Curious to see how the process differs if you did not recruit during your first year and decided you want to do PE during your 2nd year. How much does top/mid bucket make a difference when talking to recruiters as a 2nd year? Should you disclose your base and bonus if it isn't the highest bucket?
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I know quite a few analysts who recruited as second year analysts at my bank and have done very well. As long as you did not recruit as a first year (and failed), you should be okay.
Agree with the point above. In my experience, if you didn't recruit year 1, there is no major difference recruiting year 2. I recruited in year 2. I would expect a 2nd year to have deal experience though. Also, I know people who inflated the bonus they received when communicating with headhunters. I am not suggesting you do this. I'm only giving you what I know based on my experience. I've seen folks lie to headhunters about ranking/bonus and still find good roles in PE and HF. I'm not entirely sure how a HH can confirm any bonus figure you give them. They definitely can't call your bank and ask for confidential info like that. Also, at my BB, bonus could vary widely from group to group and even rank sometimes. Therefore, adding an extra 5k-10k relative to another analyst at your bank isn't really a justification you would be lying. Again, I'm not suggesting you do this. Just saying I know folks who have lied and turned out fine.
Thanks man this is helpful. A follow-up: I was told I'm middle bucket. Would it be more wise to simply tell recruiters that or should I say I'm not comfortable sharing that information at all? What kind of impact would that have?
Recruiting is too competitive. Most analysts will give an answer to that question versus saying "I'm not comfortable sharing that". It's a tough call. I'm a big fan of honesty is always the best policy, but I understand sometimes you have to play the game to get ahead. I was fortunate enough to have some good HH relationships and job performance so I didn't need to lie. You need to sit back and form a realistic view on your candidacy. If you have a high GPA, high SAT/GMAT, went to H/Y/P, and work at a top group at GS/MS (M&A, TMT, etc.) I would say being honest about being middle bucket probably wouldn't hurt you with a HH. I would bet the HH would still send you good opportunities. Conversely, if you’re middle bucket from an underrepresented non-target school, lackluster GPA and work at a lower tier bank, I would bet the HH wouldn’t show you as much favor as you wish. I have one real world example with my friend. He went to a great undergrad finance program (Michigan/Notre Dame/Virginia) and we interned the same summer at GS/JPM/MS/BofA. Fast forward to full-time, he ended up getting bottom bucket. So bad I think his bonus had to be less than $10k. He was put on some developmental program at our BB. I guess something so they have a good paper trail before they fire you. He straight up lied to headhunters. What did he have to lose? If he had have told any headhunter he was bottom bucket, they would have canned him immediately. He’s at a mid-tier HF now. This is the only case that I can speak to from my personal experience. I’m sure there are horrible stories with people who lied to HHs and were burned, but my buddy was not.
The biggest risk with lying about performance relates to your recommendations. The street is small. Most buyside shops will call your IB team as a final check. If you say you’re ranked 2nd in your group and the PE shop calls your group to check, you might have just screwed yourself. Luckily, in my experience, most PE shops asked for my recommendation contacts. I usually provided an MD and my staffer. I had super great relationships with them and they backed me hard. Regardless of my rank they would have pushed for me to get a role if anyone had called. I have a great relationship with my old BB group so if a candidate at my PE shop came from the same IB group, I would call their contacts out of formality, but I would also call my old bros the candidate didn’t list as well.
I recruited both year 1 and 2. I interviewed with a mega fund during my first year and totally fucked it up so I told recruiters I need more time and will reach out when ready.
if you are honest, sincere and up front, year 1 or 2 won't make much of a difference but don't try to "out smart" recruiters, they will see right through it.
I spoke to recruiters my first year, didn't really pursue it too hard besides initial introductions, and ultimately felt I wasn't prepared enough to actually take any interviews. It's been over a year now, and the 2nd years in my firm are starting to see a couple opportunities slip into the mix now, but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near as crazy as first year opportunities. I'm sure it's just because there isn't a cycle, but I've heard 2nd year roles for the following summer tend to fall in the Jan-April months for heavy recruiting - we'll see though. Anxiety is through the roof.
I recruited in year two because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do during year 1 and wanted to focus on doing well in my analyst role. I actually thought recruiting as a 2nd year was beneficial for a number of reasons. There were more opportunities available as a second year (at least in the middle-market) because I was invited to interview with firms interviewing 1st years and firms looking for a more experienced analyst. Another benefit of recruiting during your second year is you will learn a lot during your first year and get good deal experience which will make you stand out against the first years interviewing. Further, if you are a good analyst, over that year you will develop good rapport with the senior bankers in your group and hopefully push yourself to the top of your analyst class. When I recruited as a second year I had the third year offer in the bag and the senior bankers had talked to me about the associate promotion which I was able to speak about in interviews. Senior bankers also got me several of my PE interviews.
I would be careful lying about your bucket/bonus, the headhunter and the PE firm will call your team to discuss your performance. The PE firm I work at now actually called all 3 references I gave them. With that said, if your bank doesn't give you a rank (my BB didn't) I would just say you got good feedback and you think you were a mid-top bucket performer in your class.
I skipped recruiting year 1 and am doing recruiting now as a second year. Still seeing a bunch of opportunities come through and am having good success w/ initial interviews.
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