Houlihan Lokey 2028 Application: Dates, Suited & Resume Tips

Applying to Houlihan Lokey for summer 2028? Check your resume against a Houlihan Lokey-style screen below, then read when each group posts, what the Suited assessment asks of you and what happens after you submit.

A student at the kitchen island of a family home over winter break, a laptop open beside a printed one-page resume, a pen and a mug, snowy backyard through the window behind. — For summer 2028, Houlihan Lokey posted its specialist groups on Oct 26, 2026 and its Corporate Finance groups on Nov 2, 2026.

Key facts

When it opens: For summer 2028, Restructuring, Capital Solutions, GP Advisory and other specialist groups posted on Oct 26, 2026 (end date Dec 18), and Corporate Finance (M&A) groups on Nov 2, 2026 (end date Dec 19). For summer 2027, the investment banking posting ran from Nov 21, 2025 to Jan 17, 2026.^8,3,5,10
Portal: Every US summer role is on the firm's Workday campus board, with a separate posting for each group and office. The New York M&A posting asks you to name your top three industry groups.^8,1,3
Online test: Every summer 2028 Corporate Finance posting requires the Suited assessment: a unique link arrives by email after you apply, and you have 5 calendar days to finish it.^3,4,9
Documents: A resume, tailored to Houlihan Lokey and the group. The summer 2028 postings name no cover letter, transcript or written questions, so treat a cover letter as optional and check the form when you open it.^3,4,1,14
Who it is for: Bachelor's or master's students graduating between December 2028 and June 2029, usually college juniors. The Corporate Finance postings say the firm is not hiring candidates who need visa sponsorship now or later.^3,5,2,4
Pay: The summer 2028 postings give the salary as $110,000 for Corporate Finance, Capital Solutions and GP Advisory in New York, and $120,000 for Financial Restructuring in New York. The program runs 10 weeks.^3,6,7,5,2
Next step: After the Suited assessment (Corporate Finance), a telephone interview with a recruiter or someone from the group, then first-round interviews and a superday.^3,1,12

Houlihan Lokey programs on the tracker

Live from the Intervyo tracker, so the dates update as Houlihan Lokey posts them.

2028 Summer Analyst Program: Opens Oct 26, closes Dec 18
2028 Sophomore Insight Program: Dates not announced yet
2028 Full-Time Analyst Program: Dates not announced yet

Get an email the day Houlihan Lokey opens

The 10-week program runs June to August in the US offices and starts with a week of training before you join your group. Each group hires for itself, so read the posting for the group and city you want rather than the firm's general pages.^2,3,5

Check your resume before you apply

Resume review for Summer Financial Analyst at Houlihan Lokey

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What the Houlihan Lokey online application looks like

Find the posting for your group
Houlihan Lokey posts by group and city. For summer 2028, Financial Restructuring (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis), Capital Solutions, Power, Utilities & Renewables, GP Advisory and other specialist groups went up on Oct 26, 2026. Corporate Finance followed on Nov 2, 2026, with industry groups such as Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare and Industrials in Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago and New York.^8,5,6,7,3,4
Pick your groups
Most postings are for one group in one office. In New York, Corporate Finance runs one process: you name your top three industry groups, interview with people from those teams, and any offer is for one of them. Have a reason for each group and each city you pick.^3,4,5
Write the application
The summer 2028 postings name no cover letter or written questions. The firm calls the written application your chance to make a first impression: research what it does and the program you are applying to, tailor what you send to Houlihan Lokey, and show who you are and why you want to work there. Double-check your contact details, because the invite to the next stage goes to them.^3,1
Take the Suited assessment
On Corporate Finance postings, a unique Suited link arrives by email after you submit, and you have 5 calendar days to complete it. Suited has three parts: a behavioral assessment, a timed cognitive skills section covering attention to detail, critical thinking and logical reasoning, and your basic academic and background information.^3,4,9
Straight after you apply
If your application is successful, the next step is a telephone interview with a recruiter or someone from the group. First-round requests have arrived a couple of weeks after applying. For summer 2027, first rounds ran from December 2025 into June 2026.^1,16,14,11

What the application asks

Workday profile Required: Created when you apply. Check the email address and phone number twice: the next-stage invite goes to them.
Resume Required: What the group reads first and what the first round walks through.
Written answers Check the form: The postings name none. If the form asks, tailor them to Houlihan Lokey and the group: what you know about it and why you want it.
Industry group preferences New York M&A: Your top three industry groups. Offers are made for one of them.
Suited assessment Corporate Finance: A unique link by email after you submit, to finish within 5 calendar days.
Cover letter, transcript Check the form: The postings name neither. Treat a cover letter as optional and have a transcript ready in case the form asks.

The group preferences and Suited step come from the firm's postings; the rest is our best reading of what applicants have seen. Check each field when you open the form.^1,3,4,14

Houlihan Lokey resume checklist

One page, saved as a PDF.
Education first while you are a student: school, degree written out, graduation month and year in the December 2028 to June 2029 window.
GPA as 3.64/4.00; add a major GPA if it is higher.
Experience newest first, every bullet starting with a verb and saying what came of it.
Valuation work by name (comps, DCF, precedents) only where you did it and can walk through it.
For Financial Restructuring, accounting and finance coursework and any credit or distressed work where a reader sees it first.
Excel and PowerPoint in your skills line; both are on the Corporate Finance postings.
Leadership roles over memberships: what you ran, led or built.
Interests you could talk about for a minute in a phone screen.

