Holding a Position in a PE Club as an IB Undergrad?

Hi fellow monkeys,

I am a BBA at a target school. If I am aiming for investment banking, would it be ok to be a part of the Private Equity Club at my school? I don't want the interviewer to think that I am really aiming for PE. I am actually interested in both IB and PE.

Thanks!

10 Comments
 

Very risky move that in my experience usually backfires. I made the unfortunate mistake of playing a sport in college. During my interviews, all my interviewers said, "you could have been reading Rosenbaum instead of playing sport; why you were not reading Rosenbaum during this ttime?" I had no explanantion. Now I work in ops for Piper Jefferie. Learn from my mistakes. You will want to demonstrate you are 100% committed to IBD 100% of the time. Spread comps while eating your meals (should aim for 5 companies per), come up with new valuation techniques you can talk about. Interviewers will lap that shit up. They'll love you, man.

 
Best Response

OP, don't do it, it's not worth the risk for just another resume point. I joined the Accounting Society in my junior year of college because I wanted to hedge my bets and do Big 4 if I couldn't land a summer analyst position that year. I actually ended up getting an interview with Moelis & Co, which was pretty heavy on the technicals. The fit questions went great but apparently I did too well on the accounting questions and the guy got suspicious. Towards the end, he pulled out my resume again and went over it while I fidgeted nervously. When he got to the part that said "Treasurer, Accounting Society", his face turned red and I could swear his hand started shaking. He slowly looked up at me with eyes filled with pure rage and I was so scared I didn't want the job anymore. I thought he was going to kill me. I knew at that moment, I was done. I felt mortal danger. I excused myself and hastily exited the building before the other bankers caught on. Some of them gave me sideways glances. I think they could smell the accounting. I never heard from Moelis & Company ever again, nor any of the other banks I interviewed at after intentionally flunking all of the technical questions. I got a job with PricewaterHouse Coopers, but accounting was not prestigious enough for me. I'm now working at McDonalds toasting buns. OP, please listen, do not fall for the same mistakes I did. Private Equity might be more prestigious than accounting, but if you divide your ambition, you are too weak for investment banking. You can't fool them. It might too late. Maybe they already know.

 
"Epicer"

OP, don't do it, it's not worth the risk for just another resume point. I joined the Accounting Society in my junior year of college because I wanted to hedge my bets and do Big 4 if I couldn't land a summer analyst position that year. I actually ended up getting an interview with Moelis & Co, which was pretty heavy on the technicals. The fit questions went great but apparently I did too well on the accounting questions and the guy got suspicious. Towards the end, he pulled out my resume again and went over it while I fidgeted nervously. When he got to the part that said "Treasurer, Accounting Society", his face turned red and I could swear his hand started shaking. He slowly looked up at me with eyes filled with pure rage and I was so scared I didn't want the job anymore. I thought he was going to kill me. I knew at that moment, I was done. I felt mortal danger. I excused myself and hastily exited the building before the other bankers caught on. Some of them gave me sideways glances. I think they could smell the accounting. I never heard from Moelis & Company ever again, nor any of the other banks I interviewed at after intentionally flunking all of the technical questions. I got a job with PricewaterHouse Coopers, but accounting was not prestigious enough for me. I'm now working at McDonalds toasting buns. OP, please listen, do not fall for the same mistakes I did. Private Equity might be more prestigious than accounting, but if you divide your ambition, you are too weak for investment banking. You can't fool them. It might too late. Maybe they already know.

haha - well done.

 
"Entrepreneur100"

I have got to admit Epicer, that was pretty funny. Any other advice?

There is an understanding that after two years as analyst you will have choices to make and no one will question it. There should not be any concern about this whatsoever.
Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 
"Entrepreneur100"

But wouldn't the PE position easily show that I am trying to move to PE after a couple of years? Wouldn't banks or any company for that matter, want people who are committed?

I feel like we're stuck in a loop...

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Quos et aperiam voluptas reprehenderit fugit facilis laudantium. Beatae rerum sed nostrum est. Amet rem distinctio ut laudantium. Illo ex deleniti autem veritatis. Optio iure exercitationem assumenda dignissimos. Consequuntur est quisquam quae maiores magni. Corrupti libero et deserunt qui maxime quo. Tempora vitae inventore accusantium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”