How to do well as a fresh PE associate?
So I am about to start a PE Associate role at a ~10B fund in February and want to not screw it up at the start.
I only did a few months of IB since I graduated in May ‘22, and looking at the team, the current associates are all out of B-school or top 10 UG -> 2 years BB IB. And this, of course, is giving me a bit of imposter syndrome here.
Same things that make you do well in IB, but voice yourself more. Ask questions and give thoughts on investments. Beyond that just be willing to learn and take on responsibilities. No one wil expect you to structure an M&A deal day 1 but they’ll expect you to listen and learn.
At the end of the day it isn’t a difficult job.
Take complete ownership over your work. Details matter in PE, even more so than they do in banking. Operate like you don't have a safety net.
Be proactive. You will be expected to know all the drivers of a model, how certain levers impact returns, etc. so be proactive and start testing these things out without having your VP ask you to do it. Looking around corners is an essential skillset in PE, especially when managing up.
Intellectual curiosity is important in PE. It's not a big deal in banking where you really just process work, but it's a critical trait in PE, especially when you're tasked to dive deep into a company's operations / specific market.
Learn how to think skeptically. Learn to ask the right questions. Take note of the questions that the partners / MDs / VPs ask and ask yourself why those questions are important.
Make sure you take the first 6 months to ask as many questions as you can. If someone gives you a task, make sure you fully understand the request or else ask questions until you do.
This is awesome advice. I'd just emphasize that PE is where you shouldn't feel afraid of asking questions that are stirring even the simplest of doubts in your mind. These "stupid" questions you may have might just help uncover or help you better understand underlying issues in whatever it is you're evaluating.
Don't be afraid to socialize thoughts you have. I certainly was afraid of doing so as I didn't want to risk looking stupid but I realized quickly that not bottoming out basic questions made me perform way worse in the longer term.
Very curious on how you're going to be an associate in less than a year of graduating?
Bump. Also congrats!
I did an absurd amount of networking/outreach from day one. I probably had 3-5 networking/interview calls a week for almost 6 months, mostly with zero traction up until I was able to secure the PE spot.
Will you be forgoing your analyst bonus or will the pe firm be comping you full bonus? Similar situation here and will be forgoing my accrued analyst bonus
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