I am going through the MBA application process and am considering applying for Wharton. Below is my overall profile:
-top 50 non-target
-2 years at top group at BB
-1.5 years at UMM / MF PE
-1 year at advisory boutique
To caveat, I joined the last position because the founders of the firm were intending to make the firm a merchant bank. This has not panned out thus far, and I am considering applying to MBA programs. Assuming I get into Wharton, how helpful would this be in transitioning back to PE? I understand that Wharton places moderately well into PE (% not as well as H/S, but with large class size typically places ~100+ candidates p.a.), but a lot of these candidates (70%+?) have prior PE experience. I am worried my profile will be dinged in two ways if I try to recruit to PE post-MBA: (1) PE experience was not directly prior to MBA; (2) went back to advisory work (albeit that was not my direct intent). Will these two points make recruiting back into PE substantially more difficult?
nobody here will be able to tell you with certainty but given you have experience at a top BB and big brand-name PE it would be surprising if you didn’t get PE interviews (at the very least what about reaching your old shop?)
I also don’t think it’s a difficult story to say you went to the advisory firm expecting they would turn it into a merchant bank; wanted to be more entrepreneurial etc
Thanks for the response! I have not thought about going back, but I did not enjoy the culture at the sponsor, so would definitely not look to go back there.
I guess my only worry is from a story perspective in an interview, that will work, I am more worried my resume will be thrown out either way and I won't be able to communicate that story without getting dinged. Furthermore, my other worry is that almost all the Wharton MBA kids that are hired into PE had PE experience directly prior to the MBA, so an employer going to Wharton will look for more "low risk candidates" (versus maybe HBS / GSB, where there is more leeway on pre-MBA industry)
What was your decision-making process when deciding to join the "merchant bank"? Was it because you enjoyed the advisory side of the business still, wanted to move up without an MBA, or something else? If it was the first two, have you given thought to other merchant banks that actually invest? BDT, Loeb Partners, and Incentrum have been names that have been floating around recently that might be worth a look.
Thanks for the response. It was a combination of multiple factors. I did not fit with the culture of the prior PE shop, and I knew a fair bit of the people from the "Merchant Bank" from a prior job, with which I fit in very well with. I was able to focus on a specific industry that I enjoyed more.
The advisory work was not a compelling factor, so would not necessarily look to go to a hybrid model, as I only really joined my current firm due to culture specifically
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