Private Equity internship as a negative signale for FT IBD recruiting?
Hey everyone,
long time lurker but first time poster here. I usually tried to answer my questions regarding recruiting and IB by searching the forums but I wanted to create this topic to get a few opinions on my "dilemma".
I have been offered an internship position at one of the bigger European PE firms (think Cinven, CVC, Bridgepoint, EQT, Permira) and I am now contemplating whether to accept the offer or not.
My main concern is whether accepting a PE internship will have a negative signale for FT IBD / M&A recruiting since it might imply that I'm only interested in IB to jump ship to a PE firm after a year or two. So the question is basically if it is benefitial for FT IBD recruiting to accept an offer with a PE firm or if recruiters will look down on the PE experience?
Some background: I already have significant relevant experiences after a MM M&A internship as well as an elite boutique M&A internship (think Evercore, Greenhill, Lazard, Perella, Rothschild).
Thanks for your help guys!
Btw, I'm based in Europe and will start my Master's degree hopefully at a European target in Autumn, but I'm still waiting for masters admissions. My aim is to land a FT position at a BB preferably in London or maybe in Continental Europe (Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich) after graduation.
I doubt they'd see it as a negative since getting a PE internship is usually pretty competitive and you already have strong internship experience in banking...I think you'll be fine.
Since you have done IBD before, you can easily argue in FT recruiting that you tried PE but you prefer banking over it (bigger deals, more diversity in products/sectors, more team spirit, etc). Also shows them that you can at least partly relate to one of their biggest client group.
I wouldn't worry about the implications regarding your resume, or your reason for going into IB, but I would worry about how many spots in the better firms/groups are available for FT recruiting. I don't think you'd qualify for the accelerated FT process offered to IB summer analysts, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.
There isn't really a hard 'qualification' necessary for accelerated processes. The vast majority of people I saw at my accelerated interviews were at top MM/BB/EB's, but since it's a referral process, if you can get someone on the inside to push for you, I don't see why you can't get into processes with a PE internship.
However, you should definitely take note that FT interviews are a lot harder because of the sheer number of candidates vs the left over spots. It's a bitch of a process.
Thanks to everyone, so it seems that there is no real negative signale for IBD recruiting in case that I accept this internship. Good to hear because I really want to do this internship. The role definitely sounds very interesting and the team is just awesome, so I will just go for it.
Thanks for your responses and feel free to answer if there are some other comments on this topic!
I did exactly that a few years ago, and did not even apply directly to the banks: the partners with whom I was working sent my resume directly to top MDs in several banks and got me interviews. And if you go to one of these funds you will get amazing exposure and experience, and basically should be able to ouotperform when you start (6 months internship in PE = basically you should be able to teach an associate 2 how to properly do lbo models as you would in PE, and not in IB) Best internship experience for corporate finance if you work with a good team Edit: you should find who were the interns there before you and get in touch with them
How does a Fall PE Internship Look For Full-Time IB Recruiting? (Originally Posted: 06/27/2016)
Hey guys,
I'm currently a rising senior at a non-target with a boutique IB internship for this summer. I only have one internship under my belt and I need more. My options in my school's geographical area are dwindling and my IB contacts aren't working out there.
How would a PE internship over a boutique IB internship in the fall of my senior year look for full-time recruiting? What about a VC internship? Has anyone else been in a similar situation?
Thanks
by the time you would've done any meaningful work full time recruiting will be over
Pointless question until you get one.
Otherwise it's about the best you could ask for. Anything related to M&A or capital markets deal-making will help. Also look at any local companies that have a Corporate development need (whether or not there's a formal department), since that's basically buy-side IB.
IF you pull it off (long shot) be prepared for bankers to look at you funny when you say you want to IB. Be prepared to compare and contrast the two experiences and explain why you liked working in IB better.
Only for BB firms. Quite frequently mid-sized firms will have one-off hires later in the cycle once they figure out their staffing needs, and small firms typically don't hire until spring.
How does a PE internship look for FT IB recruiting? (Originally Posted: 11/30/2017)
I got a PE internship at a local shop for next summer. Wondering how this looks for IB FT recruiting? Does this help me or hurt me? Or should I focus on looking at PE firms for FT next year?
As tough as FT IB recruiting is, recruiting for reputable PE right out of undergrad is going to be much tougher. PE internship will be good for IB FT recruiting, just know it's going to be an uphill battle.
Thanks for the response. I just need network IB even harder?
