PE v. Amazon
Hi guys,
Finally narrowed my job search down to two jobs...and I was wondering which you think makes more sense. I understand this forum may be a little biased...
I am graduating undergraduate from one of the best public b-schools schools in the nation.
My one offer is Amazon's Undergraduate Retail Program, which is a pretty cool opportunity where one "owns" part of Amazon's business, and is responsible for growing it. You get exposure to logistics, marketing, vendor/client relations, financials, etc. Many come from the Big-3 consulting firms after B-School into Amazon's retail business (I was talking to one current employee and said an ex-BCG sits behind him, a ex-McKinsey on his right, and a Wharton MBA and a Standard MBA grad are also in his group of 9.) More and more though Amazon is hiring right from undergrad. Amazon, is also in Seattle, a great city, and you start with 30 other hires who (if your lucky) become great friends to go out with, explore the city, etc.
My other offer is with a small PE shop (less than 20 employees with no brand recognition) in a lower-tier city in the middle of the country specializing in one industry. I would be there only analyst hire for the year. The main plus, of course, is getting into PE off the bat, and also getting to soak up MD knowledge, as well as substantial advancement opportunities.
Both are pretty far from home, and I wouldn't know anyone. Unless I absolutely love the work, I think I will go to B-School after 2-3 years and am not sure what I will end up doing, although I would love to get involved in Venture Capital or entrepreneurship / start ups.
I feel like Amazon might look better on a b-school app, but if I wanted to do PE than the the PE experience would definitely help me score an internship / post MBA PE/VC gig?
Any thoughts at all? Thank you very much for your time guys. Really lost here.
Pete
Can you clarify when you say one "owns" a part of the business and you have to grow it? You need to explain this more in detail.
Right, so I might get assigned to video games (somewhat random) and Amazon expects 20 million dollars for the segment I am assigned in video games, and it's my job to hit that number and ideally grow the sales by more than estimates...by maybe signing more vendors, or negotiating better terms. I will be lead on a few accounts..say activision, EA sports, and kunami...and these vendors products are what I am responsible for selling -- to the consumer. So I am in charge of making sure they put their products on Amazon, we get a good price, the page looks good to consumers, we come up with well-targeted advertising. Think brand specialist to some extent.
AMZN sounds pretty cool. I'm rounding off my two year stint in a few months and was just contacted by a recruiter. I'm definitely exploring the opportunity though I'll admit I'd take a reputable PE offer over that any day... currently in the running for a growing regional office for a >$3 bn PE fund.
Tough call with a smaller shop though...
Just the way you describe the two positions I thnk you want to go amazon and you should. Who knows you may kill it "owning" a part of amazon and be put on a fast track in a growing company.
Depending on what you want to do afterward, but amazon has pretty solid bschool placement from what I've heard and Seattle is a great city. If you're joining with a class of 30 other people then you'll have a solid network of people to hang out with outside of work. I interviewed and lived there back in the day so pm me if you have any questions.
Go with Amazon, it will help you out in the long run.
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