PJT Partners started in 2015 when Blackstone spun off its advisory business, and you'll still see it described as "formerly Blackstone's advisory arm". It has three main businesses: strategic advisory (M&A), restructuring and special situations, and Park Hill, which raises money for funds.
Restructuring is the thing to understand
PJT's restructuring group is one of the best known in the world. Companies in financial trouble, and their creditors, hire it to work out what happens to their debt. If you're applying to PJT, you should understand roughly what restructuring involves, even if you're applying to the M&A side:
- A company can't pay or refinance its debt.
- Lenders, bondholders and shareholders negotiate who takes losses.
- The adviser models what the business is worth and what each group should get.
Restructuring work is more technical and more legal than standard M&A. It's also counter-cyclical, busy when the economy isn't. That's a good thing to say in "why PJT?" if it genuinely appeals to you.
What the CV should show
- Technical interest, especially in credit. A module on corporate finance or credit, a society pitch on a distressed company, a debt advisory internship.
- Comfort with detail. Restructuring involves reading long documents carefully. A research role or a project where you worked through a lot of complex material is relevant.
- Deal experience if you have it, with sizes.
Before: Interested in restructuring and distressed debt
After: Pitched a short on a UK retailer to the investment society (80 members) based on its 2027 bond maturity; it entered administration four months later
The first is a claim. The second is evidence.