PE vs Corp Fin internship
Freshman at community college, transferring for Fall 2020 (don't know where yet.) Currently doing an accounting internship, and wondering what I should spend my summer doing.
I have an interview for an unpaid Private Equity internship, would take me ~45 minutes to get downtown every day. I also have an offer for a $17 an hour (plus perks) regular finance department job right around the corner from my house.
In terms of recruiting upon transfer/getting into IB orgs on campus, how much weight would the PE internship hold over regular corp fin (if any)?
I have done a corp fin internship (during MBA) at one of the biggest tech companies out there. Of your choices, I’d say getting PE internship would help you more longer term than a corp fin internship. Commute times, $17/hr pay is insignificant compared to your entire career which is ahead of you. If you landed a PE internship, do it, get great reviews, build skill sets, develop your network. That will set you up well. Corp fin roles are much easier to get in. Also the work may not be as challenging (lot of times it’s about tracking and reporting results.) Bigger picture - PE internship hands down. Assuming of course that the PE shop is known and can actually give you decent experience.
Seconding this. I've done a paid finance internship and an unpaid PE internship. Got hardly any looks after the finance gig despite it being with an established, reputable company. The PE firm was much smaller and relatively unknown, yet my experience opened many more doors and allowed me to land several FT offers in IB / PE.
Like Anomaly said, money isn't crucial at this point -- skill development, networking, and having PE experience on your resume are much more important IMO. Working hard as an unpaid intern also speaks volumes about your character and desire to break into the industry. Spin this to your advantage in future interviews.
That being said, what's the fund size and reputation? Would it be primarily sourcing, deal execution, or both? What's the background of each team member? (I found it beneficial to be surrounded by former bankers in my internship). Those are some of the factors I'd consider if I were in your situation.
Small company, growth equity with search fund approach (company appoints a CEO, buy and hold). One Analyst, one Associate (both MM M&A beforehand). $50 million in first fund, currently have I think 6 Portfolio companies. Previous interns have been 95% target school UG/MBA. Reviews say “you get what you put in. Can be as much or as little involved as you want.” I’m interested because this company’s advisor/co-founder is a MF PE MD.
I did an internship at a f20 and a PE before my Junior Year summer so I can be a good resource here. Unequivocally, take the Corp Fin role. You will learn about about both finance and the industry. At my PE firm internship (10B+ AUM sector specific), all we did was act as glorified PowerPoint/data/research monkeys. During my IB internship, I used my actual skills I learned from the Corp Fin role almost everyday and rarely used any skills from the PE internships (that I “picked up”. PE in general is slow - 500 deals sourced a year and only 1 acquisition is not unheard of and during the 3 months you’ll be at the desk, you will likely get no valuable experience at all.
Regular finance department
understand that your career is a long term investment. Sacrifice the commute time and the extra spending cash and reap the rewards later on!
I'd recommend the regular finance department job both for the compensation and commute aspect. I think people overhype the utility of private equity and investment banking internships at obscure companies on this forum - know many people that did those internships back to back and still didn't land BB offers for junior year (at targets). Deal flow in finance is monopolized so few people believe you get any meaningful experience in those types of internships. Recruiting is really about how you frame your work experience and weave a narrative about why you took the path you did.
You're just a freshman so no one expecting you to live and breathe banking/pe. What industry is this finance department role in? Your story could be as simple as I'm an accounting major and I was really interested in finance and a particular industry (whatever one this gig is in if it makes sense) so freshman year I did an internship at XYZ, a small Industry company. It was a great experience and I learned XYZ but realized it wasn't as dynamic (or some other attributes more aligned with banking experience) as I wanted it to be so the next summer I tried blah and from that I gained blah blah...and the experiences ultimately lead me to banking which I think would be a good blend of [the aspects I liked from previous experiences and what I felt was missing from them].
Does that make sense? Let me know if you have any questions/if I can clarify something. Personally, I find it a little suss when we interview people who say they've wanted to be an investment banker since day one and never tried anything else vs. people who have a more informed view as to why the role is a good fit based on having other experiences in adjacent (or entirely different) industries.
Proactive outreach, a sound narrative, and prep via the interview guides goes a long way.
This 2x. Really great advice, I’m glad someone knows what they are talking about.
Thanks for the input. The Finance role is with a “Direct to consumer marketing and sales company, focusing on fine art, jewelry, and furniture”. I’m just noticing tons of terrible ratings and scam warnings, but my connection is their chief counsel and i KNOW he’s not like that. kinda confused now.
Yeah this could be spun as leading to an interest in consumer/retail banking.
But are you comfortable sharing the company's name so we can provide better prospective? That's a little concerning
do the corpfin, probably won't have an experience like that again for the rest of your career
what do you mean? an experience so close to my house?
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