for:

• Specific reasons for Lazard: Whether you can name what independent advice means for the work you'd do
• Deal awareness: Your ability to discuss a live transaction and the logic behind it
• Conversational range: How you hold a discussion that isn't structured around questions
• Follow-through: Whether you act on referred names quickly and discreetly
• Group openness: Whether you'd accept a placement in M&A coverage or in restructuring

Online assessment and video interview

Lazard screens some IB summer analyst applicants with an online assessment and a recorded video interview before any live round. The step is standard for candidates applying in the UK and Europe, but US candidates more often move from application to a live first round with no assessment at all.

The UK assessment runs about 40 minutes in one sitting. It combines a 15-minute timed aptitude test taken without a calculator, a shorter untimed behavioral questionnaire, and a recorded video interview reviewed by the graduate recruitment team.

Aptitude and behavioral results stay on file for 12 months, so only the video needs redoing if you apply again the following cycle. The video covers motivation and fit across 3 to 5 questions. Expect 30 seconds to a minute to prepare each answer, about 2 minutes to record, and no retakes.

Reviewers look for:

• Speed with accuracy: Whether you can work through timed reasoning questions without a calculator
• Consistency across the questionnaire: How your behavioral answers hold together when the same trait is tested more than once
• A specific reason for Lazard: Whether your motivation names independent advisory work rather than banking in general
• Structured delivery on camera: How you organize a complete answer inside a 2-minute limit
• Composure without retakes: Whether you recover pace after a stumble instead of restarting

Recently asked questions

Here are questions reported from Lazard's video interview and early screening rounds:

• Why Lazard, and why this division?
• Describe an M&A transaction you find interesting.
• Tell me about a time you led a team.
• Why should we choose you over another candidate?
• In 20 years, if you were writing an article about Lazard, what would the firm have achieved?

First-round interview

The Lazard IB summer analyst first round is a single conversation of 20 to 45 minutes, usually with 1 or 2 junior bankers on the call, and occasionally a panel of 3. Behavioral questions take most of the time, and technical questions fill whatever remains.

Lazard schedules first rounds by phone and by video, with no consistent pattern between offices. An extra banker sometimes joins without introducing themselves, so ask who's on the line before you start.

Individual bankers set their own technical bar in the first round, so one candidate can get a sequence of DCF, WACC, and unlevered beta questions while another gets none. Prepare for the mechanical version and treat anything lighter as a bonus.

Interviewers look for:

• A clear reason for "why Lazard": Whether your answer names something specific about independent advisory work
• Reasoning under pushback: How you hold a position when an interviewer presses on a correct answer
• Capital structure judgment: Your ability to explain why a company would raise debt and give a second reason on request
• Commercial instinct: How you evaluate a business without a model in front of you
• Conversational control: Whether you can move between a personal answer and a technical one in the same conversation

Recently asked questions

Here are real questions from recent Lazard first-round interviews:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why investment banking, and why Lazard?
• What makes a good M&A deal, and why do companies merge?
• Why would a company raise debt? Give a second reason.
• What makes a good investment, comparing a large company with a small one, or a CapEx-heavy business with a CapEx-light one?
• How would you advise a client deciding whether to make an acquisition?

Superday behavioral and resume interviews

Most Lazard IB summer analyst Superday interviews are behavioral, and VPs, directors, and managing directors run them. Senior bankers build their behavioral questions from your resume. Expect at least one conversation that reads as small talk, with behavioral questions folded into it.

Lazard rotates generalist Superday candidates across coverage teams and restructuring, so prepare one set of stories that works for bankers in any of them. Regional and sector-specific pipelines run differently, and a Houston or San Francisco loop can stay inside one group.

