How Houlihan Lokey Interviews in 2026: Process, Questions & What They Score
The complete process, reported questions, and what interviewers score.
Houlihan Lokey / Interview snapshot
7
stages from
application to offer
34
reported questions
2-3
weeks, typically
17
public sources
Independent: SupaCV is not affiliated with or endorsed by Houlihan Lokey. This is one well-documented shape of Houlihan Lokey's interviews, not a script: processes change and vary by role, team, level, and region, so confirm specifics with your recruiter.
On this page
01 / For every Houlihan Lokey candidate
The process, start to finish.
Houlihan Lokey is an independent investment bank best known for middle-market M&A (Corporate Finance) and for its Financial Restructuring group. This playbook covers the investment banking analyst and summer analyst track in those two groups. It does not cover Financial and Valuation Advisory or experienced-hire processes, apart from a few candidate reports noted below.
Candidate reports and prep guides describe this sequence: online application, an online aptitude and personality assessment, then a first-round screen of about 30 minutes, usually by phone or Zoom with an analyst, associate or VP. Some guides describe a separate recruiter phone screen before a 30-45 minute first round. Some candidates get a second technical round. Some offices and groups add a written accounting or modeling test. The process ends in a superday.
The superday varies more than anything else: prep guides say 4 to 6 interviews over a half-day, while candidate reports range from 3 back-to-back 30-minute interviews (New York, 2026) to 8 rounds of 30 minutes in Restructuring, and one 2017 Minneapolis report describes 13 interviews of 15 minutes. Total process length in candidate reports runs from under a month to 2-3 months, while prep guides put it at 2-3 weeks once started.
Several reports describe Restructuring interviews as more technical than Corporate Finance ones. Several reports say Corporate Finance superdays weigh fit and behavioral answers heavily. No evaluation framework or competency list could be verified on an official Houlihan Lokey page, so none is listed here. Most evidence comes from anonymous Wall Street Oasis reports and prep sites, and several reports are years old.
Stage 1: Online application
varies
Candidates apply through the firm's campus job portal (Workday, per one guide) for a specific group and office. Timing varies by recruiting cycle and region. One guide says seats fill across staggered interview waves, so applying as soon as postings go live helps, although it notes HL does not itself call the process rolling. Some candidates come in through employee referrals or campus events instead.
Stage 2: Online assessment (aptitude and personality)
30-60 minutes
Extern describes a Suited assessment: a short cognitive aptitude section plus a personality and behavioral questionnaire, sometimes with basic finance questions. Recent WSO reports describe it as an online test like pymetrics, or a personality and IQ test. Not every report mentions this step.
Stage 3: First-round screen (phone or video)
about 30 minutes
Usually one interviewer (analyst, associate or VP), sometimes two. Covers your story, why HL, why the group, and basic technicals such as accounting, EV versus equity value and DCF. Restructuring screens are more technical, and one 2017 report describes two 30-minute phone screens. Roadtooffer gives 30-45 minutes. Two prep guides (Extern and Superday AI) split this into a 30-minute phone screen with a recruiter, VP or associate and then a separate first round, which Extern puts at 30-45 minutes with 1-2 interviewers, so some candidates may see two screens before the superday. Superday AI's content is unattributed.
Stage 4: Second technical round (some candidates)
varies
Depends on group and office. A 2026 Los Angeles M&A candidate had a second, more technical VP round. A 2026 New York Restructuring candidate had 2 technical rounds before the superday. Many other candidates went straight from the first round to the superday.
Stage 5: Written accounting or modeling test (some offices and groups)
about 1 hour
Several reports describe an hour-long exam: build pro forma statements or finish a balance sheet and cash flow statement from assumptions, plus short finance questions on EV, cost of capital and NPV. Others report a 3-statement projection test or, in Restructuring, a Debt Exchange Model Exam. One 2013 report describes a 3-hour LBO test for a Dallas healthcare candidate. Some candidates were never tested, so this varies by office, group and year.
Stage 6: Superday
varies
Length depends on group and office. Recent Corporate Finance and capital markets reports describe 3 back-to-back 30-minute Zoom interviews (2 behavioral, 1 technical) or about 2 hours in total, with interviewers from associate to MD. A 2021 Los Angeles report had 4 one-on-ones of 30 minutes. Restructuring superdays are longer: 8 rounds of 30 minutes, including a brain teaser round. One 2017 Minneapolis candidate interviewing for both Restructuring and Corporate Finance had 13 interviews of 15 minutes. Prep guides give 4 to 6 interviews over a half-day at the relevant office (Extern) or 4 to 5 (Roadtooffer and Superday AI, which gives both counts on one page). Some superdays include a dinner or happy hour with the team.
