Withdrawal Of Return Offer - Not My Fault
I have been caught in a horrible situation. For the prior summer I was a PE SA for a LMM PE shop in the Dallas area. I had a great time and the team did as well. I received a return offer and was the first intern in the firm's history to receive a return offer (of over 25 previous interns). During the internship I even became the primary Analyst on the team (senior to the full time analyst while he was working at a portco). During the internship I even flew to management meetings and attended a board meeting where I proposed spending of $600k and was approved by all LPs.
I had a great time at this LMM PE shop and wanted to return for FT, however a MP recently called me and said there has been a situation at the firm (under NDA) which puts my return offer in jeopardy. The "situation" is not related to me, but inadvertently harms the chances of my return offer. I am graduating in May of 2024 and have not networked heavily because I "knew" where I was going to work. I also missed out on recruiting cycles for all major PE and IB firms (and minor ones as well). I think I'm a great candidate, but the timing has killed me and now I don't know what to do.
Does anyone have any suggestions of what I should do or how I can best navigate recruiting now. I was hoping to start full time in June 2024, but I'm afraid I've missed out on all of the good opportunities. I'm also now open to basically any IB or PE role in NY, TX, and Chicago, however even this criteria may be too narrow giving the timing problem I face.
maybe start reaching out to alumni ASAP, explain your situation, and reach out to your existing network -- it's going to be hard but it will be worth it
I started doing that, but a lot of them are super disconnected from helping people break into IB or PE. Also, I go to a non-target, so there are fewer people than I would like that I can reach out to. A lot are being super nice, but they are analysts or associates and can't do anything other than refer me to the job IF one opens up. They have given great advise, but just keep telling me to reach back out if I see a good position open up at their company.
First of all, what does a "situation at the firm" mean. Is the business having difficulties resulting in the need to cut costs? It's going to be hard to network with people if you don't have a go-to explanation (they will assume you fucked up).
It's a small company and they want to slim down a bit. They still have great performance, but something that happened with another employee is what is causing them to restructure. This is another problem I'm having, I don't know how to explain my situation to people without them thinking that I pissed off a partner. You can PM me if you want.
I'd say
Has to be Step 1 then Step 2 in that order because by doing 2 there's a risk people at your PE fund learn that you're telling everyone that the fund is going under (to simplify).
Don't have any advice but I'm sorry this has happened to you OP.
Tough situation - but you will be fine. Would not recommend focusing on breaking into BB IB or PE at this point, it will just slow you down and be a distraction . Perhaps apply for some MM advisory / Corp banking analyst openings in regional markets - Dallas, Richmond, Charlotte, Miami even - and reaching out directly to some analysts at those firms on LinkedIn introducing yourself. Even better if you can find alums. Be specific about your experience and let them know you have chops. Alternatively, you could consider applying to one-year masters program in accounting or finance and buy yourself some time / leverage that network to try to align with on-cycle recruiting. Most people will be sympathetic to your situation. Good luck!
^ I second the above comment but would add Denver, Kansas City, and rest of Texas to the list of regional cities to consider
If you can't find anything in the MM advisory or corp. banking, I would also apply to corporate development and consulting roles too
Agree with the advice but want to point out that these days many MM investment banks recruit at same pace as BBs and EBs. That means around 18 months before the start of internships roles and around 12 months before the start of full-time roles.
That is to say, at this point you’re looking for “just in time” random openings no matter what scale of bank you target. Might as well be ready to target all types of banks. Had people in my graduating class land MM and even BB roles in April-May of senior year due to random openings. Keep your chin up.
Should I ask the company if they would hire me for 60k or something. I might be able to work it out if I was super cheap. That might give me time to recruit while holding a PE Analyst title, right? I feel like if I recruit for the next cycle without some job, then I'm screwed. Also would someone ask about my current salary for the next position, would it look very bad?
You’re worth more than that man and those guys don’t sound that credible anyway. If you follow some of the recommendations in this thread, you will likely find something more interesting and lucrative. You def don’t wanna start your career at a fund where ppl are running around with their hair on fire.
Yes for sure - why not? You can lateral after and start recruiting basically from day 1, but doing a masters program or starting your career with a job you don’t actually want is more of an uphill battle. Nobody will comp you based on the lower salary you take in this gig anyway. They’ll expect you’re making a typical salary and will comp you based off experience, which it sounds like you’ll actually receive there.
What sector does the PE firm cover? Generalist or is it like tech, consumer, energy, etc. Would be helpful to know because that might make you more competitive for adhoc openings if you can convey a value add from more specific sector experience.
They cover healthcare, industrial manufacturing and consumer staples, but during my time I was mainly working with the HC and manufacturing companies. Good idea though to show sector experience. Thank you for the advise.
Of course - and good luck, nothing should be off the table, apply to anything and everything now.
Out of curiosity, is this firm Trive or Baymark? Reflects really poorly on them that this situation has arisen, regardless of the circumstances.
Did the firm explicitly say that they were planning to withdraw your offer or is there just a risk of that happening?
The "situation" is still being sorted so we won't know for another month or two, but they basically said there is a 99% chance I won't have a return offer (in a much nicer way).
Is the reason they are considering withdrawing your offer simply related to headcount needs or other specific reasons? Ask this as your explanation to other firms depends on the context.
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