Trying to network but people I network with keep telling my boss I'm looking to move to PE/VC!

I work in consulting in a sector focused PE DD group. I am trying to recruit for PE/VC for sector specific funds that operate in the same sector. I am doing good networking at all of these funds, but I keep running into a problem:

My sector is a small world, and some of the people I network with have called the leadership of my group at the company I'm currently at and told them I'm talking with them! It is definitely not like IB where they expect you to go. They just call them up and say something along the lines of "Hey, you know this kid who just started, Making Gravy? Yea he's trying to go to VC/PE, we talked on the phone, heads up."

What do I do? It's almost a catch 22. If I don't network, I can't get in, but if I do network, half the people will just go tell the leadership of my practice.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

Try to find out why these people are telling your boss about your conversations with them. I have a feeling that they are telling your boss because they want to know whether you are a good worker and whether it makes sense to have you join them. If you are certain that your boss has been told by many people that you want to go for PE/VC, then you might want to think about casually talking about it with him.

I know you said it's "definitely not like IB where they expect you to go," but try to see if there are some people who actually made the move in your firm and see if they might be able to help you approach the issue.

 

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