Resume Gap after 2.5 Years in PE
For all my VPs / Principals out there handling Aso recruiting - how long of a resume gap is acceptable before it becomes a red flag? Was laid off at year end after 2.5 years at a LMM fund and am still looking for a role. Have been recruiting for Sr Aso / Lateral Aso roles and though I have made it to final rounds in a few of the processes I’ve been in, all have ended very unfortunately (1 froze recruiting, 1 the partners decided my resume wasn’t what they wanted and chose not to meet with me, and 1 gave me a verbal offer then reneged on it 3 weeks later bc they found MBA interns - seriously, can’t make this up).
As we approach June (month 6 of unemployment) I am beginning to wonder if I need to start exploring other options (corp dev, banking, etc). I truly enjoy PE and am willing to hold out a few more months but am unsure if the resume gap makes that unrealistic.
I’d say that if you are looking to lateral and ‘re-do’ your associate years, you can have quite a lengthy break, maybe even as much as one year assuming your experience is directly relevant for the funds you’re interviewing at (industry / size wise). If you’re getting to the end of processes it means people are receptive to your background, even if they don’t ultimately give you an offer. Your experience is consistent with a bunch of people I’ve been working with who seem to get to the end of processes only for firms to change their mind as to what they are looking for. Ridiculous and unprofessional but oddly common at the moment.
Very helpful, thank you. Hate to hear that I’m not the only one who has experienced this…the lack of professionalism is disappointing
This goes with everything but if you’re making it to final rounds every time at that point it’s a fit issue and not a background issue.
Do you have internal support in these processes beforehand? You’ll land something something will stick but you may need to go the extra mile here.
If you were getting dinged first and second round I’d tell you your interviewing skills need improvement. That’s not the case.
If you know someone well at one of these companies ask for feedback as to what happened.
As someone who painstakingly was looking in market for 1-1.5 years most recently, the market environment has been horrible & it’s not your fault. Some folks will ding you for it (see: financé cunts), and others will understand (see: normal humans who work in financé). It’s still slow out there, but investment roles, as opposed to BD or IR, tend to lag a heating up market - and the market is definitely improving.
One year is very likely on timeline, after that, you should start evaluating alternative fits as a backup plan & know that “the path” is bullshit. It’s not real.
Good luck!
Did you end up landing something? I remember your post from 2022. Similar background and circumstances as you so curious if there’s a success story here!
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