Messed up PE recruiting

I'm a first year IB analyst and I recently went through the PE recruiting process. Had interviews at a bunch of top megafunds and upper middle market funds over the past few weeks. Like everyone else, the early timeline caught me by surprise but I guess I wasn't ready for the process because I wasn't able to get past a few final rounds. Now it seems that almost all of the better funds have gone already.

What's my opportunity set at this point? Does it make sense to wait and recruit as a second year for 2016 starts (after my third year) or will there also be spots that open up for 2015 starts (after my second year)?

Given that I messed up this early process, what level of PE fund is closed to me now and to what extent should I be lowering my expectations? Or is it still early in the game? I'm being shown opportunities for really small funds now but I'm wondering if I should go for them or wait for more attractive opportunities. Any general advice from someone who may have been in this situation before?

Please only answer if you know what you're talking about - thanks guys!

 

Do you not have a headhunter?

[quote]The HBS guys have MAD SWAGGER. They frequently wear their class jackets to boston bars, strutting and acting like they own the joint. They just ooze success, confidence, swagger, basically attributes of alpha males.[/quote]
 

I understand that I won't be able to interview at the same exact firms that I interviewed with this year but I didn't interview with every MF / Upper MM fund. Is it still possibly to get looks next year for 2015 or 2016 starts at some of the bigger funds or is smaller MM the ceiling now?

 
Best Response

If I understand your situation, you interviewed at a bunch of top MM and MF, made it to final rounds and couldn't get an offer?

As someone else mentioned, once dinged at X firm, you won't interview there again in the near term. That being said, the fact that you got decent traction with a sub-set of the top PE firms says that you are capable of getting an offer, you just didn't execute as strong as necessary to close an offer.

So there are two parts to what the future could hold for you now, possibly 3.

  1. What did you fuck up? Even if you get interviews next year with the guys that didn't give you a look this year, if you execute the same exact interview, you'll probably end up with a similar outcome as you did this year. So figure out what you were lacking and bolster that area of your candidacy.

  2. Will you get interviews next year? I think you should definltey get them at the places you didn't interview this year, but keep in mind they didn't invite you in this year, what will change between now and then for them to make a different decision next year. Second, you most likely won't get interviews at the places you already interviewed. I think if you're proactive you should. I would even venture to say that if you network your ass off you may even be able to get a second bite of the apple at some of the PE shops that dinged you. But you'll have to work for it. I'd take the "I really didn't think I was 100% ready to take this next step, but the PE recruiting process is so silly and headhunters urged me to do it anyway, so I did against my instinct. If I had my way, I would have made sure I felt ready to take/explore the next step without blindly doing what everyone else is doing, and so that's what I'm doing now (i.e., networking, learning about the firms etc) so I can take a more measured and deliberate path next year in taking the next step." Everyone in the industry acknowledges how silly the interview process is, play off of that. The prevailing sentiment is also that the more experienced candidates present substantially better in interviews because they have real experience they can speak to; the issue is many of the more experienced ones weren't as strong candidates thats why they're back for a 2nd cycle of recruiting. Position yourself as the outlier. Also some of the top shops will fill all but 1 or 2 seats in the main recruiting cycle and then opportunistically recruit for 1 or 2 remaining seats later in the year to make sure they don't miss out on a top candidate. This was the case with TPG and Apax last year, unsure about others.

  3. Having made it to final rounds at several MFs and top MM funds, I would think you will continue to get very strong traction with the smaller shops that haven't yet started/wrapped recruiting. The candidates that out-executed you with the MFs/Top MMs already have offers and you're no longer competing with them. I would venture to say that the same level of performance could potentially get offers at smaller PE/HFs (maybe). Question is, do you risk it and wait until next year? I'd probably say interview wherever you can, it would be silly to sit tight. If you get an offer you're genuinely excited about and think will keep you heading in the direction of your longer term goals, absolutely take it. I wouldn't however accept a sub-par opportunity. Worst case scenario its solid practice. Also make sure your references are coming up stellar. Did you get asked for references at any of the places you were interviewing?

 

Magni sed quo quaerat et distinctio. Voluptas enim natus tenetur nisi porro consequuntur. Illum commodi et accusantium. Quos odit nulla saepe perferendis a. Qui tenetur qui quia non libero ut ullam.

Nam porro aut rem odio. Aliquam assumenda vero delectus. Et commodi id velit ea sed. Accusantium officiis in ut. Suscipit nihil ut ut enim totam voluptates modi exercitationem.

Delectus temporibus enim sapiente debitis aperiam qui dolores distinctio. Quisquam officiis delectus labore accusantium. Qui voluptas vel laborum harum occaecati ut a quasi. Ducimus numquam omnis repudiandae dicta quae velit.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”