Hello, I will be entering my sophomore year of college soon and I am gonna be working as a facilities operations intern at a PE firm in NYC over the summer and the first semester of class. The title of the position is just a fancier way of saying mailroom and office bitchwork. Apparently, I will be around executives of the firm. Is there any way I can get the most out of this job? Thank you.
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Seriously though, this is never worth it. I’d prefer to be a McDonalds line cook than mailboy at the most prestigious hedge fund in the world. Have a little respect for yourself.
There might still be opportunities to get involved with the investment side, you need to sus it out. Practice being proactive, because these people are likely perfectly happy to just use you for cheap labor.
Ah, thank you. I think I might still work there because I have nothing else lined up. Not much available to someone who just finished their freshman year of college
I wouldn’t be as negative as the poster above. It’s obviously not anywhere near ideal as a relevant front office role, but it gives you months of potential access to the right people. Before you start identify the key people you want to meet and find a way of getting in front of them while you’re there. This can be as simple as dropping their mail to their desk so that they eventually recognise you as you’re walking around the place. Strike up conversation at a suitable time and mention you noticed on the internal system they’re a VP in X team, you’re a freshman looking to learn more about the industry and long term want to get into PE.
As long as they’re not assholes they’ll probably be happy to grab a coffee or lunch at some point. Now you’ve got the relationship and if they take a liking to you, this can leveraged hugely. Intros to other colleagues, intros beyond the firm, maybe even a few days shadowing the investment team if you’re lucky.
If I came across an intern who was using a non conventional route to gain access to the right network, as long as they’re not an asshole and look like they can be the right candidate in time, I’d give them a lot of time over the summer. I like seeing people thinking outside the box and finding more creative ways of achieving their end goal.
How big is the office? If it’s small enough that everyone knows everyone (100 people in the office, all on one floor), this is obviously a lot easier to do. If you’re going into an office with several hundred people and ops people are banished to some distant room / different floor then it’ll be tougher and you’ll need to be more creative.
It's in a suite so it's pretty small and I do plan on interacting with VPs and Execs. Thank you so much!
Great, that’s the ideal size. When I was in IB we had roughly 60-70 staff across one floor and everyone knew each other as a result. I’d have noticed a new person starting in the mailroom. Be proactive, if it’s that small drop the mail to their desk assuming that doesn’t go against some weird office protocol, you’ll be surprised how easily people can take to someone who is helpful and friendly. Develop good relationships with the admin staff too, in smaller firms they can be very helpful in getting access to the right people.
Honestly if you're just a rising Sophomore it's really not a bad idea at all. Just work your ass off to prove you've got a "blue-collar work ethic" and try to get on friendly terms with the deal team.
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