Energy IBD to Generalist Private Equity?

I would position it like this:

You will have two+ years of experience in one of the more complex industries on the street (I tend to think of Energy, FIG, and Healthcare as three of the more complex industries to develop skill and relationships in, especially from a PE perspective). Fortunately, in my opinion, skills you learn in energy are pretty transferable.

You know how to model and evaluate more complicated investments due to your experience in energy, which will easily translate to other industries at a generalist fund. For many energy investments, understanding just how the company will make revenue and forecast revenue isn't always straightforward. In other industries, it can many times be just X widgets * Y price = revenue. Similarly, many energy deals can become quite creative and structurally complex. Skills that would translate to most types of buyouts. What you really need to know for a generalist fund is how to analyze a company, quickly grasp the industry (valuation and growth), channels, customers, relationships, where growth will come from (market share penetration, overall industry growth, etc.), and really just understand how the business makes money and keeps making money. As a junior guy at a generalist MM fund - most of your value comes in the form of modeling, memo writing, getting management to like you and help you, coordinating (and leaning) on lawyers and advisors, and just generally being 100% dependable. Sometimes you will come across a deal that your VP doesn't have a ton of experience in the industry with, but more often than not, you'll work with VPs that start to silo off and have an industry focus. At many of the shops I know, partners are pretty focused on 1, maybe 2 industries, VP's on 1-3+ and associates are at everyone's disposal.

Probably the most important question you will be asked in your interviews is why you are in an energy shop in the first place, and why you don't want to stay/specialize in the industry. Maybe you think there has been so much capital deployed into the industry that the cost of capital has come down and it's making it harder to make outsized returns.

Plenty of analysts have made the switch into generalist funds. Having made a few jumps myself, it's all in your story and how you position yourself.