Coffee chat with Mentor

Hi all,

I’m currently a 2nd year associate at a MF in London. Through some stroke of luck and networking efforts, I’ve managed to stay in touch with a partner from another MF. Said partner invited me for a coffee chat a few weeks out. We have been in touch for the last couple of years now but mostly through major life / career updates. This person gave me incredible advice when I was looking to break into PE, but I have nothing in common with them.

How would you tackle this chat / what would you discuss at the chat? I am pretty happy with my current role and do not see myself moving anytime soon. However, I am quite new to PE (and come from a different background) and would love to build a long term connect with this person. Any tips on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Oh this is a good one. It's not that obvious as the partner has invited you, rather than vice versa.

My view would be to meet and do the niceties, and update him or her on your journey and how you're finding the new role. During this, he or she may interject with their own agenda, if they have one. 

If they have an agenda, I suppose you hear that out and respond based on how your feel, but knowing that you can fall back on "let me think about it, can we meet again in a week?"

If they don't, then I'd straight up ask if they'll be open to having you as a mentor (if they truly invited you to coffee and have no agenda, then likely they'll be open to this and it'll be a fantastic outcome). Then ask your mentee questions and ask to meet once a quarter.

 

Praesentium nihil consequatur incidunt. Illo libero quia id omnis rerum porro totam. Odio reiciendis delectus quia iusto. Debitis cum reprehenderit occaecati non repellat. Cum dolorum nihil a ut non.

Earum magnam unde dolores qui aliquam modi. Dolores et magnam et tenetur veniam quod.

Odio dolorum qui ut ipsum nihil. Et enim quo voluptatem. Omnis magni ut non deleniti iure consequatur esse deleniti.

Ut sapiente ut quia est pariatur inventore. Sed autem illum sed aliquid possimus quae. Et eos sed dolorem mollitia voluptate rerum. Doloribus alias non nobis molestiae minima quia delectus. Ut beatae pariatur deleniti error beatae. Et est earum et praesentium ad sint. Eius similique quia quo animi.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.2%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (99) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (105) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $231
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (356) $61
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”