PE recruiting timeline and process
I'm currently a first year at M/B/B and looking to transition to PE at the end of my second year. I'm interested in knowing what the recruiting timeline looks like and what the process is. Specifically does anybody know if there are application deadlines for PE firms and whether you have to go through headhunters or do they actively recruit through your firm. I'm also a little concerned and confused about whether it is too late for PE at end of second year if I haven't already applied, b/c it seems like the process starts a lot earlier than I thought.
Hey man, all this stuff is laid out in detail in the PE Guide -- a lot of it depends on the type of firm but there are definitely recruiting cycles. you can get a free redacted version in the guide section.
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you are not too late. due to the recession most pe firms are pushing the start of their recruitment process back significantly this year. ditto the above post - check out the WSO PE guide and the Glocap guide. They will give you the info you really need.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they start their recruiting season in late summer for hires to begin in summer 2010, right? This is what I've been told, but I want to make sure I'm not way off the ball.
I have a second question, which is essentially this: If I'm finishing my second year this July, is it a possibility to interview for summer 2010 jobs while maybe doing something out of banking? I.E.) Working for a non-profit? Or do they absolutely expect you to finish the year in banking (even if you'll have over 2 under your belt as well as 4 closed deals, both sellside and buyside M&A). Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Sorry to bump this up, but some thoughts on my two questions would be supremely helpful.
TheKing,
I'm also just finishing up my second year as an analyst, so take this for whatever you think it's worth.
Yes, PE recruiting for summer 2010 associate positions will begin this summer.
I have no clue how they would react if, after getting the PE offer, you quit i-banking to work for a non-profit. I think it is pretty standard to finish out the time in i-banking and, personally, I would stay on through my third year. However, I think it would be pretty ridiculous if they pulled your offer because of that.
Again, I don't have much more expertise/experience here than you do, but I'm just answering your questions because no one else has yet.
Model, I appreciate the reply. Some more info on my situation: I don't currently work in NY (I am on east coast, in a city not far from it). Part of my rationale would be the simple fact that interviewing would be a helluva lot easier if I lived there. All of my family is there, tons of friends. All of my strong personal connections are there. I've gotten a vast amonut of experience on buyside and sellside transactions in my current role, and am leaning towards a transition out of my current role so that I can move back, but want to weigh my options here. I don't want to jeopardize my future, but I want to be in a position to be near the people who are most important to me while also being able to interview for positions.
Any thoughts from others who've been through the process would be appreciated.
PE Recruiting Cycle (Originally Posted: 07/12/2012)
What is the current stage of the recruiting cycle for immediate start and 2013 positions? Specifically, who is generally still interviewing out of the categories below:
Mega fund $5bn + MM funds
Mega Funds won't be recruiting until start of 2013 but are continuing to keep tabs on candidates / court them
A lot of Large Funds have hired already or are taking the approach the Mega Funds are taking
MM funds are case by case and are conducting processes on a rolling / as needed basis
so are people going to be reneging on their MM PE offers when the megafunds start recruiting?
Also, how do megafunds "keep tabs" on candidates?
Thanks. My understanding is that funds will be mainly recruiting 1st year Analysts for Summer 2014 opportunities.
I am a 3rd year and focused on immediate start / Summer 2013 opportunities. Is your timeline still applicable?
Yeah, I was referring to 2013... they aren't recruiting for 2014 right now that I'm aware of, that wouldn't make sense. There are firms still recruiting for immediate start and 2013 for sure.
Megafunds pushed back hiring because of GS firing analysts with offers
That's not the reason. It plays into it to a degree, but the real reason is that they haven't been pleased with the competency of candidates they have been getting by recruiting so early and realized that they don't need to rush because they could dictate the timeline by pushing back the cycle. The added benefit of this is that they may have access to a lot of kids at shops like GS and others who are under pressure not to interview in the first year, but don't kid yourself by thinking that's the only reason. Plenty of GS kids have taken offers early in their first year and have not been fired and they aren't going to be interviewing with Mega Funds. The Mega Funds didn't base their recruiting strategy on the internal policies of GS.
Recruiting Season - Interviews started for PE firms? (Originally Posted: 05/06/2009)
Have interviews started yet for private equity firms? If so which ones?
Megafunds have either started or will start soon (based on historical patterns). For the rest of the PE market, recruiting can go until as far as September or October, and it really depends on the fund. The best way to find out is either through headhunters, senior bankers if you're at an i-bank, or by reaching out to them directly (though alumni or whatever).
Goodluck.
~~~~~~~~~~~ CompBanker
Thanks. However, I think it is a safe assumption that this job market will not follow historical trends.
Heard some rumors (from headhunters and etc) but nothing confirmed. Was looking to aggregate any info here.
I've heard that recruiting is going to be pushed back this year with the bigger guys really picking things up around July or August and other smaller funds actively recruting in the fall and possibly extending into the winter/spring months.