Depends on how reputable the shop is. If you're at a local shop, it certainly can't hurt but it won't blow people out of the water. At best it will give you great experience and the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture and lifestyle - which can really make you stand out in an interview.
If you're interning at a mega-fund or pension fund or something like that, that's what will really make your CV stand out. Obviously these gigs are nearly impossible to find but still something to keep in mind.
Either way the most important thing for you would be to make as much of your summer as possible. Help out with whatever the hell they want, and do your best to get some deal exposure. Having any kind of deal experience before IBD recruiting is probably the best thing you can have. Again obviously pretty rare but do your best to get exposure to that this summer.
Thanks for the advice. They only do a couple deals a year but they had mentioned that it's certainly possible to get a live one if the diligence I'll be doing checks out and they want to move forward with an investment. They also said even if I don't end up getting to work live they would do a sort of trial run just to get experience with the process. Do you think that would be something a recruiter would see as valuable?
PE internship a bad thing for IB recruiting? (Originally Posted: 04/17/2017)
I currently have two IB internships on my resume (currently a junior). Would it look bad if I had a PE internship this summer, then tried to recruit for FT IB at a BB? My thought is that they would see me as a flight risk who is looking to do his 2 years in IB and jump ship to PE.
Did you not receive a SA offer?
They were both boutiques that I interned at during the school year. The first one was understood it was solely a school-year thing, and the second one only hires MBAs for the summer intern class (I was lucky enough to be there as an undergrad during the school year).
Most BBs are aware that they will lose most of their analysts; in fact, they only offer a few analysts associate positions. It is an up or out culture. This is especially true if you're looking to work in groups like M&A and Sponsors. So I wouldn't worry too much about looking bad. I go to Stern, and a bunch of juniors with BB SA offers have PE experience.
MM PE SA --> MM IB FT (Originally Posted: 06/29/2017)
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GPA might not make it past the initial online screen of 3.4/3.5. Possibly interview prep as well.
I've been getting the interviews besides through connections but havnt gotten past the super day, going to give myself easier courses this semester but I think recruiting will be done by then
Securing IB SA after having done 3 PE internships (Originally Posted: 09/19/2017)
So as the title says, I did 3 internships at small-medium sized PEs and I recently had an interview at a BB in London and felt like they were constantly trying (in a nice way) to get me to say that I want to leave for PE anyway after 2-3 years and I would not be surprised if that was then the reason for me being rejected.
Some questions I have regarding this are: 1. Am I almost automatically out if they think I will probably leave for PE after a coulple of years? 2. How can I spin my experience best to say that I really want banking?
I highly appreciate any help! More interviews at other banks are already scheduled.
Thank you very much for your answer!
Going from PE internships to IB FT this summer. Tips / suggestions before I start (Originally Posted: 01/24/2018)
After doing two summers of buy-side internships, I secured a full-time job in MM IB (not sure which desk yet.) Specifically, I worked on PE co-investments and FoF work at my SA jobs, so the skillset is probably pretty different from a typical sell-side mandate.
I've done a fair bit of reading on this site and various others, but I still feel that coming in without an IB internship will leave me a step behind given that about 75% of the FT class summered there.
Any suggestions or tips for me before I start? Would especially love to hear from people who have taken a similar path.
Thanks
Hi arkman, whoops, looks like nobody chimed in here.... maybe one of these discussions below is relevant:
If we're lucky, maybe these professional users will respond: M.Liu petermiller1801 Db21
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
Is it acceptable to intern in PE during your senior year after accepting a FT IBD offer? (Originally Posted: 06/05/2016)
I'm currently a rising senior interning in M&A in the NY office of a foreign investment bank. The experience is pretty good and I like the firm so far, but I would still like to do PE in a few years after I accept a FT offer there (fingers crossed, but I remain optimistic).
I'm lucky that I go to a target school near a lot of MM-lower MM PE firms, and I'm considering interning at one during my final year of college (before I go back to the bank) with the idea of networking, learning as much as possible, getting great resume experience, and possibly going back there when I leave the bank.
Has anyone done this before? Is this generally frowned upon among bankers? The last thing I want to do is burn bridges in my bank because I took a semester job in PE.
Is it paid? I mean, you can't be faulted for working, where else are you getting your beer money from? Can't imagine they'd take it as a slight or something, I was interning after accepting a full time offer pre-graduation, though it was a different circle of industry people, but I needed the money.
Your offer can't stop you from making money to support yourself.
No problem here but it may be wise to let HR know.
yes, in fact you will probably learn 10x more in the PE internship than your IB internship. Will also be helpful when it comes to recruiting for PE post-banking.
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