Left MF on mutual terms after ~2yrs. Need help on recruiting issues.
Long story short, I made a bad career move. I left a job where I was a top performer to join a MF, and I realized pretty quickly it was the wrong fit in every way. After about two years we agreed it made sense for me to move on, and it was genuinely mutual.
I’ve been taking some time off since then to reset, which I needed. But now that I’m back out there, I keep running into the same two issues:
First, every recruiter and every firm wants to know why I left. Second, once I explain (and honestly, most of them already know the answer before they ask), they want references and inevitably mention that the prospective firm knows people at my old fund. So the question becomes: what happens when they make that call?
The reality is I wasn’t bad at my last fund, but I wasn’t great either. There was an influential MD in my group that I didn't mesh with, and he had it out for my pretty bad. This guy is notorious for driving people to quit, but he is a hard worker and brings in a lot of deals, so such is life. They could tell my heart wasn’t in it, and I was slowly losing steam. They told me they weren’t going to fire me, but they weren’t going to promote me either. It was just a bad fit.
The frustrating part is I spent years building real career equity, and now it feels like none of that matters. Every conversation just circles back to why I didn’t like this one place and what they’ll say about me.
Which I already know... isn't great.
If it truly didn’t end on bad terms like you say, no MD (and most people in general) aren’t going to go out of there way to bad mouth a junior during references. Unless you were truly a problem and just didn’t do work when staffed or embarrassed him in a meeting, you’ll be fine. At worst, they’ll give an honest assessment about where you can improve but that’s it. The only time I’ve ever seen a senior truly drag someone on their way out was when a guy literally just didn’t show up to work or respond and ghosted. They cycle associates out every year and know the drill, so it sounds like you just have to get past the irrational fear that everyone has after leaving a job early in their career. It may still be unlikely you lateral to another MF or UMM fund, but fear of your reference shouldn’t be what stops you from landing another job. The current labor market is a different story.
Thanks for your response. I mean, I wouldn't call it good terms, and I wouldn't call it bad terms. Without doxxing myself, I sent the guy that didn't like me at my fund an email trying to reconcile our differences and figure out how we could make things work, or not work, and a few days later, I received a sit down where things went from hey ur fine here but there's not a lot of opportunity, to yeah - this is definitley not going to work out, very quickly. So I mean, I wouldn't say it ended great? But at the same time, they would've kept me forever because I could do the work had i just shut up. Now why didn't I recruit? quite honestly, I thought I wasn't going to go back into the industry after this experience. But I want to give it another shot at a hopefully better culture having learned what I know now and having been a strong performer at my prior fund. Sorry for the jumbled rant, I just don't have anyone to talk to about this.. and it's really been weighing on my mental health.
Now re reading this, I guess it was semi bad terms.
Keep in mind most megafunds are pretty protective of where their Associates exit to. It’s highly undesirable if someone does 2 years at a MF program and doesn’t land on their feet.
I’ve seen MF get unsanctioned reference checks on definitively bad Associates (what someone said above, blatantly didn’t do work and ghosted on emails) and still didn’t get torpedoed on back channel references bc we generally didn’t want a datapoint on the street where someone came here, did 2 years, and ended up on a worse position after. It’s a bad look for all involved.
Second, like all interviewing/recruiting, it’s a marketing exercise. You’re presenting yourself in the best light possible. Figure out the right narrative and you shouldn’t have an issue so long as you don’t have a blood feud with your former team.
Third, one thing you’re probably dealing with and you may not be aware is that the MF world does not have much respect for anyone who takes their foot off the gas. Rightly or wrongly, having to take a break from work after only being out of school for 4 years comes off as soft and not cut from the MF cloth. I’m at a MF and we’ve had these same convos about kids that have your story. The reaction is always: “what? Wasn’t he doing keg stands one presidential term ago? And now he needs a break because work hard? There are people that come back from tours in Kandahar Province and don’t take off their boots before they get back out there again.” Not arguing the validity of that take, but that is the MF take to be certain. Maybe if you’re going after MM/LMM opportunities they view things in a more sensible way, I don’t know.
Agreed and not to go sidetrack but why historically many associates have gone to go get an MBA. However, with the job market being poor and the value proposition of MBA heavily declining if you aren't sponsored + want to go back to another MF its tough to catch a break if you're burnt out.
After this experience I would never, ever go back to another MF. Either hedge fund, small entrepreneurial team or bust. Having experienced both I can firmly say I prefer the latter.
Also, thank you both for your thoughtful and insightful responses.
Regarding taking your gas off the pedal, I actually acquired half of a small biz after leaving ($2m of rev) and have since basically rebuilt the entire company into a modern machine.
So I haven't been doing keg stands and f'ing off, but, I'd definitely like to get back into the game.
I think unfortunately I made 2 very bad decisions in the past 3 years which has culminated to this point. It's hard to look at the past in my shoes. Will be a bitch to dig myself out. Hindsight is 2020.
That’s helpful context.
My opinion only but: HFs give very few fucks, as in zero, about anything other than if you’re a money maker or atleast if you can hep a money maker make money until you yourself become a money maker. You could be a crack addicted HIV+ one legged former school shooter, if you do good work and have good ideas, they will hire you.
If anything they probably respect someone for telling the MF world to fuck off.
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