Hi Guys,
What are the opinions on waiting a year to bulk up your deal experience before making the jump to private equity? I've heard from senior partners at some megafunds that recruiting has been pushed back so far that the guys are coming in way too green, but is it okay to work at your desk for a year before recruiting for PE?
Definitely wait
Currently a 2nd year BA/A/AC at MBB and just signed with an UMM/MF during 2020 on-cycle. Throughout the process, both HHs and interviewers were extremely pleased to see that I had a year of experience under my belt.
The extra year allowed me to 1) spend extra time figuring out what type of firm I wanted 2) network + interview prep 3) speak to my deal/case experience with confidence. Definitely gives me a boost over an IB analyst whose total work experience is putting together a PIB. If you're able to stick it out for 3 years in IB, I'd recommend waiting a year before recruiting.
How do your seniors view it ? Assuming the analyst contract is 2 years.. why let you stay a 3rd year if you’re going to leave ?
@embeebee you're coming from consulting, no? How difficult was prepping for the modelling section of your interviews if you had little financial modelling experience from consulting?
First off, with recruitment being so early, 1st year bankers that have 3-4 months of experience don't have a huge advantage over consultants with respect to financial modeling. While the modeling section is definitely harder for non-bankers, building a model isn't rocket science. Just invest time to learn the mechanics/concepts and it will become second nature. I would recommend building your first model 2-3 times before moving to the next.
When starting to prep, WSO's PE guide/resources is a great starting point to build out your modeling skills. I would also reach out to any friends in IB that have gone through the process as they likely have practice models.
If you like your current job and the people you're working with, I would absolutely wait. But banking can be a grind for a lot of people, so if you're stuck in a difficult culture/working environment, then you should weigh the options. At the end of the day, sacrificing one year isn't the worst thing in the world if that means that you can get a seat somewhere you're very excited about. Just my two cents
Do you think that PE firms will look at you worse if you are recruiting with 1 or 2 years under your belt vs. the candidates that are coming right out of undergrad? I'm working at a mid-tier BB so I'm not sure that I'll get the looks if I began recruiting right away, but was planning to finish my analyst stint and lateral to another bank afterwards.
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