Advice re: PE recruiting / headhunters

A bit about myself. I had a career outside of finance for a couple of years. I dealt with PE firms along the way and really liked what they do (namely, the business decision-making and being in charge/managing of their investments, as opposed to servicing and advising clients). I made a decision to do my best to get into PE, and I have recently lateralled into a pretty good IB group (pre-MBA) where I think there is not-too-bad a shot at PE. However, given that I am a lateral hire at the IB group, I don't think I will be on the headhunters' radar unless I reach out to them myself. Once I get in touch, I think I have pretty good answers for why I want to go to PE and my story, which is what I assume they would ask about - but I need some advice on how to get in front of headhunters so that when the time comes for December/January PE recruiting season, I have interviews lined up.

I know of a number of the headhunters usually mentioned - CPI, Dynamics Search Partners, SG Partners, Henkel, Amity, Oxbridge, Glocap, GoBuySide, (maybe SearchOne Advisors, Ratio Advisors, Bellcast Partners). Please let me know if I missed any other good ones for PE. How would you recommend I get my name in front of them at this stage? Should I email their firms' general email addresses letting them know who I am and that I am interested in speaking to them? Should I pick out one person in particular and email him/her? Should I cold-call him/her? If so, how should I determine which person to pick out? Am I thinking about this the right way?

Happy to give more context in a pm. Appreciate the help.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Private Equity

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 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

April 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

April 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (22) $569
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (91) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (205) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (387) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (29) $154
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (314) $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

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...”