WLB in private equity (evening activities)?
2nd year IB analyst here, nearing promotion to associate. How is the work life balance in PE? Particularly, as an associate, are you able to have personal appointments during weekday evenings?
I don't mind working late, but I do value having a life outside of work. For example, every Wednesday, I like to go on group runs in the evening. I've developed a strong reputation in my group, and at this point, I'm able to push back against requests and block off several hours per week, on my calendar (e.g., 6pm - 8pm on Wednesday, 7pm - 8pm on Thursday)
Is this possible in private equity? While I continue to recruit for PE, I'm very much considering staying if it means better WLB
Not happening at any large funds I know of
Boring but true answer: it depends. Will be difficult in MF PE but easier below that.
It;s incredibly variable and I certainly wouldn't expect your weekdays to be all yours - MF/UMM are going to want you online during those hours. I am assuming MM/LMM given you're well past oncycle, so I think 2hr one night a week and 1hr another night a week is fine IF you are okay to miss it sometimes and aren't leaving your phone at home.
There will definitely be some times when you just have to skip (I'm sure same in banking) but this seems fairly reasonable to me - also realistically this doesn't apply to taking another 2hr to go home, shower, make/eat dinner, etc but if it is a priority you should be able to make it work most weeks.
There's not really a culture of "pushing back" in the same way as in banking but people also generally respect your time more
This is accurate - in PE you’re expected to drink the Kool Aid in terms of believing the importance and value of your work way more (dark humor about the job isn’t culturally acceptable anymore) and just blindly accept having to prioritize the job above all else. No one cares about your personal commitments and no one believes they’re more important than the job. That said, there are fewer fire drills and unexpected late nights but the volume of work, even in MM, is extremely high if you’re at a firm with real deal flow.
Very accurate.
The joking cynicism that lightheartedly acknowledges that what we do isn’t the most important thing in the universe and that we’re professional ocean boilers is very taboo — unlike in banking where you’re a bit of a weirdo if you don’t acknowledge and have a sense of humor about it.
In PE (esp MF), everyone is such a hardo and they are sacrificing such fundamental aspects of their lives to be all in on moving around in the most elite circles and possibly becoming a centa-millionaire, if you hold the idea that maybe everyone/everything isn’t all that important and it isn’t the purest pursuit of excellence in the universe, you’re just not one of them.
The last thing you want is to have a completely over the top costume party where people are showing up in full drag dressed like Marilyn Monroe and cleopatra with fake eyelashes, professionally done makeup, custom made gown, and one guy rolls up in jeans and a tshirt. Kills the whole vibe, poisons the well, and cracks mirror where you try to see the most generous reflection of who you are.
If it’s that important to you then I’d make it a point to ask the mid-level folks in your interviews. And then fact-check their answers with the associates. More than likely at a MM shop they’ll say it’s fine but then you’ll be 3 months in and made it to like 2 or 3 of the group runs. That was my experience at least.
Others have already answered the broader question but you’ll have incremental control over your schedule in a macro sense (less last second fire drills, ability to step away for stuff, etc) but you likely won’t get any sympathy if it interferes with work hours. Was ultimately a decently large variable in my decision to go to a HF.
Am at an UMM and most nights have no problem squeezing in an hour at the gym later in the evening but of course that's off live deal
A MF PE VP I spoke to was ranting abt their juniors taking off early to play in their house league basketball playoff game on a Friday.
Ignore title I’m a mid level in PE.
Yes and no.
Touching on no first, if associates were blocking their calendars REGULARLY to have a placeholder for social activities, then that’d not be culturally acceptable. No one is doing that even at partner or founder level. We use weekday evenings for some personal occasions yes but even the drinks and dinner we have are often business oriented / we view as work (it may not look like it but no we don’t want to shoot the shit with bankers over fancy drinks when we can go home and spend time with family or de-stress with a nice gym session.)
Touching on yes, we care about well being of our associates. If there are “musts” in your personal life, talk to us about it and we will make it work. If it’s something outside of what we can accommodate, we will tell you and we will create a plan for you to exit gracefully to another job/firm that will allow you to do that.
The situation I find myself in is more often in developing my associates to a level where he/she can be comfortable with managing his/her own time and deliver high quality work / on time. I don’t care if you go to the gym at 6-7pm everyday. But I care if that means you calling me at midnight to ask questions vs. you doing that at 7pm at which point I’ll probably pack up to go to the gym myself / or have dinner with my family.
Am at UMM fund.
Initially when I joined last year, I couldn't imagine taking time off in the evening simply because of the learning curve. I needed to invest all the time to get up to speed so yeah no weekday plans unless it's Friday. Now when I see some more experienced associates, they leave around 7 and dial back in from home. Think with wfh people also duck out for gym during the day but it's a bit random. In general, I'd say the easiest thing to do is block out time in the morning. Nobody is going to set up a call at 8 am so you can relax and enjoy the workout.
It’s a very different job and you’ll need to learn a lot of things from zero. The first 1-1.5 years you won’t have much time. After that you can manage your own time (subject to not being on a live deal) and this should be quite easily possible.
If WLB is a real concern in your 20s, then PE probably isn't a great path. Your workload will remain unpredictable, and you will find yourself cancelling your plans 50% of the time, perhaps more. You will frequently need to (i) jump on a live deal to produce time sensitive deliverables, (ii) get asked to attend networking events in the evening with relatively short notice, (iii) travel to a portco or for a new opportunity. And you'll be working most weekends during a deal sprint and will probably have to cancel those plans as well.
I'm not saying that I like it, but it is just the way it is in this industry throughout your 20s and honestly much of your 30s. You need to essentially "live the job" and any free time is a bonus.
Can you expand on #2? What kind of networking events?
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