What do I do in these info sessions? What type of questions should I and can I ask? What should I do during the calls behaviorally? I just hit An1 desk, so I am completely clueless about what PE recruiting looks like.
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If you are clueless and not ready - politely decline these (you can just not respond if it is a mass email, only need to decline if they are personal invites). The quickest way to get dinged and not be able to use a certain HH ever again is to come off as underprepared to a client. You will have plenty more opportunities down the road and you should not be doing these until you are interview ready. You don't get more shots if you do something wrong so definitely recommend you wait until you are totally ready for the full interview process.
That said, maybe start thinking through the first steps of what you want, starting to prep, reading threads on here about what PE recruiting looks like, etc. If you decide you want to not recruit for the whole first year you will still have plenty of opportunities when you're ready, but I would at least reserve some mental space for it.
Am I able to attend to ask what I could do to best prepare for that specific firm? I was thinking that if I attend info seshs from different companies I can start to pick out industries I am interested in. Appreciate your help.
No it's really not a good idea if you don't even know what industry you want. Your HHs will want some granularity - for sure industry but also location and fund size, and saying "idk let's find out by going to these" will not leave a good impression.
Think about it, in a room of 10 people if the other 9 are all set on this sector, super knowledgeable with nuanced questions and ready to interview tomorrow, you will look kind of silly if you're just looking to find out about the industry and recruiting in general. These info sessions are not super casual broad overviews like you may have had in college, they are essentially interviewing you too.
I know PE recruiting / headhunters are exciting but I really implore you not to interact until you are fully ready to interview as you will shoot yourself in the foot going to any events or HH calls unprepared. Get some deal reps, forget about it for 6 months if you need, don't need to rush this.
I was under the impression that I could save the connections I make for recruiting later on. Do these firms truly expect every new analyst to nail LBOs and have an investment thesis ready? Where can I learn more about possible PE directions? How can I develop interest in different funds or industries? These are questions I couldn’t find on WSO.
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