BX London - How to break in?
I am currently an undergrad at a target school in the UK with offers for top investment banks and good grades. I am wanting to break into BX out of undergrad and the process of which I am not fully certain how. I don't come from the best background so don't really have a network that expands to BX to leverage.
My initial thoughts to approach would be to:
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Cold email a few seniors with common interests to try to get a phone call then work from there.
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Email HR to enquire when apps open and forward my CV.
Apart from this I don't really know of much else to work with. Any advice AT ALL in approaching something like this, from either US students where networking is a lot more prevalent, or from UK professionals who have managed to break into top firms would be extremely appreciated.
Thank you.
Your CV won't be forwarded just because you've emailed HR. And you'd need a very compelling "common interest" to get a response from anyone senior - can't imagine anyone's particularly thrilled to get home and see an email from a student who claims to have loved the firm's recapitalisation of last mile logistics assets.
If you want to break into BX - just work hard on your summer internship and make sure you have some concrete experience in time for when interviews roll around in September.
I see, thank you for taking the time to reply.
The main issue isn't getting the offer on the whole. It is more getting the foot in the door to interview. Do you not think that a measure e.g. showing your eagerness to HR to be apart of the firm is a differentiator in any way?
Surely it's not shameful to seem happy to join and excited even pre-opening of the SA role no?
Absolutely not a good strategy.
In the UK, unless you have some exceptional connections you won't be fast-forwarded into an interview. HR will forget your name 5 minutes after replying to your email + you don't even know if the same HR person will be reviewing your application anyway.
Camembert said it best. Just do well in your SA and apply in the next recruitment cycle. Know how to answer the tests, questions etc etc. Or I guess to try and find a connection, but unless your dad golfs with an MD in RX, might be harder said than done.
Ehhh I worked on that recap as an intern
Seniors are not very likely to answer to your email, specially if you don't share anything in your background with them. I think that the best option is to reach out to current analyst or associates that come from your uni and ask them about they process or whatever you want to know about BX (they can refer you if they like you and you can also reach back when applications open). Emailing HR is probably not the best idea, you are just going to flood their emails without adding too much...
real answer
to maximise your chances: speak at least one European language, go to a target school, have strong name-brand experiences, and ace the tests
Thank you!
Agree with others that emailing HR is a complete waste of time. The only thing they can help you with is answering questions about the process / timeline but even on those questions, they will likely just refer you to the website.
There are A LOT of people who go to a target and who have good grades. Simply going to a target and having good grades does not guarantee anything, especially not at BX LDN where there are very few spots. Get an internship at GS/MS/JPM, have great grades and great extracurriculars. Even then your chances of getting a FT position at BX are extremely slim but that's the best approach to maximizing your chances.
Does BX still make SA/ Analysts do GMAT maths tests in the interview process?
Yep
Ridiculous how you can think a GMAT math test applies to making sound investments, let alone handling the job well. Yeah, I didn't do well on it lol but I know I have a fair point.
always has puzzled me how BX does diversity hiring despite schwarzman actively working to get rid of race-based discrimination at his alma-mater…kinda just goes to show…
Always heard PE team has pretty chill hours compared to other shops given their rather narrow investment mandate
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