Not a list, but the SINGLE best PE headhunter

please cast your votes for the single best PE headhunter for NYC jobs

not based on success rates or retainers or anything like that but on exclusivity

in short, who is the recruiter that contacts GS and ms analysts 6 months into their 1st years? how do they find these candidates' names?

21 Comments
 
Best Response

HH's are not by nature exclusive when it comes to analysts - they are exclusive when it comes to their clients, the funds. However, exclusivity in such a small space is a crap shoot - the KKR, BX, TPG, Apollo accounts are not concentrated by any means.

HH's will try to meet as many analysts as they can, and screen through the BS so they can try to sell the analysts to the fund. From their own interviews and resumes, they'll push the candidates they think have the best shot of getting hired, cause that's how they get paid.

HH's get candidates names by contacting the last batch of first years, and then running confirmatory screens through your references (asso, VP, MD)

If you pass the smell test and your experience looks good, you get reviewed by the fund, and the interviewing process kicks off again.

edit: that being said, I found SG ( / Amity Search), Oxbridge, and CPI to be the most helpful. SG / Amity and Oxbridge had the most big-name opportunities.

Amity was founded by some people who splintered off from SG, so I group them together for the purposes of this exercise.

 

I worked with CPI, Glocap and Amity in my last search. Amity and Glocap were good- no runaround, no BS, good opps. CPI felt like a churn and burn but had some decent ops as well. I ended up getting my job through none of them- rather a direct referal. A number of my friends got placed through Amity, a couple through Glocap and Oxbridge. They are all pretty much the same. If you have the qualifications, (GPA and top school) they see you. If they like you they send you to their clients. If you look middling on paper- they backburner you. It makes more sense to me now having been through the process. Id work with them all again but Im hoping I dont need to !

 

Anyone have a view on or experience with who the top London headhunters are?

I´ve heard good things about Blackwood and to some extent Greenwich Partners, decent (and some less so) things about Arkesden, PER, Walker Hamill etc. I get a lot of calls but few seem to be as focused as I´d like on the buyside (everyone is recruiting 2nd/3rd year analyst laterals)

 
iamfromcanada

Pavement listed most relevant HHs.

This. I feel like this list misses many of the most active HHs.

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WallStreetOasis.com

don't forget the WSO Company Database includes Recruiters....with advanced search you can also filter by keyword...ie "PE" or "private equity"

I have the list of the top 300 PE firms in the world, I don't know if I should post it, some names obviously will be redundant. WSO Database very useful because it gives you contact names and in some cases actual feedback from persons that work(ed) there.

As far as personal recruiter experience, the only one I found useful was Selby Jennings, however their searches are mostly for EMEA and Asia-they are based in London.

Winners bring a bigger bag than you do. I have a degree in meritocracy.
 

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