Lateraling as PE Associate

I'm at the end my first year at a PE shop. I've made the decision to lateral due multiple factors including 1) culture / fit 2) firm's strategy isn't what I'm interested in / looking for my own career 3) dry deal flow / minimal learning
opptys 

I've been through PE on-cycle and was wondering 1) is the interview process similar in terms of technicals (modeling, pitch, etc.) ? 2) Given I have no deals under my belt so far, was wondering how to best position myself? 3) I've worked on a smattering of deals / portco stuff with variety of people; I don't believe I'm particularly close to anyone - how important are references or are they more check-list items? 

I'm looking to switch to software focused PE funds (from generalist) and I do have software banking background / that's really what I'm passionate about. 

Would be also great to hear anyone's experience so far with deal flow and if you guys have gone through lateral to larger firms. 

1 Comments
 

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