Getting a spot

Hello everybody,

I believe that this forum has become a very good source for the people trying to break into investment banking. A lot of the recommendations from this board helped me get an analyst spot. The tips on networking helped me get interview spots and the various posts on interviews helped me navigate through that process and clinch that coveted spot.

To me, however, this is not yet the end of the road. I realized that an analyst spot is not enough anymore to move into PE, I noticed that there is fairly large amount of 3rd year analysts and I can't stop but notice that it usually is for the reason of not receiving buy-side offers.

Unfortunately, I feel that this forum is fairly light on information on how to move from IB to PE. What are some of the things that can be done to move ahead of the pack beside receiving top bucket reviews. Is networking a good way to start? How is it perceived on the street since it could reflect a lack of dedication to the job etc...

Please advise. Thank you very much.

 

The best thing you can do if you want to go from IB to PE is to send your resume to as many firms as possible. I'm about to finish my IB program and am about to start a PE program this summer and the biggest thing for me was just getting your name out there. Send it to as many people as possible and hope you get some interviews. If you work hard enough, you'll get a job in PE. But go to the PE forum and there's some good pieces on breaking into PE.

 

i was under the impression that bankers don't have to send their resume out to PE firms, but that headhunters reach out to them as soon as spots open up. Is this not true?

 

I did both. I got the best traction (initial interviews) using headhunters, but depending where you're coming from (middle market, bulge bracket, etc.), the PE firm you're gunning for may be really small and not use headhunters. Two of my buddies are also going into PE after our IB program and we all got our actual jobs without the use of headhunters. However, we definitely utilized them along the way, as they have a great knowledge of the job market. Basically, I was trying to say that working hard is the best way to get into PE, especially since there's no guarantee that headhunters will forward your resume on if they have 100 other more qualified candidates that are using them, too.

 
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