Corporate Development Expert

$100/hrrate as listed

Mercor is assembling a library of in-house corporate development work products, and contributors complete self-contained M&A exercises from mock deal files — CIMs, diligence reports, term sheets, board decks — and produce the finished deliverable for each. Work is graded against a rubric, with pay observed at $2,000 per completed task.

Summary, eligibility guidance and screening preparation are prepared by Sidequest from the platform's posting. Check the source listing before applying.

What the work involves

Each task starts with a mock file set: a CIM for a target, a QofE or diligence report, draft transaction documents, or a board package. You produce the deliverable a corporate development team would actually hand up the chain. That means merger and valuation work (three-statement models, DCF, trading and transaction comps, accretion-dilution, cap tables and equity waterfalls), transaction terms work (IOIs, LOIs, term sheets, bid comparisons, structure and consideration economics), and process and board materials (management presentations, data packs, buyer universes, committee decks, closing mechanics and funds flow). A separate track covers screening, diligence and integration: inbound deal screens, request lists, findings synthesis, synergy models, carve-out analysis, and 100-day plans.

Tasks are self-contained and rubric-graded, so the reasoning behind your numbers matters as much as the numbers. Assumptions need to be visible and defensible, sensitivities need to show where the deal breaks, and recommendations need to land on a position rather than a menu of options.

What the platform screens for

In-house operator experience. Mercor is explicit that this is for corporate development and M&A professionals at operating companies — not sell-side bankers or advisory practitioners. Banking, PE, or Big 4 transaction advisory before moving in-house is a plus, but the in-house years are the requirement.
End-to-end deal ownership. Screening you sourced, models you built, terms you negotiated, boards you presented to. Support-role experience on someone else's deal generally does not clear the bar.
Live assessment. A merger model from a mock target file, a term sheet comparison, and a board-ready recommendation memo. Expect follow-up questions on your assumptions.

Logistics

Fully remote and asynchronous. Tasks are picked up from a queue rather than scheduled, and most contributors treat this as part-time work alongside a day job — a substantial deliverable at $2,000 per task typically takes a focused block of hours rather than a full week. Pay is as observed on the platform and varies by task complexity and review outcome; nothing here is a guaranteed rate or volume.

What they look for

4+ years in an in-house corporate development or M&A role at an operating company
End-to-end ownership of live transactions (sourcing through close), not support work
Financial modeling: three-statement, DCF, comps, accretion-dilution, cap table and equity waterfall
Drafting and comparing transaction terms — IOIs, LOIs, term sheets, structure and consideration
Board and committee materials: recommendation memos, management presentations, data packs
Diligence and integration work: request lists, findings synthesis, synergy models, carve-outs, 100-day plans

Before you apply

Would you pass this screen?

Drawn from what this listing actually requires. Answered in your browser — nothing is sent to us, and we do not store your answers.

Have you spent a total of 4 or more years in a corporate development, strategy, or business development role at an operating company—not at a financial advisor, bank, or private equity firm?
4+ years in-house corporate development · required
Can you name at least one acquisition or sale you screened, negotiated, modeled, and brought through close where you held direct decision ownership (not advisory support or execution of someone else's lead), as part of your in-house team?
End-to-end transaction ownership · required
In your in-house role, have you personally built or significantly iterated three-statement, DCF, comparable company, or transaction multiple models used to value or assess real acquisition targets?
Live deal modeling and valuation · required
Before joining your current or most recent in-house corporate development role, did you work in investment banking, private equity, Big 4 transaction advisory, or financial due diligence?
Financial services background (preferred) · preferred

0 of 4 answered

Included with this listing

Interview prep — 12 questions

Matched to what this platform's screening actually measures. Answer each out loud in 60–90 seconds: claim → concrete example → implication.

What it tests: Whether the candidate actually ran a deal themselves or was a supporting player; whether they can distinguish between their own decision-making and advisory support; credibility of their claim to 4+ years of hands-on ownership.
A strong answer: They name a specific deal with timeline and their direct role (e.g., led initial screening, negotiated key terms, managed diligence workstreams), and clearly identify where external advisors stepped in—without making it sound like they delegated the entire transaction.
Where people lose it: Vague attribution ("we did"), crediting themselves with advisory-firm work, or describing tasks (attendance, data gathering) that sound like junior support rather than ownership of a decision or workstream.