Process of PE Recruiting for MBB

So, I'm an incoming AC at MBB and I'm wondering of what the timeline is for consultants interested in PE. Is it the same as IB where recruiters start beating down your door in December (probs Oct. this year) or do I need to wait and gather some experience before recruiting. Beyond that, I have some general questions about PE recruiting from a consulting perspective:

1) Will I still get looks from Megafunds without IB experience?
2) Is a lot of recruiting location based or is it irrelevant where in the country I am (assuming I'm in a major city on the west coast)?
3) If I decide to do an OPs role at a PE fund, would I be making significantly less vs being on the finance/deal side of things?

 
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I'll chime in with my thoughts/view - I want to caveat that I'll be speaking in large generalizations so there will definitely be exceptions to what I say. I also ask others to keep me honest and correct me.

1) 100% MFs will look at you without IB experience such as Bain Cap and TPG. However, places like BX, KKR, Apollo etc. will likely not look at you.

2) Short answer: Yes for two reasons.

  • Logistics: It is much easier to meet folks, network and interview with places in NY if you're at MBB NYC. It is just logistically harder to fly in from SF and interview. However, SF MBB recruit perfectly fine into NYC it's just physically harder from them.

  • Large hubs tend to attract better talent. Large generalization, but the caliber of MBB in NY/SF/Bos/Chi tend to be a cut above the rest of the offices (e.g., Ivy league, high GPA, etc.) PE firms know this as well and therefore tend to prefer MBB from those four offices. To bring it to life for you on the west coast, I know the caliber of MBB SF is much higher than MBB LA on conventional metrics such as undergrad and MBB SF will transitively have much higher success in PE recruiting. If you look at LA PE funds that take consultants, even though it makes most sense logistically to take from the LA offices, most of the consultants are NOT from the MBB LA offices. They are from SF/NY/Bos/Chi. So there is a "signaling" effect. Again, HUGE generalization and this may be driven by the fact that MBB LA just have fewer folks so you see fewer of them in PE. So take this with a grain of salt.

3) No clue but I have heard from friends that compensation is not much off. Just a different job with great pay too. No better no worse.

 

So just two follow ups:

  1. Assuming I'm not in one of the cities mentioned, do you think that getting an offer would be exceedingly difficult or still the same challenge as it would be from anywhere? If it is a challenge, would you recommend switching to a bigger office after a year or do you think it's not worth doing so?

  2. Do you have any information on the timeline for consulting to PE recruiting? Will I need to hit the ground hard this fall or is the timeline more relaxed?

 

I do not think getting an offer will be exceedingly difficult. MBB is still MBB and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of PE funds. If your goal is to get into PE, I am 100% confident you can. I would just say, on average, it may be more difficult.

I would not recommend switching because - - As mentioned, I was speaking generalizations about the offices. On average, the consultants from those offices tend to be a caliber above prior to MBB (on conventional "WSO metrics" i.e. undergrad, SAT, other superficial things). Finding the kid who went to Stanford, crushed it, went to MBB and proceeded to crush it is easier to find in large offices because you know they attract the talent and are, on average, the most competitive offers to receive. So, Headhunters and funds focus their efforts more of those kids. However, if you're a high caliber candidate outside of those four offices and you are a more proactive about reaching out, you will be noticed and you will be fine
- You usually cannot switch offices your first two years. If you were an intern, you may be able to change your FT offer. But, if you are committed then you will have to wait until your third year, in most cases. Even if you were to try earlier, transferring from a smaller office to a bigger office is harder due to demand. I would say switching between those four offices is easy because it is a high demand office to another high demand office but transferring from a less demand office to high is less seen. EXCEPT, when coming back from bschool. But doesn't hurt to try if you want. - Going to answer your second question here, PE recruiting happens your first or second year. Therefore, transfer is likely not even an option prior to your recruiting efforts. Also, in terms of when to recruit, it is up to you. Recruiting this winter means you'll be at Bain for 2 years whereas waiting means you'll be at Bain for 3 years. Go when you feel ready but if helpful, most consultants, especially those from Bain, recruit their second year.

Again, the above are generalizations and do not hold true in all cases. MBB outside of SF/NY/Bos/Chi may be harder but not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. Also, my guess is that you're in LA and that Bain office, I hear, has particularly great culture which outweighs all imho.

Good luck

 

office location doesn't matter. have had friends from smaller offices at mbb get the same interviews and sometimes better offers than people from offices in nyc, etc. at the end of the day, you will likely be on a travel study when the process kicks off, so it literally doesn't matter which city you're based in. You just have to get time off from your team and fly to nyc sf or boston for your interviews and keep interviewing in those cities during the few days the official on cycle process goes on for until you get an offer somewhere. its a pretty crazy process that kicked off first week of december this past cycle, which caught most people off guard. some people went to interviews wearing the most lax clothing ever bc they were flying from a mine site or a factory site for example. ops roles at some funds like lcatterton etc. pay exactly the same as investment roles at least for 1st year associates. don't know how it scales down the line, but its the same initially. as mbb, you'll get looks from headhunters without trouble. you can find good lists of funds that look for mbb with a wso search, but for example, bain cap, audax, advent, new mountain, sycamore, golden gate, ffl, serent, charlesbank, etc. theres a lot of choice and you'll do fine.

 

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