Ex Apollo associate Q&A
Worked in Apollo’s private equity group for a few years post-IB.
Feel free to ask anything. Won’t be specific regarding my background though.
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Career Resources
I feel like there is a decent audience that asks this question, that its worth asking. Best way to get there post-MBA (particularly coming from a non MF background) / is it even possible?
Very difficult to get in post-MBA without previous top PE experiences. Apollo is also somewhat “anti-MBA” and prefers hiring out of banking groups.
They typically have only been hiring from their MBA intern pool which is diversity focused (mostly female)
Did you lose or gain weight during your stint?
This is the best question I’ve seen asked in this type of thread
I love how he still didn't answer it
Do you guys only exclusively hire from a certain group of banks?
Not exclusively, but the firm generally puts a lot of emphasis on the top school + top banking group (or extremely sweaty group) combination. Less so on school however in recent years.
What are Apollo’s “top banking groups”?
Where would you say the cut-off is for the favored top schools? How would UChicago do in that context? (I'm considering enrolling there this fall).
Thanks for your help!
Are the stories true about hours and pay? Also, tell us about the best lesson you learned while at APO.
What was your best year of comp?
What was your worst week of hours?
Was it worth the suffering / would you do it again?
What do you do now?
Don't mind the An1 in the title - forgot the password to ApolloThrowaway so I'm using an old account.
Best year of comp was last year
Worst week of hours was probably last week, worked ~160 hours which isn't bad tbh bc I got 8 hours of sleep
It was well worth the suffering. You feel a kick at the end of the day when the deal is done and you know you pissed off every advisor on planet earth with lowball offers, but you got the good deal. This is what its all about. As for would i do it again - hell fuckin yeah I would. It's why I left, I'm gonna relive my associate stint because they wouldn't promote me to VP.
I've just been jerking off in my parent's basement. McConaughey's character was wrong in WoWS - there's just no time to be doing that stuff on the job. Don't have a gf so when I get tired of this I'll go looking - maybe get married. But, with this amount of money god knows if I even need that anymore. Life is good.
Edit: Clearly tried too hard on this shitpost. Will do better next time. Great points everyone.
Why didn’t they promote you to VP
I've heard and read stories about the work and life about Apollo. This cements my interests in working for the firm one day. Is there a pathway for someone who plans to enter Big4 to Apollo?
This is a low quality spam post
No way you worked 160 hours in a week, and no way you did that last week when you’re no longer there
What’s Apollo’s attitude towards associates thinking of bschool?
What were your relationships with your colleagues and managers like, and what are they like now? Is the culture of mentorship proudly touted by Apollo genuine or is the firm more keen in viewing associates as expendable resources?
Of course associates are expendable resources. What do you think? It’s better to start your own fund eventually
Will answer remaining questions tonight.
Things that never happened, pt 1
What was your relationship with your s/o while at Apollo?
Really good question and isn’t discussed enough!
How valuable do you think MF experience is for a long term career in PE?
Did your fellow associates leave for HFs because of comp purposes or an unwillingness to deal with the long hours, culture, etc over a long period of time? Or was it simply a factor of preferring public equity investing as opposed to private investing?
how's apollo s3 doin?
did you also visit Epstein Island with Leon Black
All the time, but only for tax and estate planning advice.
Why specifically Apollo, assuming you had other offers as well?
Do it fart?
Any partners with single daughters w/ great personalities worth getting to know? Thx.
wow you're even asking for great personalities - isn't that too much to ask? unless you're willing to not care so much about/let go of requirements about physical appearance - in which case, alright, the personality requirement doesn't seem so outrageous
Wow you even spoke for me!?!? I guess if you lower your burden of proof enough to make completely unsupported claims in reaction to a harmless joke, then that makes accusing others OK (to use your writing style).
Go to the gym. You’ll be happier. Once you mature or get enough action, you may come to the realization that everyone gets old and personality should be #1 criteria.
Nice try destroying the patriarchy though!
What is comp and Carey at each level. For people who want to be promoted at each level, how many make it? Yours to lose or competitive? Need more capital to create more spots?
Was working there worth it?
And do you think working there was better than another megafund?
I would sacrifice my grandma to work at apollo
Did people bow down to you in NYC bars when you told them you worked in Apollo Private Equity?
I met an Apollo VP once at a bar and got on my knees in the washroom and blew him (I'm a man)
Mr. LowCaliber - Did you by chance go to a non-target?
Best advice for going through the on cycle process with them and landing a job (assuming you check previous boxes + get past Ratio)?
-How much did you save per year after taxes, bills, etc? After bonus?
-Also, after all your years in IB and PE, do you own a house or still rent?
It’s not that deep. What insight are you going to share with us? Will you tell us the comp is as good as they say? Or perhaps that it was a grind but you learned so much? Is it obvious that some of us are numb to the “clout chase” and have realized life is about more than bps in carry?
Can’t wait to read these responses. I expect they’ll share a new perspective on getting destroyed for some good dollars at a young age
Mf answered two questions and dipped 🤣
Lmfao
Most responsive Apollo junior
Thoughts on Apollo REPE / Special Sits? How are the groups structured, and how does one break in usually?
Questions:
How did you enjoy the work?
What advice can you give students/young graduates about pursuing a meaningful career?
Is the ex-Apollo associate in the room with us now?
Well folks, he was going to reply last night before receiving the “got a min?” Check back in 8 weeks.
Why does it burn sometimes when I piss?
This caught me off guard at my desk. 😂
Glad I could brighten your day brother
What are the personalities of the people in your group?
Once again another AMA that doesn't answer any questions. Effing hell
Just saw this thread... I like the idea of AMA style discussions, and the potential for sharing key insight. I might consider doing likewise.
This thread reminds me of my dad; he said he’d be there for me but he went to the store and never came back.
How does it feel after working so hard all the while knowing some influencer or some OF chick clears your yearly comp within a few days by dancing on the internet 3 times a day?
Not OP. Same as you and I feel when they clear ours in 1 day I guess lol.
Not all OF girls are making those amounts. A lot of those idiots on insta and tiktok are just inflating their numbers, majority make average income.
Some true idiots are indeed clearing a lot, but that’s life. And their income production is going to drastically reduce as they age, whereas in finance, you can continue on till decades.
Yeah but they could retire of 1 year lol.
They clearly taught you how to not respect people’s time lol
Am I blind or did this guy answer like 0 questions?
OP probably an insufferable loser who didnt work at apollo
its great that the most popular thread this week is because of an individual who claims to have worked in a highly desired role has pledged to dedicate their time to help out fellow monkeys, but because he is not answering questions, maybe this is true gatekeeping
I don't get the link between your GIF and the content of your comment but I like it so SB'd
Can you tell what work goes in the risk department say for an intern. Also how easy is it to switch from some other department say risk or Global Insurance to PE? Is it better to switch within the firm or better to switch to a different firm altogether.
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