Work For Free

I'm thinking about cold emailing some top MF PE funds for an off-cycle in a few months I have spare to kill (got conversion and internships in IB done already).

I know the likelihood of getting an opportunity in one of these funds is bleak when being compensated, however if I could get a 3 month off cycle in a busy period working for free, surely the name on my CV, experience I get, and connections I make will be worth it.

When an MD/Partner reads a cold email of a driven kid saying they'll work for free with a decent amount of XP in the industry, surely they can't turn it down no?
 

Any ideas or suggestions of how to approach this would be appreciated. Thanks.

5 Comments
 

Appreciate the chutzpah, but this is 100% not going to happen. Email smaller shops with the same proposal - like 5-10 man boutique firms.

Also FYI it's not legal to work for free in the US... they either need to pay you at least minimum wage or offer you college credit. Teeny tiny firms don't mind skirting that rule, but MFs are definitely not risking anything by having unpaid workers 

 

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