(Did a search but couldn't find anything useful or relevant.)
How does one recruit for PE positions in a different city? I'll be starting my FT IBD stint in NY this July but am very interested in moving to the west coast (L.A. or Bay Area) after my 2-3 years as an analyst. Given the hours, I can't see traveling cross-country for interviews being very easy, if not impossible. Are west coast PE shops predisposed to hiring analysts from west coast banks, or is there some flexibility since NY is such a big finance hub?
I realize this is pretty early in the game (haven't started working yet), but it never hurts to plan ahead.
For what it's worth, my interest in the west coast revolves around:
- the more laid back lifestyle (at work and outside of work),
- the great weather,
- the landscape and better scenery (Central Park doesn't exactly cut it),
- my growing interest in tech, media/entertainment, and healthcare, and
- proximity to my family (parents are moving to the Bay Area)
One thing you could with companies outside of where you live is either put in a local address (such as your parents) on your CV if you think these companies are predisposed to only local candidates.
That way a company won't hesitate to contact you for the position and once they have contacted you, they probably won't care that your not local - but you will have the find time (cough..cough..sick days, family emergencies) to interview.
happens all the time. to get the best candidates, these shops have to interview NY-based analysts (not a knock on west coast based analysts; it's just that the bulk of the pool is in NY). the specific processes differ from firm to firm. many of the west coast based large-cap shops also have an office in NY area, in which case they would obviously leverage for at least 1st round interviews. for the ones that don't have east coast presence, some will fly people out to NY for two days to do first rounds with NY-based candidates, then bring back 2nd round candidates to west coast. some will choose to do 1st round phone interviews, and then fly you there if they decide you're a strong candidate. it's not uncommon at all. if you go to websites of these places, you'll see a lot of associates that previously worked in NYC.
the way you make it manageable is to stack these west coast interviews together. so spend 3 days in LA/SF and meet with 3-5 firms. also, you would have to get used to flying red-eyes.
Was gonna post a similar thread; will be starting off on the east coast but my goal is to eventually work in buy side in California. Guess it'll be harder for me since I will be working for a MM bank and am thus focusing on MM PE shops on the west coast, who probably don't have much of a presence in the east.
but how do you manage to get 3 straight days off from work??
This is exactly what I am hoping to do as well. I'm doing IBD at a bulge bracket in NYC but want to do PE in California (both SF and LA/SoCal are equally attractive to me).
Is it difficult to go from NYC IBD to PE in California? It would seem that most of the top IBD analysts will be coming out of NYC, so I don't see why it should be a problem unless the west coast firms simply recruit from west coast IBD only. Is this true?
So considering that most NYC bulge bracket analysts fantasize about the mega-funds in NYC/Boston area, would the remaining analysts from a bulge bracket in a NYC TMT group be pretty coveted by west coast PE firms (over the west coast IBD kids and MM IBD kids)? Especially the larger MM PE firms...would these NYC bulge bracket analysts basically get first crack at the top west coast MM firms?
Is it hard for NYC analysts to get interviews for the west coast PE firms?
This is generally not the case. The large funds will usually run concurrent processes for WC and NY analysts, but sometimes WC will get first crack. Still though, I wouldn't say it is hard for NYC analysts to recruit for west coast shops
Ever heard of GS TMT/Healthcare (SF), GS FIG (LA), and MS Tech M&A (Menlo)? Unfortunately for East Coast analysts, there are many strong groups based in the West Coast that are on par with or even stronger than many East Coast groups. For MS especially, much of the execution is done on the West Coast... so being from Tech NY might put you at a disadvantage in terms of deal experience.
It is easier to make the East-West transition if you are in a group that is LA/SF-centric, such as Tech or Healthcare. But if you are in these groups anyways (esp. Tech), it might just be better to be based out of SF. That said... I know several guys from tech groups in NY who transitioned effectively to west coast PE... although they were mainly GS/MS guys.
I am obviously familiar with the west coast IBD groups, hence the fact that I referenced them several times. There is obviously a reason for my specifically asking about NYC TMT groups; and you are wrong about the west vs east coast tech groups. SF typically focuses on a sector of tech, whereas NYC TMT not only gets other tech sectors that aren't based out of SF, they are also the base for Media and Telecom. Don't make the faulty claim that SF Tech has the advantage over NYC TMT when it comes to deal experience. Simply not true.
That being said, I definitely wonder if the SF tech analysts have the advantage, in west coast PE recruiting, over NYC analysts (especially TMT) due to the obvious geographic proximity. It would just seem that NYC analysts would have the advantage no matter where it may be (generally speaking), being that it is the deal hub and most of the talent is there.
For firms with Technology groups that are separate from Media and Telecom, that is definitely true. Look up placement stats from MS Tech NY vs. MS Tech Menlo Park. Menlo Park analysts (also where tech M&A is based) have significantly stronger deal experience. The majority of NY Tech Menlo analysts go to top 5 megafunds (even in NY), while Tech NY analysts are more heavily represented in second tier (but still strong) funds like Francisco (on the West Coast). The reason for this is that deal experience goes wherever the senior bankers go.. and for many tech groups the senior bankers are in SF for lifestyle/culture reasons.
Also, in combined TMT groups, New York focuses more heavily on Media and Telecom while SF is focused on tech. All of the acquisitive US tech majors (except IBM) are based on the West Coast, which means their deals (SAP/Business Objects, Amazon/Zappos, Cisco/Tandberg) are run on the West Coast. How do I know? Because I worked at one of the top TMT groups on the street.
The reason that SF based analysts may have an edge in SF PE recruiting is not just geographical proximity. It is because they work on the same verticals that SF based PE firms invest in. There is a reason that PE/VC shops open offices in the West Coast... to invest in West Coast-based tech verticals... which are the same firms that IBD West Coast analysts work with. Just like how Houston analysts have an advantage in Energy fund recruiting in Houston bc they have worked on the same verticals.
And I suggest you don't make blanket generalizations about how the level of talent is higher in NY. At any major SF office you will find numerous analysts who turned down NY offers due to culture and industry preferences. All the top ivies (H/Y/Wharton) are well represented in SF IBD. True, there are more analysts in NY. But the level of talent is comparable and the deal experience of SF analysts is more relevant to what SF based PEs will be investing in.
Thanks for the info. And re: the nice weather, I was talking about SoCal, but I'd take fog over hot and humid any day.
I would imagine that home field advantage would come into play a bit, no one feels too hot after a 6 hour red eye.
lol... ppl like us on the west coast trying to break into the east coast, and u guys wanna come over here... the irony :) can't argue about the weather though...
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