Significant time off before starting PE role?

Headed to a borderline UMM/MF next summer. I am honestly so burned out from my current gig that I think will be best both for me and my future firm if I’m able to take some time off between.

Im also moving cities so would be great to take a few months to move, get settled in, meet some people, etc before I hit the desk.

I have a summer bonus but am honestly thinking about just forgoing it, as staying through bonus would give me no time off. I don’t think I can handle that and would rather give up the money now and better position myself for success in my next role. Lots of other stuff in my personal life as well driving this decision (sick family members I haven’t spent any time with recently, etc).

Given I’m losing bonus, I might as well just quit earlier, right? Money not a concern for me at this point in career.

Has anyone tried to do ~3-6 months off before a PE gig? Obviously the expectation is you are finishing you’re banking program but wondering how blurry that line is. Know taking a month off is common but wondering what is considered “normal”/acceptable? Could I do 2-3 months without raising any flags?

I also had a thought about taking an internship / different role between. Theoretically, what if I asked the PE firm about taking a 6 month internship in a startup in my sector? Figure I could spin that into a very relevant experience that might help my role there. Im entering a relatively niche industry group and think there could be an actual case in me getting operating experience at a company?

Anyway, just bouncing ideas around and curious if anyone has taken time off beyond a few weeks of travel. Is there a way to even broach this at my incoming firm without seeming like an absolute slacker?

 
Most Helpful

#1- the money is peanut. What’s your bonus going to be, $150k? 7 years from now, you’ll make that in 6 weeks.

#2- 3 months is a pretty good break, any longer than that, and you might just start getting ideas of not going back to work at all. Your employer is also expecting someone to show up that has 2 years of work experience. If you meaningfully cut that short, they won’t be thrilled about it, just FYI.

 

2 is really what I'm worried about, how much would you say is the upper bound of what is acceptable? I'm tempted to just chat with new firm but not sure if that will do more harm than good in the end

Depends on the firm really. As a rule of thumb, the harder the job was to get, the more seriously they’ll take themselves and the more annoyed they’ll be that you’re not showing up day 1 with a sleeping bag, a compass, and some MREs. Eg if you’re going to Apollo/Blackstone/KKR they’re going to care more. If you’re going to a relatively obscure MM shop, they may care or they may not… there’s probably a higher likelihood they’re a bit more sensible.

 

I took 1 month off in between. 

A friend of mine took around 3 months - this should be fine. He didn't even tell the PE firm, just straight quit his job. 

I agree with above that if you take more than 3 months off you might actually decide to not come back to the grind. I personally think taking 6 months off would be sick though, imagine how many things you can see with your banking savings and a bunch of free time. 

 

Curious if people tell their funds when they do this (take ~3 months off) or just do it? Was chatting with a friend today who wanted to and asked me for advice and wasn’t sure what to say.

One hand, feels like it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission and I can’t imagine anyone who matters at the fund would even find out, but on the other hand obviously don’t want to lose an offer over taking time off

 

Qui id ut iusto quaerat rem quia autem. Voluptates facilis ut omnis est ut dolorem et.

Dolores ad eius debitis et nulla. Voluptatibus at cum aspernatur consequatur quia dolores consequatur. Magni quia quo ut consequatur. Consequatur quisquam et magni quo. Eos dolore odit occaecati ut est qui accusantium.

Reiciendis magnam minus error aut reiciendis. Porro vitae expedita ipsum minima ab consequatur iste consequatur. Molestias sed incidunt consequatur fugiat qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Warburg Pincus 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (21) $586
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (89) $280
  • 2nd Year Associate (204) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (386) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (28) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (313) $59
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”