Offered another year at my firm, but considering leaving. Am I making a mistake?
Background information: MM PE firm, have a senior associate title, been with my firm for 3 years and have 4 years of buyside associate/Senior associate expertise, comp is slightly below market but hours aren’t too bad (60ish) and I don’t mind the team.
My points of frustration: most junior member on all my portcos and deal teams (maybe my ego is getting in the way but I find myself having to take care of higher level responsibilities while the person staffed above me and has 1 year more of experience creates more work and it has started to wear on my me), frustrated I don’t have have more of a commitment / defined path to VP at this point, just general burnout and questioning if I really like the industry enough to stay (although I’m not 100% sure what else I would do), and of course would want more comp.
My hesitations of quitting are: I’ve spent 3 years in seat and have built goodwill and trust with my team so this may be my best path to seniority in PE and not sure I want to go through the stress of building that relationship in another PE seat, uncertainty of what I want to do next and if the grass isn’t always greener
My strategy is to decline offer to stay and tell them I’m seeking more of a promotion at this stage and see how they respond. I am okay if they let me walk.
Is my decision and strategy justified?
Does your firm have a standard timeline for making VP? Have they communicated at all how many SA years they expect for it to be possible?
I wouldn't say there is a standard since it is a small firm and not many people have been promoted to VP. But historically, I would say 2 - 3 years at a Senior Associate level before promotion. They have not communicated a timeline for me. I am also wondering if there simply may not be enough room for me as there are a few more people in front of me that will have a chance at making VP level, and capital deployment hasn't been great recently (although that is true for the industry).
Do you have a backup if they let you walk? Why not just take the 1 yr and start recruiting. Will give you a good sense of what else is out there if you aren’t happy.
If I turn down the offer, I would have another 6 months to find a new role before I am out of a job, but they want to know sooner than later so they can backfill for me. Accepting the additional year would take me through mid-year 2026. I've thought about taking the 1-year and recruiting, but I don't want to burn any bridges since half my work experience is with this firm and I want to protect my future recs.
Instead of declining the offer, I think I'll just ask for more clarity before making a decision.
If there’s room upwards and you’re truly okay with walking then I see no problem standing your ground.
Just make sure you mean what you say and you are prepared to walk / go elsewhere.
Not a good sign IMO if they are just holding you back to do grunt work for no reason.
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