Assuming the person asking the question is not in the business / finance world, what would you say? Do you still say PE, or just finance, investor, etc.? Always felt like saying “investor” is a little full of it when you’re just a lowly PE associate.
Whenever I’ve said PE to someone who isnt clued in to high finance at all, its almost always followed by a blank stare and an “oh okay” (i dont actually know what that means but i’ll just go with it) or a “huh?” so i end ho having to give a brief overview of what it actually means almost every time.
i also feel like just saying ‘finance’ is down playing it. Im not some corporate drone bean counter for gods sake. i take pride in what i do and i want people to know it without downplaying it necessarily.
You're clearly craving some recognition (nothing wrong with that) so just say investor.
I personally say private equity or finance, but I also don't care whether or not people realize what it is. Not trying to impress anyone.
I just say finance. How is it "down playing" it? You are a corporate drone bean counter. You're not a founder or CEO or anything
If you take pride in your job, good for you, but you're really not going to impress people outside of finance by telling them your job
Exactly lol most people just ask what you do for a living to make small talk anyways.
You don’t want to play into the stereotype of being a finance douchebag
One of my mentors at a hedge fund job once brought this up to me and said that as he got older, he wanted to be less and less associated with “high finance” went from saying he works at a hedge fund, to just finance to now saying he works in the industry he covers.
why is that?
If talking to a non-finance person I just say "PowerPoint, phone, and spreadsheet desk job". That is descriptive enough that someone will know exactly what we spend all day doing. If they want to know more, they will ask.
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Somewhat tailored because most people don’t care.
To people in finance, I say private equity. To people at big corporates, I say I work at an investment firm. When meeting new people if I don’t know what they do, I just say finance and depending on vibe may throw in something like “long hours, lots of spreadsheets, fun stuff like that”. If it’s like a passing comment from an uber driver or someone next to me on a plane, I just say my coverage sector (like “I work in healthcare, but on the numbers side, not the hard stuff”)
"I work in finance"
"I work in fuh-NANCE"
Assuming this isn't an interview situation for a non-finance oriented org, why does it matter? Just say you work in finance and if people want to dig deeper then let them. No point wasting thought on such menial things.
God what a f*cking loser.
You work in finance, you’re not a soldier or doctor or police officer.
Get over yourself.
When someone asks me I just say that I am an angel doing God's work.
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If you want recognition, which is totally reasonable, your money should be more than enough to do it. That's the language real people (non prestige whore undergrads) speak
Why is this so hard to answer?
In today's environment just tell people you work at a bank.
1) Most people are too stupid to understand anyway.
2) You are likely to get punched by some of these idiots who don't understand.
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