Getting an internship in PE
I'm a current university student going into 2nd year and with summer internships season kicking off I thought it's worth exploring other options outside of banking.
Private equity is of great interest, from conversations I have had as well my perceived view of the industry, but it also is a lot more mystical from a student’s perspective.
I post on this forum merely to gain an insight into the chances of gaining an internship in this industry, although I completely understand the reason why banking is so desirable, if the aim is to get into the PE industry anyway, then why not try and straight out of uni?
Is this possible?
Is it a case of just grinding the networking and cold emails until one firm takes a shine to you?
And how high could you aim with this approach?
Really interested to hear from you guys, hope this doesn’t come across as naïve, but instead as a curiosity into a career path that seems slightly secretive.
Use the search function bud, there are a lot of posts about it already.
Straight PE is notoriously difficult to obtain directly out of undergrad. Exceptions to this may be made, such as positions at smaller shops or if a candidate just simply blows it out of the water. PE as a whole is a little more client and flow-driven; those who really excel well have been in the financial field outside of school for a couple of years and have a slightly better sense of how the industry works as a whole, which is why the 2yr IB -> PE route is so popular.
Now, obviously, there are exceptions. I'm proof of that - I've never worked at a bank in my entire life and came in from a completely different field through lateraling. I won't dissuade you to apply to every PE firm you can out of college, and I don't think that doing a PE internship will hinder your chances once you graduate. But think about your overall stack once you're getting ready to make your mark for FT perspectives - would you take a small, relatively unknown PE internship over a BB or EB banking role? It really just depends on where you see yourself ending up postgrad, both in the short-term and the long-term.
I wouldn't say you're being 'naive', as it's a common question and it makes sense - if IB sucks so much, then why don't people just go into PE or a HF/CO space? As I mentioned before, these firms usually just tend to hire people who have been in the game for a bit, even if the 'game' is making 9000+ decks and resizing fonts for two years. If you're serious about this, then email every motherfucker you've ever heard of. Then email them again. Keep doing it.
Regardless, best of luck to you and your search. Recruiting season is stressful, and don't forget to take care of yourself and your personal health. Be well.
Very well put, thank you
From someone who has a FT PE offer post-grad, I can shed some light into my path and things I wish I knew:
1) Cold emailing and networking my ass off was the way that I found most successful. Reach out to any alumni that works in the PE space to begin with and just try to set up a coffee chat. Hearing their story and background is extremely valuable, but it also puts you in a position to ask for advice on breaking into the industry straight out of UG.
2) Not every PE firm has an analyst program, which is where you are going to end up out of UG. Once you have exhausted your alumni network, create a long list of PE firms that you would want to work at, but also have an Analyst program. Once you have a list, start reaching out to the Analysts/Associates there and try to get them on the phone with you where you can learn a little bit more about the firm and the work as an Analyst. (You don't want to go to a glorified call center post-grad because you wont get any valuable experience)
3) Now once you have these connections at firms with Analyst programs, you wanna ask them about recruiting and blah blah.. They will most likely set you up with a recruiter or someone who will give you a first round interview.
I hope this provided some insight into what's required to kinda break into the PE space, but for me its been super focused on networking and building those quality relationships.
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