Doing a PE internship during my break before starting Banking FT?
I just graduated a semester early from college and will have a 6-month gap before starting FT as an analyst at a BB coverage group. I've recently reached out to a few smaller PE shops in my city (connections I made while working for a boutique IB here) about potentially doing an off-cycle internship for a few months. To my surprise, a lot of them were very interested and willing to take an intern for the next "semester". Now, I'm having an internal battle of what to do going forward. I know that I want to pursue PE after banking, so it of course makes sense to get more experience that I can leverage during recruiting in a year. On the other hand, a lot of the funds that I talked to sounded not just interested, but eager to get some additional help and kept asking if, for example, I would be willing to work 60+ hours a week. My fear is that I will be exhausted before I even hit the desk next June, especially because my group is incredibly busy right now and analysts have been pulling horrible hours this year. Would love to hear some thoughts of what you guys might do if you were in my position.
What about doing a 3-month internship? You'd have time to rest afterwards. Although I understand many shops prefer longer internships.
But I would agree it's not worth it to arrive exhausted at the BB. Hit the gym, travel if COVID allows, play golf, just enjoy the free time.
EDIT: I can't stress enough how important I think hitting the gym is before you start working. If you don't begin your analyst stint being fit with good habits, it's going to be a disaster. You'll find it very difficult to start a workout routine.