Hey all,
Through a crazy series of networking with a variety of individuals, I got to a CEO of a small cap HF (sub $500M AUM) and had a sit down – throughout our conversation, he invited me to attend an honorary dinner with "tons of top people in PE/IB." After following up, he confirmed we are on and I will be attending.
Background: I'm a student, currently doing an internship at a small PE shop. I'm more interested in IB, and he stated that plenty of people in IB/PE will be in attendance.
I have never been to an honorary dinner, and to be entirely honest, am a bit spooked. I consider myself social and great at networking, I know how to speak to people and work around conversations, but as a student, I can't help but feel as if I have little to no place in this particular setting. Would it be okay to ask for business cards to follow up with individuals from different firms? What would be the best pitch to go for when speaking with people? Do individuals network at these events as you would typically expect networking to go, and is it common for students to be in attendance?
Thanks all, looking for any advice that you guys can pass along, what I should try to do/avoid, etc. Not sure what specific forum this falls under either.
Best to tread carefully. While people do expect to network with other industry folk, they are ultimately there to have a good time. The last thing they want, or would look favorably on, is a college student hounding them and giving their elevator pitch 300x. I would just allow conversations, not necessarily even about business, to occur naturally and see who you connect with the best. If you find that you are cordial with someone in particular, I would then ask for their business card. Anything else will feel forced.
That being said, I would suggest two contradicting things 1) watch how much you drink and 2) be the fun college student that will remind these guys of their younger selves. I was got a job offer from a HF PM by beating him in beer bong at a corporate gathering. Simply because we shared similar personalities and we got along. To my first point, nothing is worse than seeing that young person at a party who is wasted and acting as if they dont belong.