How to respond to coffee chat requests given I plan to skip on-cycle?
So given this year’s timeline, it seems most sensible for me to skip on-cycle — I rather gain more experience and have a better idea of exactly what I’d like to pursue post-banking, prior to committing to something this early.
Several associates from funds/firms have reached out for coffee chats this week; I assume they believe I’ll be interested in participating on-cycle. Should I still have the chat scheduled this week and relay that I plan to do off-cycle in the conversation? Or tell them in email from the get go? Don’t want to waste anyones limited time but definitely would like to stay in contact for off-cycle opportunities.
Just tell them in email that you plan to do off-cycle, I'm sure they will understand
Why would you not meet with them and expand your network? How do you know that private equity is something you do/don’t want to do without speaking to people who work in the industry?
I definitely concur with the value of networking - it isn't a question as to whether or not I should take the opportunity for a call; I was asking more on transparency for consideration of their time / load. As in should I indicate I plan to recruit off-cycle upon initial contact and therefore give them the opportunity to decide if connecting post-cycle is better given little capacity (I assume they have a sizable volume of coffee chat commitments during OCR) or just go ahead and schedule a chat asap, telling them my intentions for off cycle during the call.
Reason why I ask is that I registered with HHs indicating I wanted to do OCR; I assume these coffee chats with narrow windows are meant for OCR candidates & associates reaching out have the impression that is my timeline. No longer the case lol
This is pretty solid. You're right in the regard that HH and outreach staff will inherently assume you're on-cycle, and I think that being transparent about it and respecting their own time constraints will go a long way. I've done many coffee chats from the other side, and I'd greatly appreciate the heads-up that you're implying. While it won't seal your deal, it'd give me an indication that you're not just ramming your way to the front w/o any sort of intention to sign immediately, and I'd certainly remember that in a couple of months when you come back for your formal recruitment.
But yes - take any call you get. Never hurts. Best of luck to you and your recruiting experience.
Thank you for the input and well wishes - agreed that being transparent & considerate is the way to go
Banking experience will not help you figure out what you want to do. it will just make you more tired.
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