Interviewers look for:

• Ownership of your resume: Whether you can explain any line on the page in depth
• Work ethic under deadline: How you'd respond to a request made at midnight for morning delivery
• Comfort with seniority: Your ability to work with people far more senior than you
• Team scale awareness: How you operate on a small team and on a large one
• Composure in an unstructured interview: How you respond when a behavioral question arrives in the middle of small talk

Recently asked behavioral questions

Here are real behavioral questions from recent Lazard Superdays:

• Walk me through a transaction on your resume. Why was debt the right instrument, and should the company have raised equity?
• Tell me about your research process. Did you use AI, and how?
• What was the team dynamic there? How do you work on a large team compared with a small one?
• How do you work with people more senior than you?
• Tell me about the biggest challenge you've faced.
• Tell me about a time you worked to a tight deadline.

Superday technical interview

One Lazard IB summer analyst Superday interview is usually dedicated to technicals, covering accounting mechanics, valuation, and merger math. Interviewers follow up on the reasoning behind each answer before moving on.

A correct number with no explanation ends the thread early, so narrate the logic as you work.

VPs carry more of the technical questioning than managing directors, who lean toward industry and behavioral ground. Questions arrive unstructured, some as three-statement accounting walkthroughs with a stated tax rate and others as conceptual questions with no arithmetic at all.

Paper LBOs and written accretion/dilution calculations don't appear in every Lazard Superday. Prepare both anyway.

Interviewers look for:

• Statement mechanics: Whether you can move a change through the 3 statements without losing track of cash
• Valuation range: Your command of DCF, comparables, and precedent transactions, including which produces the highest value
• Mental math: How you handle whole-number acquisition math without a spreadsheet
• Merger reasoning: Whether you can explain why a company would acquire on a dilutive basis
• Market awareness: Your ability to discuss a live deal and name a plausible target for a company you follow
• Conviction: How you respond when an interviewer pushes back on a correct answer
• Group-specific fluency: Whether you can discuss the metrics that matter in the group interviewing you, like ARR and net dollar retention in software

Recently asked accounting questions

Here are some real accounting interview questions reported by candidates:

• Walk me through the cash flow statement. What does negative working capital tell you about a business?
• Revenue goes up by $30 with $12 of COGS. Walk me through the 3 statements at a 25% tax rate.
• Depreciation falls by $10. Walk through the 3 statements with a 30% tax rate.
• You buy equipment for $80 funded entirely with debt. Walk through the statements at purchase, then after an impairment, then after you sell it below book value.
• What's the weighted average cost of this acquisition?

Recently asked valuation and merger questions

Here are more questions reported by Lazard investment banking candidates:

• What are the 3 core valuation methodologies, and which usually produces the highest valuation?
• How would you value a company with negative operating income? Why might a company with no path to positive revenue still trade above zero?
• Why is the cost of equity higher than the cost of debt, and could the cost of debt ever exceed it?
• Two comparable companies are identical except one pays a 20% tax rate and the other 35%. Which deserves the higher EV/EBITDA multiple?
• What makes an attractive LBO target, and why might a company acquire another on a dilutive basis?
• Tell me about a deal you're following. What would be a good acquisition target for that company right now?
• Walk me through what OpenAI's income statement probably looks like.
• Why would a sponsor prefer high-yield debt for an LBO, and what's PIK interest?