I've heard the same thing, TechIB86. If anyone has heard anything else, please chime in.
SG, Oxbridge, etc. have all said the majority of funds are waiting for bonus numbers and formal reviews to come before making any decisions. 1-2 guys have interviewed but none of the megas.
I've heard pretty much the same, I think there are some Chicago PE firms that are starting early June though.
NYTimes - PE Recruiting (Originally Posted: 03/09/2011)
Thought you accomplished fetuses angling for PE gigs would appreciate this piece from NYT Dealbook.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/a-grab-for-wall-streets-rising-s…
yeah, we saw that here: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/pe-recruiting-2 last week...damn early this year.
SON OF A BITCH!
I was planning on writing an op ed piece on this (PE recruiting) and sending it to the major media outlets with a hope of it getting published.
This "anonymous PE executive" needs to get his shit straight. We're in training for 6 WEEKS, not 6 months.
'“It’s the time of year when everyone has 10 dentist appointments and 5 sick grandmothers,” said one young analyst at a large bank"
Heh...
I honestly don't get it. If a mega fund doesn't get a MS m&a analyst the fund will unravel? I don't get it.
Absolutely.
All the non-MS M&A and non-GS-TMT guys went to Terra Firma, Madoff Investments and LTCM... and look what happened there.
the writer spends too much time on WSO.
Among the top 100 funds, how many spots are there? Maybe 300-350? Out of the 1000 analysts (maybe 700 who want to do PE and are competing) that doesn't sound horrible
Remember when the KKR guy made his thread and explained how the megafunds hire the best damn corporate slave $$$ can buy. Add to it that many people on here earlier this week were trying to figure how one lives at work for 2 years comfortably. Then one person responded that it was crazy and you do not spend that much time at work, only to be pointed and screamed at for not working at GS/MS or in a "real group".
Clearly the people at GS TMT and MS M&A are doing something right.
PS: NYTimes is always money in the comments section, excluding Partick of course. "Hire women", "Bank loses 4% + 94%"....
lol, I thought this one was money: "because only people who work really really hard should be able to afford coke and strippers"
Guess I just never thought of it that way...
hahah, the 94+4% was by far the best comment and par for the course for stupid middle American idiots who love to blame successful people for their own shortcomings and failures (like marrying that fat beer pig of a wife, refinancing your $180K house for $480K, and raising your brat son and whore daughter to be spoiled little shits).
dealbook comments are routinely really really stupid, and really really infuriating. also, nice plug by patrick in the comments haha
LOL
The dealbook comments deserve a pulitzer when compared to the NYT op-ed comments. There should be a drinking game centered around the use of "fat cat" "rich should pay their share" "main street" and derivations thereof. You'd be hammered by page 2.
"Private Equity: Put up a 4% equity piece. Borrow 94% from a stupid bank that doesn't know any better. Buy a company. Heads: You win. Tails: The bank loses. Congratulate yourself on a job well done."
Any chance this can get added to the FAQ section? Would be helpful for prospective monkeys.
Patriarch Partners?
Wow, the comment section on dealbook is ridiculous. I guarantee 90+% of the commentors have no idea what PE actually is, not all PE is doing LBO's. PE and VC are essentially financial intermediaries that funnel money from a pool of investors (ie. pension funds) to a company that needs capital to grow and/or operate more efficiently. Yes, some PE funds are out there purely doing financial engineering and all get into positions with an eventual exit in mind, but PE requires very sharp people to accurately identify great companies with huge potential for growth (which creates jobs and an overall increase in standard of living) but lacking financial resources.
Funny how everyone demonizes PE without realizing PE is such a general term for a broad type of investment strategies. Without PE or VC, so many great ideas would have never gotten the adequate capital they needed to exist and thrive.
People also don't realize that most GP's have to put some skin in the game, albeit usually around 1%, the GP's and LP's interest are very aligned. The comments about taking crazy risk and having moral hazard are ludicrous, every PE firm has a strategy and usually has a specific sector they will be focusing in, unless it is a generalist fund (all LP agreements will have very defined rules for which the fund must follow when investing). Until i started work, i thought i completely grasped all aspects of PE investing but looking back i realize how fucking clueless i was.
The partners dick's don't get hard for their 2% mngmt fee, they all want the carry; which requires them to clear a preferred return of usually around 8% before they get their 20%. That article made me realize how much i hate people talking about shit they know nothing about, which we are all guilty of...
i'm sure some partner dicks in 10B+ funds get hard over the 2%...
Management fee's are the shit. In banking, no matter how awesome a year you have, the score's back at zero at the beginning of a new year. Fund managers at PE firm could not do a thing (theoretically) and play golf all year, and would get compensated very well.
Obviously you make your money off of carry's but, still management fee's are dope as shit yo.
9 West has 400 PE professional salaries to pay.
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