Hi All,
I am a second year analyst at a bulge bracket bank in London and recently won an offer for a pre-mba associate at a mega fund (think KKR, Baring, Carlyle, Bain Cap) in Asia (Singapore/Hong Kong).
I am a bit concerned about going for it, as I am afraid that going back to Asia ( I’m Asian) might significantly limit my career in the future as I would be leaving the financial centre. Also, I have no intention of doing an MBA as I already have a masters from a (Ivy League/Oxbridge). Do you guys think it’s a good idea to go for the Gig for 2 years? Do you think post 2 years it will still be possible to find job in UK/USA with the job profile? Any thoughts?
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Its a genuine question.
Similar shoes as you. Doing RE PE at Mega Fund in London, although just at Summer internship level. Plan on exiting to Asia for FT.
Pros:
A. Would be amazing experience, and I imagine if you network actively, the move back to the UK/US would be relatively smooth
B. Market is actually growing, unlike the shithole that is Europe -> Better growth opportunities, greater chance of rapid promotion with growing platform ... implying better career opportunities, despite not being in a financial centre
C. Depending on city, you will save more money
D. Growing market implies better entrepreneurial opportunities
Cons:
A. Corp Culture in Asia is shit -> Hours are worse / Hierarchical / Will get treated like shit
B. Thin market implies fewer exit opps
C. Weather / overall living standards likely to be worse
Let me know what you think.
Good gig. You may end up staying.
Will be tough to go back to the states and UK. Tough as in you'll have to do a lot of networking and legwork. For whatever reason US people have no idea what the experience is like in Asia and vice-versa.
If this is for Baring PE in Singapore (which I am just assuming it is since they have been doing a ton of hiring and are most open to non-Asian applicants of the funds you mentioned, I will say a few things from my experience in their interview process:
Talked to a few people who went through the two year program: mentioned it is extremely easy to join MBA business schools">m7 MBA, as the program has a strong brand name and gives you a really unique story (working abroad is a huge asset in an MBA application).
The team works very closely with the office in LA which will maintain your connection to the US, as you may very likely work on buying a company in the States. This obviously gives you an advantage in applying for PE roles based in the US after your role / business school.
The team is very sharp elbowed. I mean to an extreme. This is not a firm with a laid back culture and neither are they very interpersonal in and out of the office. This is fine for some people if the role is close to home, but may add to the separation anxiety from parting with your friends back in the States.
Just a few points I thought it may be helpful to consider if my suspicions are correct.
Thanks for the intel. Curious if you can share stories on how they are sharp-elbowed?
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