How to prepare for the Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview

1. Prepare both technical registers: Work through each three-statement change twice, once as arithmetic with a stated tax rate and once as a verbal explanation of where the cash goes. Lazard interviewers ask for the verbal version more often, so build that one first.
2. Build a second reason for every answer: Lazard interviewers ask for another explanation after a correct first one, so "debt is cheaper than equity" won't be enough on its own. Prepare 2 independent reasons for capital structure choices and for merger logic, including tax shields, control, dilution, and speed of execution.
3. Hold your position when pushed: Lazard interviewers press on correct answers to see whether you'll abandon them, so treat pushback as a test of conviction. Restate your reasoning, then name the specific condition that would change your answer.
4. Practice qualified answers: Questions comparing a large company with a small one, or a CapEx-heavy business with a CapEx-light one, call for a structured "it depends" with the trade-offs on both sides. Anchor those answers to a criterion you can defend, such as predictability of cash flows or the durability of a competitive moat.
5. Separate enterprise value from equity value: Practice converting enterprise value to equity value and back until you can do it without pausing. Lazard interviewers test it through multiple comparisons between companies that differ on one variable, like a tax rate or a capital structure.
6. Know one deal in depth: Pick a live transaction and learn the strategic logic, the financing, and whether the acquirer framed it as defensive, growth, or a capability purchase. Be ready to name a plausible next target for that acquirer and explain why the current market makes it available.
7. Study Lazard's own position: Lazard has no lending or financing arm, so its advice comes without the conflicts a balance sheet creates. Read the firm's Lazard 2030 strategy, its restructuring and sovereign advisory work, and a recent mandate you can discuss in detail. Lazard led NextEra Energy on its combination with Dominion Energy, a $420 billion combined enterprise value that cleared shareholder votes in September 2026, and advised Keurig Dr Pepper on its acquisition of JDE Peet's, which closed in April 2026.
8. Review the accounting topics that trip candidates up: Cover stock-based compensation, merger accounting, goodwill impairment, and deferred tax assets and liabilities. Each shows up as a follow-up to a simpler question, so practice reaching them from a standard three-statement prompt.
9. Build a structured base first: Work through the IB fast track if your accounting and valuation prep is uneven. Study in weekly blocks by topic and test yourself on each block before moving to the next.
10. Practice with mock interviews: Run mock interviews that mix technical and behavioral questions in one session, matching Lazard's first-round format. Cap one session at 20 minutes to practice covering your background, your reason for Lazard, and 2 conceptual questions in a compressed window.

Additional resources

• Investment Banking Interview Course
• IB Fast Track
• Investment Banking Interview Prep
• "Why Investment Banking?" Interview Question
• Lazard IB Interview Questions
• Investment Banking Interview Questions
• Investment Banking Interview Coaching
• Investment Banking Interview Guides
• Evercore IB Summer Analyst Interview Guide
• PJT Partners IB Summer Analyst Interview Guide
• Centerview Partners IB Summer Analyst Interview Guide

FAQs about the Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview

How technical is the Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview?

The Lazard IB summer analyst interview includes technical questions in both the first round and the Superday, and the depth varies by interviewer. Some candidates work through three-statement mechanics with stated tax rates and merger math, and others get conceptual accounting and capital structure questions with no arithmetic. Prepare mechanical walkthroughs and conceptual reasoning for the same topics.

How many rounds does the Lazard investment banking summer analyst interview have?

Lazard IB summer analyst candidates in the US typically complete 2 live stages: one first-round interview and a Superday of 3 to 6 interviews. UK and Europe applicants add an online assessment and a recorded video interview before the first round.

Does Lazard use a HireVue video interview for summer analysts?

Lazard uses a recorded video interview for investment banking summer analyst candidates applying in the UK and Europe, delivered alongside an online assessment on the Criteria platform. Candidates often refer to this step as the Lazard HireVue. Expect 3 to 5 questions, all behavioral and motivational, with a few days to complete both steps. US applicants more often move from application to a live first round, without a video interview. Networking accelerates that entry rather than removing a screening stage.

Does Lazard hire investment banking summer analysts as generalists?

Lazard hires investment banking summer analysts into a generalist program that gives exposure across M&A coverage groups and the restructuring group. Group placement gets settled during or after the internship, and separate direct-placement applications exist for candidates focused only on restructuring.

Is Lazard a prestigious investment bank?

Lazard is one of the most established elite boutiques, with a global advisory footprint and a restructuring practice that ranks among the strongest on the street. The firm advised NextEra Energy on its combination with Dominion Energy, a transaction with a combined enterprise value of $420 billion. Prestige matters less in the interview than specificity. Name what independent advice means for the work rather than citing rankings.

How much does a Lazard investment banking summer analyst make?

Here are the reported compensation figures for Lazard investment banking summer analysts, according to Levels.fyi:

• Summer Analyst (New York): ~$120,000 annualized base
• Hourly rate: $57.69
• Monthly pay: ~$10,000
• Housing stipend: ~$830 per month

The $120,000 base appears in Lazard's own 2027 summer analyst postings and holds across US offices under New York's pay transparency rules. The program runs 9 to 10 weeks, including a week of training.