Hey guys,
Would appreciate some advice from the awesome community here. I'm headed to Darden MBA this year and am trying to determine whether it makes sense to try and recruit for PE straight out of school.
My background:
-H/Y/P 2011 undergrad (non-business major)
-Worked in academic research then went into product management for 2 years
-Switched to finance after passing CFA level 1 and will be wrapping up a 6 month IB analyst position at a regional middle market m&a boutique focsued on industrials
-Going to Darden on full merit scholarship
Questions:
(1) In the second year of MBA, what is the general time frame for PE recruiting? My understanding is that recruiting for PE summer internships happens much later (i.e., Feb to May) than for full time positions (i.e., Aug & Sept).
(2) If I don't go the PE route immediately and go to a bulge bracket, where are the PE entry points for non-IB analyst hires? Do they hire banking associates for VP roles?
So you've only done IB for 6 months? For a regional boutique?? You basically have zero chance to be hired post-MBA for PE. I don't want to say it's "impossible", but it almost is. Think about it, you're going to compete against people with 2+ yrs of IB, 2+ yrs of PE experience pre-MBA. Why would PE firms hire you over those guys?
Let's talk about more realistic options. Most realistic is for you to get post-MBA IB jobs. And you will not be hired as a VP, you will be hired as an associate. From there, if you're still interested in PE, work hard, get into the right/best group and then network like crazy to get to a PE firm.
If you're an associate in IB, you will not be hired as a VP in PE. You'll likely have to "start over" and be an experienced associate hire. VPs / Principals at PE firms are expected to lead the entire deal process on their own. What makes you think the associate experience at an IB will get you anywhere near prepared for that?
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I agree with the quote above, you're going to be a real real longshot for a Post MBA PE position. It might be helpful to look at the former Darden grads who have made it into PE, what have their backgrounds been like?
For the post part if you haven't done PE before B school you're not going to be able to do it on the way out. As mentioned above I think your best bet is to
I have a few anecdotal evidences of super sharp guys that don't have PE background going to B school(either Harvard or Stanford) with the desire to make it into PE after and neither of them have had any success. Anyways it's not impossible but you have a pretty big task ahead of you. Best of luck.
IBD - > Top 5 MBA -> Trying to get to PE (Originally Posted: 03/07/2014)
All,
Had a question regarding post-MBA private equity for individuals with no previous private equity experience.
Assuming the individual had two/three years of experience at a top BB IBD (GS/MS/JPM), what previous group would be most beneficial for breaking into well regarded middle-market and largecap PE firms?
Also assume for whatever reason this individual did not participate in pre-MBA recruiting, or had received limited offers or no offers in their second year / third years and elected to go straight to b school.
At these firms, would a generalist M&A background (JPM/MS) be most desirable? Or would a top GS industry group (TMT, FIG, Industrials, Sponsors) trump the generalist M&A group for recruiting? Or is it really splitting hairs?
Thanks
splitting hairs
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