Private Equity success (or failure) stories

Hey team,

I'm surprised there aren't that many detailed "PE recruiting stories" on WSO. Would really appreciate it if people would share theirs or point me in the direction of a few good ones. I saw the "my 4 part recruiting process" post and that was quite helpful. Anything else would be great!

I'm MBB, interested in upper MM and some MFs.

12 Comments
 

Honestly talking to people in the industry helped me a lot too. I don't just mean those formal coffee networking chats - but trying to spend time with younger pe associates and vps in a casual setting - even if you don't talk about finance - getting an intimate understanding of the type of personalities / how they think about life etc helps a lot. Made me more confident in interviews.

 

@ bankerella2

Definitely agree that this would be very helpful. My one concern is about how honest I can be with questions/in discussions with people already at the firms I plan to interview. Aren't they going to be somewhat evaluative? Maybe I should just get a bit more interview ready, and then reach out for coffee chats and the like?

Thanks in advance.

 

Well I meant to learn generally about the industry / the types of personalities there. Obviously can't be direct if they will evaluate you. Definitely be prepared before you meet them, but that said don't go overboard. ... I feel like I was too nervous and wanted to super duper prepare - In the end I missed out on some opportunities. Better to get your name out there and try. With each one you become better and better.

 

I am currently a 3rd year analyst at BB bank. It took me quite a while to secure a job in middle market PE at the end of my second year. WSO guide is good, but it is not enough to get prepared for interviews. I suggest you create detailed deal notes and know the numbers. They can ask you absolutely anything, so be prepared to talk in-depth about the deals you worked on. My suggestion is to practice actual PE case studies and modelling tests. My group has a secret PE prep folder where every analyst saves case studies and other materials from their interviews.

 
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