Private Equity Internship _ Asking to return?

This summer I interned with a PE firm in the Hartford, CT area, with their HQ in NYC (visited a few times). It was a 10 week unpaid program, that was roughly a 25 minute commute. At the orientation, and once more in the early summer, there was an emphasis on retaining select interns to work PT during the semester. Unfortunately, NONE of the 6 interns in the NYC office, and neither I nor the other intern received offers from the CT office.

2 summers ago, my friend interned with the firm, and both he and the other intern received offers. Surprisingly, they both denied them. I'm wondering if this had anything to do with the shop's decision to not extend any opportunities this year?

More importantly, I'm wondering if it would be out of line to ask this firm for paid work over winter break? I always work during the semesters and was really anticipating an offer to stay. Even though it was unpaid, I stayed until the last person left on some days, and even took advantage of doing a Training the Street type program to show I'm worth something.

Again, would I be out of line to ask to come and work with them over winter break/future semester? If so, how would I ask for the opportunity?

4 Comments
 

Why can't you just ask your friend the reason he denied the offer, that should give a good idea of he firm's culture/profile. It will also help you decide whether or not it is worth asking for another internship. BTW, two unpaid internships are frowned upon, at least at our firm.

 

So because it's a PE shop that funds their own startups, its not a structured environment, which makes it stressful. Either way, he had a bad time with them. During my experience, there was a few more senior members on the team who acted as mentors. My friend now says that declining the offer was one of his biggest life regrets.

 

Dolorum cupiditate molestiae a mollitia. Ea distinctio incidunt dicta quaerat. Sed et quia similique. Sit cum expedita quaerat dolore et velit saepe repellendus. Iusto dolor quis ex dolorem quod.

Et quis nisi animi accusantium commodi quisquam est. Laboriosam dolorem aut sed fugiat. Odit architecto debitis nihil dolorum unde mollitia fuga. Voluptatem minima sunt alias cumque commodi id.

Dicta libero libero vel praesentium laboriosam consequatur placeat. Officia quibusdam rerum voluptatum. Debitis ad animi possimus suscipit ad. Ipsam asperiores voluptatem corrupti ut et qui. Ducimus nisi voluptas sit voluptatem omnis. Corrupti tenetur molestias cupiditate. Eum quo modi perspiciatis fugiat. Sed velit et qui et hic doloribus.

Cum autem est neque et. Id sed repellat aut aspernatur aspernatur et voluptas quas.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”