Apply for PE position without M&A transaction experience

I am currently a second year analyst in a bulge bracket bank based in HK and considering moving to a PE firm. Understand that most PE firms look for candidates with MA transaction experience. However, all the deals i have worked on or am working on are IPOs... Will that be a deal breaker?

 
 

It will be somewhat difficult as working in PE is all about valuing potential companies for your company's portfolio. Doing projections do help as it is a part of valuation.

 

If I were you I'd go into computer programming

Still not sure if I want to spend the next 30+ years grinding away in corporate finance and the WSO dream chase or look to have enough passive income to live simply and work minimally.
 

Network. Your chances at any serious PE firm are very, very slim without doing banking or consulting at a top place, so if I were you I'd start by trying to network into one of those industries (banking is the more traditional path, but consulting at McK/Bain/BCG can get you into some PE firms). People do come in from corporate development, but that's rare, and it's possible to lateral in from other positions in industry, but that's usually at the partner level.

Also, why is your name a misspelling of Jerome Kohlberg? If it's not a bad joke, you might want to work on your attention to detail.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

Focus first on becoming an absolute master at consulting case interviews. Your connection and potential interview at McK is likely your best shot at getting into PE if you could pull it off.

Don't worry about PE right now, focus first on getting as good a job as you can - network your ass off, get involved in some ECs (maybe too late), etc etc.

 
Best Response

You don't need MS M&A or GS TMT to get into PE, maybe KKR, but that's not really an option in your case. If I were you I would be trying to get into an analyst program at a solid MM firm (HLHZ, HW, Baird) and then try and lateral over to a MM PE firm after a couple of years. The process might be different in India then here so I would reach out to some professionals in the industry out there and ask there advice. Depending on what year you are, it may be to late to break into an analyst program at one of the banks I previously mentioned. If you are a senior, get your ass on the phone and start networking and try and get a gig at a boutique or any MM firm and then try and lateral to a better firm after a year or so and then you can start focusing on PE. A lot of the top MM firms place really well into MM PE because analysts primarily focus on MM M&A which transfers over very well.

 

Check out caseinterview.com, the Vault Guide to Consulting Interviews, and Case in Point. Case in Point is targeted towards MBA students and is overcomplicated, IMO.

I agree with all of the people who are saying that McK is the way to go, but don't put all your eggs in that basket. I know you really want to do PE, but keep in mind that the chances of you landing 1 specific job are pretty tough. Work your ass off and see if you can get it, but apply for other stuff as well.

 

If you end up working at a large corporation in their finance dept, you can always use that to get into a decent bschool and then shoot for PE from there.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

of yourse you will have exit options if you work in an industry group. Goldman doesn't have an M&A product group but their analysts tend to place well in PE.

The key is joining a strong group with a solid deal flow.

 

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