MM PE Looking to Pivot to MMHF L/S Equity

Just finished my first year at a MM PE shop and want to make the switch into a MMHF pod by the end of the 2 year stint next year. How long does recruiting usually take coming, especially coming from a non-markets facing role (i.e. ER or S&T)? Would it be best to reach out to the platforms' BD teams when I'm fully prepared to start intros / interviewing or is it good to get on their radar a few months in advance?

Also, I'm finding interview prep / following markets on top of a PE associate stint is pretty difficult. Anyone have any tips where to efficiently focus time on? Ideally, I'd like to mock cover 3-4 names in a sector over the next few quarters, update similar pod / ER models keep up to date on a few KPIs in the sector, and refresh writeups on each pre/post earnings to help prepare.

Any advice on how to best prep coming from PE would be appreciated (particularly videos / podcasts / blogs on how to rethink the investment framework for more actionable ideas vs. standard PE business writeup / operating model / slapping some multiple assumption the company).