PE interviewers screen for an "ownership mentality." What does that mean, and how do you demonstrate it?

Ownership mentality means operating as if the outcome — not the task — is yours: you care whether the deal is good, not just whether your section is done; you flag problems you weren't assigned; you think about what the decision-maker needs before being asked. PE screens for it because associates work in teams small enough that there's nowhere to hide, and because the entire economic model — illiquid control stakes held for years, compensation tied to fund outcomes via carry — only works with people who behave like principals. Demonstrate it with evidence, not adjectives: a time you caught an issue outside your workstream and ran it down; a project you carried past your job description because the result mattered to you; the fact that you formed views on your deals ('should our client even do this?') when nobody asked you to. Personal investing you take seriously helps too. Trap: claiming it while your deal walkthrough reveals you never thought past your own model tabs — the two answers get cross-checked.