A quandry - to go to interview or not?
I'd appreciate your views on what you would do in this situation.
I work as an analyst in a boutique investment bank and will become a 2nd year analyst in two months time. I'm also through to the final round of interviews at Terra Firma for their graduate scheme (~20 people going for 6 spots).
In the next few weeks I'm expected to travel for a deal that i'm working on. Doing so will mean that i cannot attend the interview. Attending the interview will mean that i cannot travel (and that i will have to make up a bloody good reason why not!), which will not look very good at all and probably look very suspicious to boot.
So what would you do? The interview is no sure thing but i want to transition to private equity in the next few years. . .
Tell the PE firm that you have a commitment of employment to your bank and cannot leave your team high and dry. Try to tell this to a higher up at the PE fund and not just an HR lady, they will think very highly of you and probably want you even more (funds like chicks want what they can't have).
Thanks for the prompt reply.
The trouble is that at this stage, i've had no direct contact with anyone at the firm beyond their HR staff. The process is being run by a recruitment company, so the first chance to meet people that work there will be these interviews.
Still, if you go to the interview you only have about a 25% chance of landing the job and you will definetly piss off your colleagues...Try to get in touch with someone if possible but if not just let the recruitment company know you are very interested but have a prior commitment, they will understand.
Tell the PE firm about your business committment and then ask if you can interview sooner than expected. I think sooner is probably better than after everyone else bc they may have filled thier spots and they will be comparing you to everyone else, whereas before everyone else gives you a clean slate.
I also heard that Terra is actually not doing too well and will encounter quite a few funding issues...so maybe your business travel conflict is a sign and you should be looking at another PE firm.
+1 for Gekko21
Thanks for the help. I've spoken to them and they're only doing the two days, which means i won't get to the interview. It's a shame, i just hope it's the right decision in the long run.
They're retarded if they can't make an exception and bring you in on another day. Stay far away, they sound like assholes who don't have their priorities right.
True but if it's a group discussion I can understand they want all the candidates to be there...
Think about it, why did you spend so much time applying + interviewing if it's to drop the process before the end...I would have gone...
can you name your boutique bank, or even just the tier? Just out of curiosity, to get an idea of a shop that can place you at terra firma.
Tom, I got called in to take numerical tests at TF on the 7th. I had a final round with a bank on that day and so I couldn't make it. The Cornell Partnership said that the 7th was the last day for testing and therefore they could not rearrange. They are incredibly inflexible and I pulled out.
Looking at the TF programme, it looks like bullsh*t anyway. The rotational nature of the programme means that you could go all the way through it without working on a single deal - 2 years and no deal history to put onto your CV.
If I were you, I'd do one more year Banking and then take the conventional path into PE. This way you'll end up in a deal team and not have to bother with dealing with Investor Relations, Finance etc.
If you join TF now, then you are taking a massive risk - you could end up outside of a deal team.
No you join as a PE analyst so even if you do rotations you end up in the investment team at an associate level. This is the good thing given that it is so competitive to become an associate in a good PE firm.
However you are right, you can spend 6 months in the finance team, 6 months in IR and just 6 months in the deal team so after a couple of years you might not have done enough deals to move elsewhere (they are not stupid, it is to force people to stay).
Quaerat numquam delectus rerum pariatur et. Alias sequi voluptas error et molestias tempore non. Minus quia debitis dolores dolores. Sunt repellendus aliquid minima doloremque asperiores. Et quas magni esse et illo eum rerum repudiandae. Ducimus hic voluptatem nostrum accusamus perspiciatis.
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...