PE Analyst --> ????
For PE Analysts out of undergrad who don't stay at their fund at the Associate level, where do most tend to end up? It's too early to go to B-School, and it's likely tough to recruit elsewhere not coming from a BB/EB background and not getting direct HH looks.
Would be interested in hearing the experiences of past/current PE Analysts at firms of any size.
If you are at a top fund (one of the mf programs) you'll get looks anywhere you apply. With these programs becoming more mainstream I've seen many people jump across MFs after analyst stints or exit into hedge funds, though most try to limit re-recruitment risk by staying on with their firm and exiting to b-school if they don't like their current firm. I have a few friends that went this route and they received the same if not more headhunter looks than the "top banks", which makes sense intuitively. Headhunters know how competitive the programs are and that you have a displayed interest in PE and also that you have actual investing experience.
Interesting. What about MM/UMM analysts at lesser-known funds (i.e. not SLP, BX, WP)?
The lower you go down the pole the more individual pedigree will impact your exit opps and generally speaking it is easier to go down stream than up. Though if you are at a reputable UMM you should have no problems getting interviews. As I alluded to above headhunters place a premium on actual PE experience as compared to banking experience