Stage 7: Offer
typically within one week of the superday
Per two prep guides: Extern, which also cites a 3-7 day decision window, and Superday AI, whose content is unattributed. Not confirmed by candidate reports.
prep guides only, no candidate reports
Reported interview time, one scale in minutes
Where the minutes go
- Online assessment30 to 60 min
- First-round screen~30 min
Not drawn: Online application, Second technical round, Written accounting or modeling test, Superday and Offer, whose durations are not given in minutes.
02 / What Houlihan Lokey scores
No publicly documented framework
03 / Coach's notes
Coach's tips.
01
Prepare for a timed written test as well as the interviews. Candidate reports describe an hour-long accounting exam in several offices: finish a balance sheet from assumptions, build the cash flow statement, then answer short EV, NPV and cost-of-capital questions. Restructuring candidates have reported a debt exchange model exam. Practice building 3-statement projections by hand in Excel under time pressure.
02
For Financial Restructuring, drill recovery waterfalls (including deficiency claims and structural subordination), PIK interest through the three statements, and what makes a company distressed. Read HL's own case study, The Troubled Company. RestructuringInterviews.com calls it the usual first read for newcomers. The same site notes that it emphasizes asset sales and says little about out-of-court solutions.
03
RestructuringInterviews.com says HL takes a higher share of creditor-side mandates than other top restructuring firms and works on both the debtor and creditor side, so be ready to say who the firm typically advises. The same site advises having a few recent HL deals ready and says out-of-court deals are the safer ones to discuss, because public information is mostly press releases rather than a court docket, which makes follow-up questions harder to anticipate.
04
Prepare sharp answers to why HL, why middle market, why this group and why this office. Several Corporate Finance reports describe superdays that are mostly behavioral, with one technical interview. One prep guide (Extern) says HL weighs personality fit and office-specific interest heavily, which is that guide's view and not an official statement.
05
Expect a superday format that depends on group and office, from 3 back-to-back 30-minute Zoom interviews to 8 or more short rounds in Restructuring, including a brain teaser. Prepare enough distinct stories that you do not repeat yourself across interviewers.
06
Network into the specific group before applying. One prep guide (Extern) says networking and referrals weigh heavily for non-target candidates and advises attending HL campus events, and one Minneapolis restructuring candidate networked with the group through the summer before the first round.
04 / The research
Where this page comes from.
Compiled from public sources across 6 sites.
- sites
- 6
- coaching and prep guides
- 17
Source composition
Where the research comes from
Grouped by the kind of site that published each source: Houlihan Lokey's own domain, candidate forums, and everything else.
- Coaching and prep guides17
05 / The questions
Reported questions, by category.
Showing questions for
Roles are grouped by the category each question fits, not by the source.
Accounting and valuation technicals
10 questions
Walk me through a DCF.
Tests the DCF steps: projecting unlevered free cash flow, discounting at WACC, and adding terminal value.
How would you value a vending machine? Use a DCF and explain how you get to unlevered free cash flow.
Tests building unlevered free cash flow from revenue through costs, taxes, capex and working capital, then discounting it.
How do taxes and depreciation affect the three financial statements?
Tests how tax and depreciation entries flow through the income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet.
What happens to the three statements if the company buys PP&E that is depreciated straight-line?
Tests linking a capex purchase and straight-line depreciation across the income statement, cash flow and balance sheet.
What is the company's equity value if its debt is greater than its enterprise value?
Tests the enterprise value to equity value bridge and why equity value floors at zero.
How would you value this company, and how would you determine its WACC?
Tests choosing a valuation method and building WACC from CAPM cost of equity, after-tax cost of debt and capital weights.
How does a change in WACC affect an LBO?
Tests LBO intuition: how discount rate and financing cost assumptions move supportable price and sponsor returns.
Can the cost of debt be higher than the cost of equity?
Tests cost of capital logic: why debt is usually cheaper than equity and the edge cases where it is not.
Is FIFO or LIFO better, and why?
Tests inventory accounting methods and their effect on COGS, taxes and net income when prices change.
Walk me through an accounting flow-through: the company raises debt to buy inventory and sells the inventory at year-end. Account for cash interest, PIK interest and amortization on the debt.
Tests how cash interest, PIK accrual and debt fee amortization move through the three statements.
Reported problems, listed so you know what to expect. Practice them in your own editor or on the platform you prefer; SupaCV's practice mode coaches how you talk through them.
Restructuring technicals
8 questions
What are the characteristics of a distressed company?
Tests recognizing distress signals such as high leverage, thin liquidity, covenant and maturity pressure, and falling cash flow.
