Overview
Introduction
William Blair is a leading investment bank headquartered in Chicago with offices in 20 cities on four continents. The firm’s interns receive a phenomenal learning experience, working on live deals alongside senior bankers and clients. Full-time junior bankers get many mentorship opportunities and valuable trainings, and there's a clear path to becoming a partner.
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Vault Verdict
William Blair is looking for well-rounded, intelligent, hardworking, motivated team players with strong technical, quantitative, and communication skills. For students, the firm runs a very rewarding internship program. Interns get a tremendous amount of hands-on deal experience and exposure to senior bankers and clients. In addition, interns receive a lot of support, feedback, and guidance. For its full-time professionals, William Blair provides numerous growth and development opportunities, including effective training resources, significant early responsibility on live transactions, mentorship, clear promotion paths, and an emphasis on promoting from within (the firm wants its analysts to become associates).
Given that investment banking is a client-driven ind...
About the Company
William Blair is a global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. It is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in more than 20 cities on four continents. The firm helps corporations, financial sponsors, and owner/entrepreneurs around the world achieve their growth, liquidity, and financing objectives. Since September 2019, the firm has completed more than $542 billion in M&A transactions for clients in more than 30 countries. Today, its research group covers approximately 650 companies.
William Blair is consistently rated a top place to work in the financial services industry. In 2024, among its many honors, it was named a Top Workplace by the Chicago Tribune and by USA Today. In addition, its deals have been recognized at Mergers & Acquisitions’ annu...
Employee Reviews
- “The firm does a good job of trying to protect from a completely off kilter work/life balance. But at the end of the day, it’s banking, and the market is coming back, so it’s busy. Generally, time off is respected outside of important questions or meetings.”
- “Vacation policy at Blair has created a culture of respect around people’s vacations. Ultimately, it’s still banking, and there are client demands that require late night/weekend work. But overall, people are generally respectful around time and trying to be efficient in processes, etc.”
- “We have absolutely mandatory 15 vacation days a year, and it is closed-laptop/completely disconnected, unless there’s an absolutely necessary process. I have taken all of my vacation with no issues and was completely unplugged for all of it. Yes, sometimes we do work long days (9 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m.), but it is due to client deadlines, not due to our internal team forcing us to be online doing pointless deliverables. All work is meaningful and purposeful.”
- “The hours and stress can be difficult at times. However, senior bankers here have much more consideration for deal teams than those at other firms. The collegial culture helps a lot—it’s much more sustainable to pull the longer hours sometimes needed when your deal teams, including the MDs, are collegial.”
Getting Hired Here
- “The firm is seeking individuals who are intelligent, hardworking, genuinely interested in the work, and a good cultural fit.”
- “Networking and the screening calls are really important. We use Campus Recruitment, allowing for a more centralized process as opposed to it being entirely team-led from point of application. There is traditionally a first-round interview and then a Super Day. The ideal candidate is a team player, high achiever, understands and values Blair’s differentiated model for collaboration and working as one team with no competition between peers. If the opportunity is in the Chicago office, there should be a clear rationale for ‘Why Chicago?’”
- “There typically is a 30-minute technical phone screen and then a Super Day, which consists of five interviews, 30 minutes each. The ideal candidate must be a cultural fit and be technically skilled.”
- “Looking for well-rounded critical thinkers who are self-starters, team players, and hard workers. While being technically and quantitatively strong are important, good communication skills are equally important, as all team members are expected to work directly with clients. Everyone is typically staffed on multiple live deals, so it’s also important to be able to work independently and move things forward while other teammates are working on other workstreams/deals.”
Perks & Benefits