Private Equity Recruitment (Headhunter) - London

I noticed these guys, Private Equity Recruitment (PER), have an option to apply for roles they're recruiting for directly on their site. Just wondering if anyone has done this and if anything has come of it?

Thus far my interaction with headhunters has required me to speak to them over the phone to learn what roles they currently have, so am somewhat's sceptical of PER's approach.

I ask especially because PER have a lot attractive roles on their site (there were about 10 roles that interested me at first glance), and I feel like the more roles you go for the less likely they are to consider your applications - or is this an unfounded belief?

 

They're solid. I'd admit i don't have a profile headhunters are drawn to, but they got me in front of a top name

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

I've had pretty good experiences with PER, although my interaction with them was the more conventional chat on the phone / talk about roles I'm interested in. They do have solid roles though.

Should be fine to apply for multiple roles as long as they are similar. In any case, with any recruiter you need to be fairly focused on the type of roles you go for, otherwise no one will take you seriously.

 

they have by far the most opportunities of any recruiters in London. I had fantastic experience with them and was in close contact with a recruiter in london and munich, but I have heard from others that it can be hard to "get into the system" if they feel you don't tick all the boxes of a top candidate (it's probably the same for all headhunters though).

Once you've had a initial chat with a recruiter, you should apply to all roles that fit your criteria as they often will rely on applications to built resume books (ie. they might proactively only go to candidates directly if they don't have enough applications from people they know or the client has very specific requirements).

 

Thanks a ton for all the responses guys!

You know you've been working too hard when you stop dreaming about bottles of champagne and hordes of naked women, and start dreaming about conditional formatting and circular references.
 

Here's something to start with.

Private Equity Recruitment (www.perecruit.com) I know they used to recruit for grads a couple of years back.

Cornell Partnership (www.cornellpartnership.com) Havn't ever dealed with them but they say they do grad recruiting on their website.

You are right in saying that PE rarely recruits from grads, they usually expect one to three years IB or consulting.

 

As far as I'm aware the Cornell Partnership are some of the better guys for this. From personal experience their employees are very nice too which makes the whole process bearable :)

 

Thank you for your comment, above_and_beyond. I have contemplated doing a Masters in a target university but I was afraid it would over-qualify me for an analyst. Would I recruit differently than if I was applying straight after bachelors?

Another more common path would be to do 2 years of IB in a BB or Boutique before jumping to PE, but I also don't know how to break into that either? Would doing a MSc at Oxbridge/LSE be the solution to that as well?

 

I've been scouring the forums and I've seen a lot of people with my similar situation going for MSc in Finance. Can I ask why did you recommend Oxbridge, LSE over LBS? I am aware that LBS is post-exp, but I was thinking how I could do 2-3 years of IBD/PE locally or in the gulf before jumping to a Masters in Finance at LBS. I'd rather skip going in as an analyst in IBD and prefer to do go for PE immediately. What are your thoughts on this?

 
Best Response

I recommended Oxbridge / LSE since you wrote that you will soon graduate from your Bachelor's degree and these programs are aimed at people like you (pre-experience). Some people manage to get into PE straight after the MSc from these programs, so in case that you already have some relevant work experience (IBD, PE, VC, etc internships), it's definitely possible (btw, even firms such as Blackstone take some analysts straight after university). I'm not saying that one of these programs (Oxbridge, LSE, LBS) is better than the other since all will give you a serious shot at IBD and PE.

Doing 2-3 years of IBD / PE in the Middle East + LBS MFin is definitely a viable path to PE as well.

 

The path in London is similar, with a few notable differences:

  1. The number of PE jobs in London is far less than the US - often times, large PE firms from the US have "satellite" offices in the UK, and by definition have a lesser need for junior people. As a result, getting in can be more difficult.

  2. Unlike the US, where it is generally accepted that you have to catch the PE-boat after your 2nd year at a bank, its not uncommon in the UK to get a PE job after your 3rd year, or even 1st/2nd year as an Associate. The age and experience of Associates in the UK tends to be higher on average - many who come from banks could possibly also have been in other jobs before joining the banks.

  3. The flip side of the above is that there is less of an emphasis on B-school here. If you manage to get in, and are good, its quite possible to move up over the years without having to go to B-school. Obviously, this varies from place to place - notably, if you join an American PE firm, they're more likely to follow the American model. But if you join a European fund, they are more flexible (but will almost most definitely pay less as well).

  4. People going to B-school here, ie LBS or Insead, tend also to be older - this is not your typical 2+2 year students - most have a more varied, longer work experience.

  5. And lastly, a very important trait you need these days is European languages. The UK buyout market is relatively small. Unless you join a pure-play UK buyout fund (only a handful), most will be Pan-European. As a result, it will require travel and sourcing in other parts of Europe, where German, Dutch, Spanish. French, Italian, Russian language skills become a must-have.

Hope this helps.

 
UK_InvestmentProfessional:

The path in London is similar, with a few notable differences:

1. The number of PE jobs in London is far less than the US - often times, large PE firms from the US have "satellite" offices in the UK, and by definition have a lesser need for junior people. As a result, getting in can be more difficult.

2. Unlike the US, where it is generally accepted that you have to catch the PE-boat after your 2nd year at a bank, its not uncommon in the UK to get a PE job after your 3rd year, or even 1st/2nd year as an Associate. The age and experience of Associates in the UK tends to be higher on average - many who come from banks could possibly also have been in other jobs before joining the banks.

3. The flip side of the above is that there is less of an emphasis on B-school here. If you manage to get in, and are good, its quite possible to move up over the years without having to go to B-school. Obviously, this varies from place to place - notably, if you join an American PE firm, they're more likely to follow the American model. But if you join a European fund, they are more flexible (but will almost most definitely pay less as well).

4. People going to B-school here, ie LBS or Insead, tend also to be older - this is not your typical 2+2 year students - most have a more varied, longer work experience.

5. And lastly, a very important trait you need these days is European languages. The UK buyout market is relatively small. Unless you join a pure-play UK buyout fund (only a handful), most will be Pan-European. As a result, it will require travel and sourcing in other parts of Europe, where German, Dutch, Spanish. French, Italian, Russian language skills become a must-have.

Hope this helps.

Spot on.

 

There are still a ton of PE seats in London. Lots of European PEs like Permira, Apax, CVC, Chaterhouse, Bridgepoint, 3i, and all the large US PEs have a very big presence as well. A lot of the Canadian pension funds with PE teams are also expanding a lot in London (CPP, OMERS, Teachers')

Two main differences vs US in my view are: 1) Recruiting window is wider - you can make the move anywhere from 2nd year analyst to 3rd year associate 2) Internal promotion is a lot more common, so there is little expectation for you to do 2 years and leave for MBA

 

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