PE Associate Recruiting with Business School Deferred Admission
Edit: Just saw this link to a pretty similar question: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/got-into-m…
Having been accepted to a top 5 U.S. business school's deferred admissions program with a flexible matriculation year (typically between 2 and 4 years), I'm weighing when to recruit for a PE role.
I'm currently at a top-10 investment bank and want to determine if I should recruit to a pre-MBA associate role and matriculate to business school in 2024 or matriculate in 2022 and recruit to a post-MBA associate role later on.
What are key considerations in terms of opportunities, career advancement, etc.? What should I be cognizant of with COVID's impact on PE recruiting cycle?
I commented on the thread you linked to, and I'll share a similar perspective here. DO NOT go straight to business school after two years in IB. Recruiting for a Post-MBA PE role is VERY difficult, and if you don't have Pre-MBA PE experience your chances of landing a decent role out of b school are almost zero.
There's a lot of cases where the best advice really is "it depends." This is not one of those cases. If you want to do PE, you pretty much have to get in before getting an MBA. You should recruit for PE this fall, do two years of IB, two years of PE, then go to school.
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Super helpful comment. Thanks for the advice--will keep it mind!
So all the above is totally correct, and I have zero predictions on COVID's impact on the PE recruiting cycle.
But one thing you may not have thought as much about is Why PE at all. I know all your IB group friends will be recruiting as a default but unlike them, you really do have a fall-back (besides finagling a third year offer, if your firm does that). Even though you're at a bank now, most deferred admits I know were admitted because they weren't the type who would necessarily have applied later anyway, so I guess tease that part of your interests out and see what else in business you might want to explore. I'm not saying do or don't do PE, I'm just saying recognize that you have a little bit more cushion to ask why, diligence culture, explore your options, etc.
By the way, and this is taboo, but this exploration can also happen well after you go through the PE recruiting process and even accept. Of my 2+2 friends, I know one who made it a 4+2 (traditional 2 years of IB and PE each), two who did a 3+2 (1 year IB / 2 year PE and vice versa, each quitting the sweatier place early), and one who explored and actually peaced out of not only business school, but all of finance, reneging on a UMM offer to do so. For various reasons I see all three paths as valid, but the common thread is they all recognized the extreme leeway they had to think more deeply about their career path with the "call option" of a deferred acceptance in hand.
Hi, I know some time has passed since you posted your comment, but do you have a current opinion on the feasibility of MBA PE recruiting from doing 2 years IB + 1 year PE (or vice versa) before an MBA?
I have a H/S deferred admit that I can defer for max 4 years out of college, but I spent my first year post-grad in an irrelevant role outside of finance. Managed to lateral to a IB Analyst position at a decent firm, and considering whether to try to:
A) Squeeze in 1 year of PE experience between my 2-year Analyst stint and B-school, if it will materially open up investing doors post-MBA. However, I recognize I'd be disadvantaged vs my peers who have 2 years of PE experience, and likely also having to recruit back as an Associate.
B) Otherwise, if post-MBA PE seems unlikely given my timeline constraints, I may just stick it out in banking for now, get the ASO promote, and lateral during my MBA to a better bank.
Would love to get your thoughts on this.
Interesting situation. Honestly the best bet here might be to try to just do on-cycle after your 2 years of banking and then negotiate with H/S to try t ogive you a 5th year considering how rigid most PE programs are. Otherwise, I'd just quit the PE program after a year to go to school, assuming school still appeals to you. People quit 2-year ASO programs to go to HFs or even other PE shops after a year all the time; it's a bit frowned upon, but unless you want to be a lifer at your on-cycle firm, there's no real downside career-wise.
Slightly off topic, but anyone here in the GSB/HBS deferred program and looking to do / have done more than 4 years of deferral? Looking to do a longer buyside stint - please PM to discuss and share ideas if so!
GSB lets you defer up to 5 years. HBS is only 4 and is pretty strict about not allowing longer deferrals (except this year, where they let 4th years defer for a 5th year due to COVID)
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