Have others at the VP/Principal level been getting many inbounds from recruiters? I've seen the same email from SG about ICG Strategic Equity a bunch of times but nothing else. Is the market super slow or am I off the radar?
| +143 | What’s “the path” now? | 56 | 1d |
| +105 | Is Everyone Too Bearish on PE? | 34 | 10h |
| +48 | Why would anyone do PE in long term in 2026? | 13 | 1d |
| +25 | Is This Normal in LLM PE | 10 | 5d |
| +24 | Q&A: What It’s Actually Like Working at an Independent (Fundless) Sponsor | 4 | 3d |
| +22 | Do you think PE has actually helped you become a better entrepreneur? | 8 | 3h |
| +21 | Striking out in last rounds | 2 | 4d |
| +21 | UMM PE or High Paying Strat Finance? | 13 | 1d |
| +16 | Portfolio Marks | 8 | 37m |
| +15 | DELETE | 1 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Anything above Associate seems really slow. Seems to be a combo of people staying (due to shitty market), as well as MBAs returning to their old firms taking up a bunch of spots. Fall may pick up a tiny bit but seems like a small trickle. I've seen a handful of roles in SF and Texas, but hardly any NYC. Curious to hear others' experiences.
I haven't seen much and am getting the "things will pick up after Labor Day" talking point. Not sure how true that really will be.
agreed with this, take its super slow right now
Anything above Associate is either the same open positions that have been out there for months now, or extremely slow new openings. It's just really tough out there right now & anyone recently unemployed should just expect a year+ recruiting process.
Mid-level PE market seems incredibly slow and there's been little improvement over past year...when do people think it'll recover? Don't know how much longer I can just hold out for pe...
My firm pushed out 5 mid levels over the past ~12 months. Only one went to another fund
Why were they pushed out?
headcount for a few, 2 had problems managing Associates
Did the others leave PE?
Search Fund / Independent Sponsor route
what type of fund (size, geo, sector)
UMM -> UMM in different geo. Can’t give more details beyond that
Been cheeks
I’m seeing next to nothing and have been looking for 4 months. Considering going back to IB just to bide some time, as it’s looking more and more like it’ll take 6-12mo to get back into a PE seat
Are you concerned IB -> PE -> IB -> PE isn’t an option after rnd 1
Definitely a bit concerned, which is why I’m slightly leaning towards doing corp dev at PE portco vs IB
That being said, I think everyone knows how bad the hiring market is right now, so I’m hoping that people are understanding of a 3-12mo career detour
bump
seconding everything everyone has said. above ASO is slow esp bc those are deal captain roles vs ASO and lower are execution focused (doing random sourcing / portco work etc). dont need a captain when there is no ship to steer
Very quiet on the recruiting front here although not actively talking to HHs yet. Makes sense given how many funds are struggling right now. Hoping the market rebounds soon.
bump - any pickup?
To reiterate how tough the market is, made decent headway with a very lean MM at a T2-T3 city. Informationals for about six months and though they were busy, no process in sight, some indications I was one of ~2-3 candidates. Suddenly order from on high comes to engage a headhunter, pool of candidates for 1 spot blows up to 35. This is not a flashy name or large fund at all but there's a strong indication that even that level of job will get not only the big lateral pool, but basically any 2+2+HSW MBA second-year as well.
Going to expand my search to places where I know zero people and various different mandates and styles because the math just doesn't make sense for me to think about what I "like" anymore relative to just getting a job.
Was this for a Sr. Asso role or VP? Curious to hear if 2+2 MBAs are actually open to taking Sr. Asso roles now.
how long have you been looking and what other mandates / strategies are you looking at?
BTW - it’s not just laterals and current HSW 2Ys. There’s also the recently graduated class of HSW (2+2) people who didn’t wanna return to their prior firm and maybe were trying to be selective and graduated without a job. Me and many others I know are in this position. Brutal.
How long have you / others in your position thought about holding out before trying to get a job in another industry to fill the gap?
del
del
The general thought process is by year-end / early 2025, before looking into true backup options (strat fin / corpdev, adjacent fields, ultra tier III / really lower MM, etc). Trying to extend search timeline as long as possible before bleeding into summer 2025 start, where we'd be in full competition with current 2Ys. In the meantime, bunch of folks starting to seriously work on search funds, their own startup ideas, one-off consulting, etc.
del
del
del
del
del
del
del
del
Can confirm this at recent Columbia & Stanford classes personally.
Where'd you end up landing? HSW '25 grad in similar position now and it's brutal since there's still really limited roles + deprioritized by HHs now over '26 grads
Tempora quia mollitia delectus eius voluptas error. Quasi quibusdam maiores provident quia provident quis ullam veniam.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
At iusto autem consequatur dicta. Quia sit eum recusandae soluta distinctio. Necessitatibus voluptatem ipsam aperiam laudantium facilis.
Commodi vel quas provident rerum. Nostrum laudantium recusandae eum dignissimos voluptas sint. Praesentium nostrum ea est tempore. Eaque et voluptas eum atque corrupti.