Hi all; I wanted to see if anyone has any input. I completely burnt myself out in IB and want to find balance in PE but still feel like I want to do well so I can stay on. How do I do this? Obviously rough nights happen but i don’t think I can mentally take another 2 years of constant 90+ hour weeks. I enjoyed IB at the start but think the stress made me hate it. Any advice on how to do well in PE without killing myself?
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I think generally in order to find better work life balance within PE/Buyside the some of the general things to focus on are:
Lastly, just ask. Don't say you don't want to work hard or are worried about the hours, but ask veiled questions about the culture, general working hours, etc. Talk to the juniors, see how long they've been there, how they like it, etc. PE will never be a 40 hour a week job and during deal sprints, all bets are off, but there are plenty of firms that have much better lifestyle balances than the big sweatshops. You just need to be diligence about finding them and frankly, can't let your ego get in the way. It's hard to become a name brand firm without working hard, it just gets too competitive in my opinion if you're competing against the best. On the other hand, if your'e rolling up HVAC businesses in the midwest, there's generally less competition, even though nowadays, HVAC in non sexy locations is probably more desirable than I'm giving it credit for, haha. Just be firm on what you want and I think you'll find what you're looking for.
I’m more so asking how to manage the job (started about a month ago and ramping up right now)
That’s a long time to wait if you are feeling this way after 1 month. You can accelerate recruiting in PE to shorten the time you have to wait.
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