Im coming from a 3 year associate PE/ growth equity program looking to lateral to another fund. The fund I was at has a great brand name but it wasn’t a cultural fit, I didn’t like the subsector coverage and didn’t see myself there long term so I didn’t even try to get promoted/ told them I wanted out / wanted to go earlier stage. Probably not the best decision but here I am today. I’ve been interviewing for a while and have made it to final rounds but no luck with offer yet. Market is obviously tough. How long do I have before no hope? Worried about a massive gap/ going at it for a year wasting time without it giving off red flags. I have good references from previous employer so no issues there
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I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
For OP - I'm curious what the response has been from recruiters? Are you at least getting the at bats you expected? I'm at the same level and in a similar spot from a MM firm (well regarded but doesn't really have a "brand"). I haven't quit yet, but I'm weighing the options.
I'm also curious what types of funds you're looking at - are you mostly recruiting at other brand name firms, or open to smaller / more niche opportunities?
So looking at larger growth funds but yes also taking interviews with smaller funds. I would say recruiters have been much more active earlier this year (Jan-Mar/ April-ish) but have been much more quiet lately and are going more direct with earlier stage funds who don’t use recruiters anyways. Felt like I generally was getting bats at majority of things I was interested in.
Wondering if bc its summer its slower now than earlier this year but either way reality is these growth funds are in tough spots (insight, TCV, Tiger for example all raised significantly smaller funds than expected like 50-75%+ smaller than previous funds..) and same with early stage - deal flow is weak and expected to be for some time
I’m sure candidate pool is strong with very few spots in general 🤷♂️ especially business school kids not even being able to secure internships / spots
Thank you - that’s all helpful. I think you’re probably right about the market. I think it will be easier to explain that its been really slow though. Even if you get stretched out a year, I think its easy to spin it as “the market was slow for these types of funds, and rather than accept something suboptimal I decided to stay diligent about what I want, even though it’s taking longer that I hoped”
I think it then all comes down to how long you can / are willing to wait before turning to the next best option.
Thanks. Hbu what’s your experience?
Haven't done any actual interviews outside of talking to recruiters in the last month or so. The common talk track is that the market is very slow and there is a net outflow of candidates (many trimming back on headcount, if anything), especially for earlier stage. I have runway at my current firm, but am quite miserable, so I'm personally trying to assess the risk reward of quitting now with nothing, vs. putting in the leg work to find a job and then quitting.
Ah gotcha. Yeah makes sense. If you don’t mind going into it, what is making you miserable?
I was also pretty unhappy at my last place. But without having any context on your situation, I would advise staying and looking. It’s just much easier to show up to hiring managers employed vs. explaining you left because you were unhappy. If you can stick it out and finish your associate program, then it’s a different story of being unemployed (ie i finished my program, place wasn’t right for me and now am taking my time finding the perfect home).
It’s almost entirely work culture driven for me - work at a sweaty place where everyone is overworked and (at least feels) underpaid. For my team in particular its actually been very busy in the last 12 months, and continues to be so. I’m at a point where I’d dealing with depression, burnout, bad health, and struggling personal life, so feeling like its time to move on. The place I’m at is career track and not a program per se (at least for performers). You could say I “finished” my program this year when I wrapped up my third year and collected my bonus on 6/30.
mind pm'ing me if you're willing to talk about it? some of this is resonating with me, would be helpful to talk through
Ah gotcha. Well then sounds like you could recruit from a good position. Mental and physical health comes first and should never be sacrificed, but only you know your own breaking point and time to let go. Best of luck!
It's definitely a slower recruiting market and employers are well aware of it. That being said, once you start to cross the 6mo. resume gap, the story becomes harder to sell and it's more of a red flag. I don't think this hiring market will turn around until the fundraising market improves, and that seems tenuous for the rest of this year, esp. within growth.
I would start expanding your search a bit - plenty of folks that go into corp dev / other quasi investing roles and make their way back to the buyside (although less likely at the brand names you've listed).
Yeah I agree with you on a lot you said. I think in this market even a bit over 6 months gap will be more forgiveable - startups and big tech etc. are all hurting with minimal finance related roles, and they tend to prioritize people with operating experience already at the mid-level. I have 8 years of work experience with no breaks… i also received an offer i turned down bc it wasn’t right. it’s fine to take a small sabbatical. Agree or no? Maybe time to consider school..
I have several colleagues who've taken sabbaticals and spun it positively for themselves (albeit not coming from PE). See a plethora of cringy linkedin posts "spent 6 months traveling and doing yoga to focus on mental health" sort of stuff. It will not only be great for you, but I do think you can find places that will respect that.
That's all assuming you have the means to support yourself though. I'm assuming after 8 years of work you have plenty of runway.
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