Help - Asked for References After HF Case Study

Obviously well aware that I should assume nothing until an offer is signed and in writing, but:


Interviewed with a HF, went through 4-5 phone / zoom rounds, then was called in for an in-person case study. Ultimately met everyone on the investment team 1-on-1 over the course of a few weeks. Case study went very well; one of the analysts said everyone loved me to my face, and I got an email from a senior analyst afterwards saying something similar. Received a follow up email shortly afterwards asking me for references.

This is likely an offer, right? I want to get my things in order / start transitioning work over to other analysts since this opportunity would be an immediate start, but want to make sure I’m not reading the situation wrong. 

 

Congrats man! That sounds pretty positive to me. I assume they want to talk to references before making the formal offer in this case. 

Quick question, for the in-person case-study, and the more later stage interviews with the wider investment team and PMs, was this more technical or more focused on fit. What sort of things do they focus on in the later stages?

 

None of the interviews were really technical in the IB-esque sense. There were no “walk me through xyz accounting concept” questions.

All of the first round calls had standard behaviorals, and then any technical aspects came in the form of discussing my specific work experience insofar as it relates to the fund’s strategy (Distressed Credit). 
 

Case Study was the real place to display the technical chops; take home case, 24 hours to pick a provided company and security from a list and pitch it long or short. Basic 3 statement model and valuation techniques, ultimately feeding into preparation of an investment memo. 

 

Just curious was this a credit hedge fund or a distressed fund with more locked up AUM.

From my experience the shorter timeframe for doing the case and the existence of doing a full 3 statement model points to it being a drawdown fund, and so just want to add another datapoint to the mix to see if it’s still accurate.

 
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This is likely an offer, right? I want to get my things in order / start transitioning work over to other analysts since this opportunity would be an immediate start

I don’t follow. Why would you transition work over now? You have two weeks to do that after you submit your resignation. There is no reason to do this before a verbal offer.

The process goes references > comp discussion (this may happen later) > verbal offer > written offer > you review the offer and ask any questions > you accept > put in your two weeks > leave. You should wait until written offer / you accept before transitioning work. 
 

 

Anecdotally heard you usually get asked to leave same day when you put in your two week notice, so I was assuming no time to transition once I make it public to my team.

Essentially just trying to quietly move stuff off my plate over the next week or two to minimize disruption for other juniors once I get shown the door, assuming this offer comes through 

 

Anecdotally heard you usually get asked to leave same day when you put in your two week notice, so I was assuming no time to transition once I make it public to my team.

Essentially just trying to quietly move stuff off my plate over the next week or two to minimize disruption for other juniors once I get shown the door, assuming this offer comes through 

I can think of multiple qualified candidates that did not get an offer due to references. One person even had a good reputation at his firm but for whatever reason it did not work out. So do not assume that this is a done deal. Also it does not sound like you intend to evaluate the offer at all? That seems a bit odd. 
 

 

Honestly I would just zip it and attend to your current job business as usual. No handing over anything, no nothing. Get the offer, sign it, resign. Your analysts will be fine. Worst case, just put everything useful in a random folder for him/her to reference once you leave. Sounds positive regarding a potential offer but potential is all it is until you’ve signed the docs.

 

Def continue with your current responsibilities as if nothing has changed…odds are there will be no major fire drills on your coverage in the next 2 weeks, but you’d hate to not be sharp if something did come up.

don’t transition your coverage to anyone until you sign offer. You can do other things like cleaning up your models / make sure current, folders are organized etc that will make things easier for the pick up analyst 

 

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