Position Overview

Job Description

Why Harris Williams

We are ambitious in our goals and steadfast in the belief that clients deserve our very best. We invest in world-class, team-oriented individuals who are smart, driven, and principled – those who are eager to be part of something bigger than themselves. When you join Harris Williams, you are welcomed into a collegial environment where every individual has the opportunity to make an impact.

• Meaningful impact from the start: As an associate, you will have a high level of exposure to clients and senior bankers, who will place value in your ideas and unique perspective. Associates are responsible for driving work forward, in partnership with analysts.  
• Diverse projects: Associates lead key workstreams throughout client engagements. Beyond client work, this role will expand your professional experience through recruiting initiatives, mentorship programming, efforts to generate new client engagements, and more.
• Collaborative work environment: Our goal is to unlock value in great businesses, and it starts by unlocking greatness in each other. We value a range of backgrounds and expertise, and we know our work is better when our teams inspire every individual to confidently contribute.
• Professional development: Your professional development is our top priority. New analysts and associates convene in our Richmond headquarters for a robust training program designed to build relationships, provide baseline knowledge of M&A, and prepare you for your first client engagement. This initial program is just the beginning of an extensive learning experience.
• Comprehensive compensation and benefits program: Highly competitive compensation, pension, 401(k) matching, and eligibility for performance bonus amongst many other robust benefits.

What We Look For

Harris Williams hires individuals who are motivated by challenge, demonstrated through academic performance and prior work experience. While no specific academic concentration is required, the following skillsets are desired: 

• Excel – Understanding of formulas, data validation, macros, tables, conditional formatting
• Accounting – Working understanding of how the income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet connect and willingness to deepen accounting and valuation subject matter expertise over time
• Problem solving – Able to identify trends in data and articulate the impact of those patterns

What Makes a Harris Williams Associate

Associates who thrive at Harris Williams lead multiple activities and workstreams while maintaining focus on quality. Our most successful associates…

• Approach all tasks with humility and inspire collegiality and enthusiasm
  • View challenging tasks as opportunities for growth
  • Share ideas and credit among peers and teammates
  • Learn from mentors
• Are curious self-starters
  • Exhaust available resources before asking senior deal team members for guidance
  • Offer creative suggestions and thoughtful solutions
  • Ask “What’s next?” and work ahead instead of waiting for direction
  • Seek feedback from your teammates/peers during and at the end of a project
• Are responsive
  • This is an “on-call”, in-office role
  • Answer emails and calls quickly
  • Attend deal team meetings in-person
  • Find moments of levity even when working long hours
  • Clarify deadlines as needed
  • Stay aligned with your team on active workstreams and upcoming tasks
• Partner with the Analyst
  • Ensure effective use of the analyst’s time, balancing delegation with a collaborative approach
  • Take pride in your work by delivering accurate, thoughtful work product
  • Deliver real-time performance feedback to analysts
• Articulate thoughts and ideas to your teammates on day 1, both verbally and in writing
  • Speak up during internal (Harris Williams deal team/colleagu