Getting pushed out as a principal at at UMM PE fund. Have the opportunity to take a non-PE/non-high finance role (exec of a small business) that would be "brand dilutive" (vs UMM PE, GS IBD, target undergrad) that would eliminate any resume gap, but wonder how that impacts my ability to get better roles down the line, whether in finance or outside. Any perspective?
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I think it’s easier to explain a resume gap vs taking a job that has no relevance to what you ultimately want to keep doing
Might be wrong but it feels like the industry prefers you have a gap in your resume and then find another PE role vs taking a potentially non-relevant role to eliminate the gap but then being out of the industry. Which doesn’t make sense if you need to pay the bills or have a large gap, but you might get pushback from more senior folks pressing on why you chose to leave the industry (not a fair question but given the amount of applicants per role, helps them cut down the pile).
How long were you at your current firm? Why do you think you got pushed out?
How much money do you have saved? How long will it let you support your current life?
I had a friend who had something similar happen to him but he had a reasonable standard of living and could support his family for 15 years. He became an independent sponsor.
Principal jobs in PE are super tough generally but even harder these days, some merit to trying to do your own deal if you think you have the chops.
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