How do you reflect $100 of PIK interest through the three statements?
Tests PIK mechanics: interest expense and tax effect, non-cash add-back in cash flow, and accretion of the debt balance.
What are the two sides of a restructuring? Who do we typically advise?
Tests debtor-side versus creditor-side roles in a restructuring and who HL typically advises.
What kinds of restructurings do we do here?
Tests restructuring types: in-court Chapter 11, pre-packs and out-of-court exchanges or amend and extend deals.
EBITDA is 30, the multiple is 5x, and there is a $100 Term Loan A and $100 of Senior Notes. What is the recovery value through the capital structure? Would the equity trade at zero before filing?
Tests a recovery waterfall by seniority from EBITDA times a multiple, and whether equity has value before filing.
Enterprise value is $150, with $150 of senior secured claims and $100 of unsecured claims, but $50 of the senior secured claim is deficient. What is the recovery on each claim?
Tests splitting a secured claim into secured and deficiency portions and the pro rata unsecured recovery.
How does valuing a distressed company differ from valuing a healthy one?
Tests adapting valuation to distress: liquidation versus going concern value, weak comps and unreliable projections.
Walk through a series of structural subordination scenarios.
Tests structural subordination: how holding company claims rank behind subsidiary creditors in recovery. Experienced analyst, New York (2025).
Reported problems, listed so you know what to expect. Practice them in your own editor or on the platform you prefer; SupaCV's practice mode coaches how you talk through them.
M&A and deal judgment
3 questions
Who is typically willing to pay more for an acquisition, a sponsor or a strategic?
Tests ability-to-pay logic: sponsor LBO return constraints versus strategic synergies and cost of capital.
Given a B2B SaaS company's EBITDA, P/E ratio and management, what would you do to improve its operations and financials?
What does a complex revenue model look like, and how would you build one? What is the most complex revenue model you have worked on?
Tests structuring a revenue build from drivers such as volume, price, cohorts and churn, plus modeling experience.
Reported problems, listed so you know what to expect. Practice them in your own editor or on the platform you prefer; SupaCV's practice mode coaches how you talk through them.
Every role
Fit and behavioral
13 questions
Walk me through your resume.
Tell me about yourself.
Why Houlihan Lokey?
Why restructuring, and why Houlihan Lokey restructuring in particular?
Why the middle market?
Why investment banking?
Why this group, and what do you add that someone else cannot?
Why this office?
Why Houlihan Lokey over a bulge bracket bank?
Tell me about a time you solved a problem creatively, worked in a team, or resolved a conflict.
Tell me about a time you worked through a difficult team dynamic.
Would you be willing to relocate?
What are your long-term goals?
Your next step
Interviewing at Houlihan Lokey?
Make sure your resume gets you to the first round.
Practicing for Houlihan Lokey against your resume is in Interview Prep on Career.
Common questions
Quick answers.
How many stages are in Houlihan Lokey's interview process?
Houlihan Lokey has 7 stages, set out in The process.
Does Houlihan Lokey have an official interview framework?
Houlihan Lokey has no publicly documented framework, as set out in What Houlihan Lokey scores.
What kinds of questions does Houlihan Lokey ask?
Houlihan Lokey's questions fall into 4 categories, grouped in The questions.
How reliable is this Houlihan Lokey interview playbook?
It is compiled from public sources, and the evidence is in The research.
Sources (17)
Every public source this page was compiled from. Links open in a new tab.
6 sites, by sources
- wallstreetoasis.com11
- superdayai.com2
- restructuringinterviews.com1
- roadtooffer.com1
- extern.com1
- en.wikipedia.org1
- 01wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview
- 02wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/houlihan-lokey-restru…
- 03wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/financial-analyst-cor…
- 04wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/restructuring-investm…
- 05wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/investment-banking-su…
- 06wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/investment-banking-su…
- 07wallstreetoasis.com/company/houlihan-lokey/interview/summer-analyst-64
- 08wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/houlihan-lokey-interview-ques…
- 09wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/houlihan-lokey-ft-analyst-sup…
- 10wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/interview-with-houlihan-lokey…
- 11wallstreetoasis.com/resources/interviews/why-houlihan-lokey
- 12restructuringinterviews.com/blogs/restructuring/houlihan-lokey-restructuring-inter…
- 13roadtooffer.com/blog/houlihan-lokey-interview-questions
- 14extern.com/post/houlihan-lokey-internship-guide
- 15superdayai.com/banks/houlihan-lokey/interview-questions
- 16superdayai.com/banks/houlihan-lokey/superday
- 17en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houlihan_Lokey
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