PE recruiting from "non-target" groups
(Baboon, 121
Points)
on 6/21/11 at 7:21pm
Hi everyone,
I'm a first year analyst at a BB (think JPM/CS/Citi), but I'm not in an M&A or a Sponsors group. While it exports some modeling to M&A/LevFin, my group does most modeling in-house, so my modeling skills shoudn't be too bad. I know the analysts in M&A or Sponsors groups will definitely be contacted by head hunters, but how does it work for the other analysts in industry groups when trying to transition? Do head hunters also contact these analysts, or do they have to do more networking w/senior people and reaching out to alumni to transition into a PE shop? I'm not trying to do Megafund pre-MBA, but I would like to work at a solid MM PE firm.
Any insight would be great. Thanks guys!
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posting to follow
posting to follow
People tend to think life is a race with other people. They don't realize that every moment they spend sprinting towards the finish line is a moment they lose permanently, and a moment closer to their death.
anyone?
anyone?
anyone?
anyone?
You will have headhunters
You will have headhunters contacting you but it will depend on which industry group you are in and also how strong the group is. It will be tough for you to get to a solid MM fund given the competition but it can be done. But just don't expect it like you would be when you are in M&A or sponsor groups.
Thanks for the reply. What is
Thanks for the reply. What is your definition of "solid" in terms of AUM? Also, all else being equal (group strength) what industry groups have more / which ones have less contact?
interested as well
interested as well
I know there are a lot more
I know there are a lot more PE experts roaming WSO! anyone else? any help would be much appreciated.
solid as in anything over 1b
solid as in anything over 1b is pretty solid. Do keep in mind I ignore the culture/compensation part of the equation but chances are if the fund can grow to 1b, it must have done something right..
Industrial / Consumer / TMT are the usual suspects due to the fact that majority of the buyside firms are focused on these industries.
Just to confirm, are you a
Just to confirm, are you a 1st year Analyst as in currently in training, or are you a 1st year Analyst as in getting your first bonus in the next few weeks?
If the latter, the PE recruiting cycle for next summer is more or less complete for megafunds and the large majority of MM funds. If the former, don't wait for recruiters to contact you, get names of the top 3-4 usual suspects (Oxbridge, CPI, etc.) and put yourself in front of them starting November/December with the expectation that they will begin to screen candidates in January/February and launch recruiting in March/April.
Just my advice...
BananaStand wrote: Just to
Just to confirm, are you a 1st year Analyst as in currently in training, or are you a 1st year Analyst as in getting your first bonus in the next few weeks?
If the latter, the PE recruiting cycle for next summer is more or less complete for megafunds and the large majority of MM funds. If the former, don't wait for recruiters to contact you, get names of the top 3-4 usual suspects (Oxbridge, CPI, etc.) and put yourself in front of them starting November/December with the expectation that they will begin to screen candidates in January/February and launch recruiting in March/April.
Just my advice...
Thanks a lot. Sounds great. Do head hunters typically react well to you contacting them, or is it one of those things where you have to have some type of connection with them (i.e same school, etc) to build a relationship?
In my experience, they're
In my experience, they're pretty receptive to meeting new Analysts. If anything, it's a volume game for them because they just want to show as many quality Analysts as possible to their clients knowing that they just need to fill a couple of spots.
Typically they'll ask you to submit a resume and fill out some information (fund size, geography, strategy, timing, etc.) and then, assuming you're at a decent shop w/ decent stats, they'll conduct a phone interview. The phone interview is interesting because most headhunters pretend to have a very casual conversation and often sound like they're out to help you, but in reality, they're taking notes on everything you say and their ultimate clients are PE funds, not Analysts. They'll then start matching you with potential openings based on your bank/group, stats, responses, etc.
So, having said all that, they'll be open to meeting you at first, but if you flub the phone interview, or if you're resume seems tough to place in a PE role (i.e. 2.6 GPA from a community college), then don't expect a lot of flow to come your way.
First of all, try to worry
First of all, try to worry less about AUM in regards to what PE shop you want to end up at - look more for the team, track record, culture etc., but yes if you want to use AUM as a gauge, anything over $1BN is pretty decent, especially if they have raised a few successful funds.
As long as you have a good resume and good intro email, HH's are usually pretty good at getting back to you. If someone at a recruiting firm doesn't get back to you, try another person at the firm and they may be more responsive - all the big recruiters will have multiple people emailing you about different buyside opportunities. You don't need any sort of school or alumni connection, but it does help. It also helps if you know a kid who has been placed by Oxbridge or SG, and you can reference them in your intro email.
BananaStand wrote: In my
In my experience, they're pretty receptive to meeting new Analysts. If anything, it's a volume game for them because they just want to show as many quality Analysts as possible to their clients knowing that they just need to fill a couple of spots.
Typically they'll ask you to submit a resume and fill out some information (fund size, geography, strategy, timing, etc.) and then, assuming you're at a decent shop w/ decent stats, they'll conduct a phone interview. The phone interview is interesting because most headhunters pretend to have a very casual conversation and often sound like they're out to help you, but in reality, they're taking notes on everything you say and their ultimate clients are PE funds, not Analysts. They'll then start matching you with potential openings based on your bank/group, stats, responses, etc.
So, having said all that, they'll be open to meeting you at first, but if you flub the phone interview, or if you're resume seems tough to place in a PE role (i.e. 2.6 GPA from a community college), then don't expect a lot of flow to come your way.
Awesome. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
EDIT: fyi, 1st year analyst as in training
dayaaam wrote: First of all,
First of all, try to worry less about AUM in regards to what PE shop you want to end up at - look more for the team, track record, culture etc., but yes if you want to use AUM as a gauge, anything over $1BN is pretty decent, especially if they have raised a few successful funds.
As long as you have a good resume and good intro email, HH's are usually pretty good at getting back to you. If someone at a recruiting firm doesn't get back to you, try another person at the firm and they may be more responsive - all the big recruiters will have multiple people emailing you about different buyside opportunities. You don't need any sort of school or alumni connection, but it does help. It also helps if you know a kid who has been placed by Oxbridge or SG, and you can reference them in your intro email.
Thanks for the advice! I'm not only worried about AUM since it's pre-MBA and I only plan on staying for two years anyway. While going to a >$1Bn fund would be awesome, I just don't want to work at a "take anyone" fund with bad investment decision making that's going to end up shutting down soon.