What to put on it

Your resume is what each group reads first, and first rounds ask you to walk through it. For students the order is Education first, then work and leadership experience, then skills, activities and interests. The examples below are Intervyo rewrites of common resume lines, not questions from the form.^18,13

Education: School, degree, graduation month and year, and GPA. First on the page while you are a student.
Work experience: Internships and jobs, newest first, with bullets on what you did and what came of it.
Leadership: Clubs, teams and roles where you ran something, not only memberships.
Skills, activities and interests: Excel, PowerPoint, languages and a few real interests, last on the page.

Example questions and how to answer them

Experience bullet"Rewrite this bullet: "Helped value a company in my investment club.""^3,12,13,18

1Start with a verb for what you did yourself: built, valued, wrote, led.
2Name the work: trading comps, a DCF, precedent transactions.
3Add scale in numbers: the company, the team, the result.
4End with what happened next: the vote, the decision, the pitch.

Tip: The Corporate Finance postings list a fundamental understanding of valuation theory, methodologies and applications as a preferred qualification. Use only work you can explain for a minute out loud, because the interviews ask you to walk through a DCF.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Built trading comps, precedent transactions and a 5-year DCF for a $900M industrial distributor as one of 4 analysts in a student investment fund; presented a buy case the fund adopted with a $10K position.

Education line"Rewrite this education line: "UCLA, Econ, 3.6, 2029""^3,5,18

1University and location on the first line.
2Degree written out, with the expected graduation month and year.
3GPA to two decimals with the scale.
4An optional line for relevant coursework or honors.

Tip: Summer 2028 analysts graduate between December 2028 and June 2029, so most will show a 2029 date. The postings name no GPA minimum; give it anyway, because a missing GPA reads as a low one.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Minor in Accounting, expected June 2029. GPA: 3.64/4.00 Relevant coursework: Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Econometrics

Leadership and activities"Rewrite this activity: "Member, Restructuring and Credit Club.""^5,18

1Lead with a role and the size of what you ran.
2Say what you did, not what the club did.
3Give one number for scale.
4Show a result your work led to.

Tip: Financial Restructuring asks for coursework in accounting and finance. If you are applying there, show credit work on the page, such as a recovery analysis or a case you worked through.

Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)

Case lead, Restructuring and Credit Club (60 members): led a team of 4 through a recovery waterfall for a bankrupt retailer, presented a creditor-side recommendation to 30 members, and wrote the club's Chapter 11 primer.

From resume to first round"Walk me through your resume."¹³

1Open with where you are now: school, major and year.
2Take 2 or 3 entries from your resume in order, one sentence each.
3Link each step to the next, so the story builds toward the group.
4Close on why this group and this office at Houlihan Lokey.

Tip: This has come up in a Los Angeles first round with a VP, next to why Houlihan Lokey and why capital markets. Order your resume so the entries you want to talk about come first.

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How long to hear back after the online application

A successful application leads to a telephone interview with a recruiter or someone from the group. The firm says it gets back to every candidate, and offers feedback to those who reach the in-person interviews.¹

Feb 2025 (summer 2026)
Investment banking, New York
A first-round request came a couple of weeks after applying online, and the superday followed a couple of days after the first round.¹⁶
Feb 2025 (summer 2026)
Investment banking, Charlotte
A Zoom first round with an associate, a superday invite two weeks later, and an offer call 5 hours after the superday.¹⁵
Mar 2025 (summer 2026)
Debt Capital Markets, Los Angeles
An online test after applying, then a first round with a VP and a Zoom superday; the process took one to two months.¹³
Dec 2025 (summer 2027)
Summer analyst, Los Angeles
Applied online with only a resume, then two Zoom first rounds; the process took under a month.¹⁴
Jan 2026 (summer 2027)
GP Advisory, New York
An invite to an intro call with the group.¹⁷
Jan 2026 (summer 2027)
Investment banking, New York
A personality and IQ-style test, a first round with an associate, then a superday; two to three months in all.¹²

Many US accounts started with an employee referral, so networking into the group before you apply helps.^11,12,15

Best guessExpect the Suited link within a day or two of applying to a Corporate Finance posting, and a phone screen two to three weeks later if you clear it.

What happens after the online application

Online applicationYou are here
This page. Resume and written application on Workday, one posting per group and office.^1,8
Suited assessment (Corporate Finance)
A behavioral assessment and a timed cognitive section, from a link emailed after you apply, within 5 calendar days.^3,9
Screening call
A telephone interview with a recruiter or someone from the group: why Houlihan Lokey, why the group, and behavioral questions. Some groups call it an intro call.^1,19,17
First round, sometimes two
One or two interviews, mostly on Zoom, with an analyst, associate or VP: behavioral questions and basic to intermediate technicals.^12,11,14
Superday
Back-to-back interviews, about three of 30 minutes, usually two behavioral and one technical; held on Zoom in recent cycles, and in person at the office on the firm's page.^12,13,1

Corporate Finance vs specialist groups

For summer 2028 the two sets of postings opened a week apart and differ on the test, the pay and how you pick a group.

Opened for summer 2028

Corporate Finance (M&A)

Nov 2, 2026, by industry group and city.^8,3,4