Lateral to the TOP IB GROUP(NY) or PE arm of BB, best path to Mega Fund?

Hello WSO community-

I work at a very reputable tech IB shop on West Coast (think MS menlo, CS tech, Qatalyst , BAML sponsors, JPM SF). I went through on-cycle this year but couldnt get any MF in NY interviews (maybe because I was in WC). My goal is to eventually work at a MF in NY.

I have two offers and I need to decide

  1. PE analyst position with a BB (Not GS) in their PE arm (Mostly direct or direct co-invest...no fof or secondary type investing). It would start after 1yr completion of my IB role.

  2. Lateral offer to top banking group in NY (always considered "the top" or "one of the top" on this forum...Places extremely well)

My goal is MF PE and I am concerned about what my options will be if I recruit during On-cycle again this upcoming November, which is effected by how Head hunters will think and PE funds will think about my cv.

Thank you for your input!!!

 
Most Helpful

This is really straightforward so I won't mince words.

Take the second option and lateral. The simple, time-tested, and proven way to get into private equity is to recruit out of a banking analyst program. To enjoy the best odds for success, you want to be in the best group in the geography you're most strongly interested in.

You have a ticket in front of you for exactly that. I assume this is a top coverage group at GS or one of the strong elite boutiques. You will have zero issues recruiting out of them. You may even stand out somewhat thanks to prior experience in a strong industry-specific coverage group. (If anyone asks why you didn't recruit out of that group, state exactly what you did in a comment here: that you were slammed with staffings, didn't want to leave your group in the lurch, and simply missed the entire week everything happened here in New York because you couldn't get on the plane.)

To answer your subsequent question, it doesn't look bad to re-recruit. You can leave your summer internship off your resume altogether. The fact that you've got two analyst positions from top groups on your resume (and all the attendant deal experience to fill up the document beneath each of them) means you're completely able to omit the internship safely.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

Why don’t you move to NY with the same bank and recruit with them from NY? I agree with the above that your second option is your best one. I had some former colleagues who recruited one year later and they made it to places such as Blackstone and Ares.

I'm grateful that I have two middle fingers, I only wish I had more.
 

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