You’re in luck if you’re looking for work in business development. Most organizations consider business development to be a crucial function, and employees in this position are in charge of coming up with and carrying out strategies that will increase sales and market share.
However, you must succeed in your interview before you can accept this crucial position. To assist you in preparing, we’ll give you a list of head of business development interview questions in this guide. We’ll also offer pointers on how to impress prospective employers by highlighting your abilities and experience.
Corporate Development Interview and Case Study Example
Corporate Development Definition: What Is It?
Corporate development teams at businesses concentrate on partnerships, joint ventures (JV), acquisitions, and divestitures, including deal sourcing and execution.
They also take the time to conduct competitive analysis, create “market maps” of businesses operating in various industries, and decide which markets their companies should enter.
While much of it is similar to the buy-side M&A deal work you do at an investment bank, the main distinction is that you work for one specific company and contribute to its long-term growth.
Instead of acting on behalf of clients, you complete acquisitions and other transactions that advance your business.
Additionally, after deals are closed, you might spend more time on integration, though this depends on the firm and team.
Here is a comprehensive comparison since many other organizations have “corporate” or “development” in their names:
If you work in corporate development for a sizable corporation (e g. , a Fortune 100 company), you will concentrate on M&A transactions and won’t need to do much sourcing as you will receive a lot of deal flow from bankers and other parties.
The role will frequently be more “random” if you work for a small business or a startup, and you’ll spend more time on sourcing and tasks that larger companies might classify as corporate strategy or business development.
Why Corporate Development?
Corporate development is a good option if:
Obviously, when asked “Why corporate development?” in interviews, you shouldn’t bring up points #2, #4, or #5; instead, you should concentrate on #1 and #3.
What is Corporate Development?
A corporation’s corporate development department focuses on partnerships, joint ventures, divestitures, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Work is quite similar to buy-side M&A deals at an investment bank, but you only work for one company and contribute to its long-term success.
Corporate development is now more in demand than ever because of its significant effects on business performance. It assesses important internal connections within a business, potential projects, as well as the risks and obligations involved. Meanwhile, the benefits of joint ventures and M&A agreements include lowering the risks associated with acting alone, as well as investment costs and failure rates. It becomes more challenging for the company to consider an M&A deal without corporate development.
The scope of work varies depending on different companies. For example, if you join a company in Fortune 100, you will spend most of your time on M&A deals. You will hardly work on deal sourcing or strategic work streams since deal sourcing at large companies is difficult, which junior levels can’t handle. However, working at smaller firms gives you more opportunities to get involved in sourcing profitable deals and other strategic work.
The organizational structures of corporations’ corporate development teams are determined by differences in scales and demands. Typically, there will be three models:
| Capitalised Model | Hybrid Model | Decentralised Model |
|---|---|---|
| This is the most popular model | It’s a lean department with very few professionals | This is the least popular model |
| It gives a birds-eye over the company’s overall activities | When evaluating potential partnerships and strategic transactions, it depends on internal and external resources for providing subject matter expertise | There is no core team |
| It’s easier to identify threats and opportunities | It is usually put together on a case-by-case basis | |
| It allows the team to structure deals with other businesses that fit well into the company’s portfolio | It includes different members from various internal departments |
Corporate Development Recruiting: Who Wins Interviews and Offers?
Corporate development (CD) teams want candidates who:
In reality, this means that CD teams favor hiring investment bankers who have experience working in related industry sectors.
They do employ consultants as well as members of the Big 4 valuation and transaction advisory teams, particularly for positions that are less M&A-focused.
Corporate development positions are available to more people than just elite boutique and bulge bracket bankers, in contrast to many private equity and hedge fund roles.
Another distinction is that post-MBA bankers and consultants can enter more easily because the “exit opportunity window” doesn’t close as quickly as it does for PE/HF roles.
Additionally, you might be able to transition into corporate development from a position in private equity, such as Private Equity Analyst.
If you’ve worked in a “public markets” group or company like equity research or asset management, you don’t stand a very good chance of getting corporate development jobs because you won’t have deal experience.
Sometimes, internal candidates are hired by corporate development teams for positions in data science or rotational corporate finance.
Since they are internal hires, their lack of formal deal experience may not be a deal breaker. These candidates frequently have a strong understanding of the business and the industry.
Students who enter corporate development right out of undergrad are extremely uncommon.
Even more uncommon than landing a PE or HF role straight out of college, some companies are increasingly hiring undergrads who want to avoid banking.
However, teams rarely do this in corporate development recruiting because professionals need a more “real-world” skill set, such as the capacity to wrangle information out of bureaucratic organizations and win approval from various departments.
In contrast, if you can spend a lot of time alone doing research and analysis and coming up with insights, you might succeed at a hedge fund.
Target smaller, higher-growth companies, such as startups with a few hundred employees, if you want to work in corporate development (but not, say, businesses with a few thousand employees).
These businesses frequently hire recent graduates for their “fresh mindsets” and objective viewpoints, and they may believe that internships are sufficient sources of industry knowledge.
Last but not least, keep in mind that there are significantly fewer jobs in corporate development than there are in IB/PE/HF.
A company must be fairly large to have a corporate development division; M&A teams are not present in 10-person startups.
Therefore, even though a wider range of candidates can access corporate development recruiting, it can be difficult to find jobs or businesses that are hiring.
FAQ
Why do you want to do corporate development?
A company needs corporate development to develop and implement cutting-edge plans that will enable it to capitalize on its competitive advantage and, as a result,: Boost the organization’s financial and operational performance Enable the company to outperform its competitors.
How do you prepare for corporate development?
Finding a mentor is one of the first steps to take if you want to work in corporate development. Selling yourself, comprehending the role, and finding someone who will believe in you are important aspects of corporate development. Try cold outreach or reach out to people in your network.
What are some corporate interview questions?
- Tell me about yourself.
- Walk me through your resume.
- How did you hear about this position?
- Why do you want to work at this company?
- Why do you want this job?
- Why should we hire you?
- What can you bring to the company?
- What are your greatest strengths?
What skills do you need for corporate development?
- Corporate Development.
- Project Management.
- Financial Models.
- PowerPoint.
- Financial Analysis.
- Business Development.
- Corporate Strategy.
- Discounted Cash Flow.
