About
- An Associate at a private equity firm focused primarily on consumer and retail products
- Generalist M&A full-time role at a bulge bracket bank
- Throughout my journey, I've also sat across the table several times, playing the role of interviewer and resume reviewer
- Went to a non-target university and graduated with a Finance & Economics double-major
WSO Mentors
Do you want a 1 on 1 mentoring session with me? Here's my mentor profile - click here.
WSO Podcast:
Part 1
Member @km190 gets into the details of what made him stand out from his peers in order to make it to IB and eventually PE from a complete non-target. This is a 2 part series since we go in depth. In part 1, we cover his serendipitous meeting at an info session and his path to IB from undergrad.
Listen on iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | All WSO Podcasts
Part 2
In this segment, we cover his struggle to make the transition from investment banking to private equity as well as his jump from his first PE fund to the one where he currently works. Find out how he eventually broke in and why he left his first PE fund.
Thanks for doing this. Also a non-target here.
What skillsets did you find most valuable through your journey?
What kind of "weapons" did you have to differentiate yourself as a non-target?
How did you end up in PE? Did you always want to go for PE?
Thanks again.
Happy to help. You have to have a certain level of awareness and humility, and that needs to show in your conversations with networking contacts and interviewers. I briefly touched on this in the podcast, but make sure you are coming off as i) knowledgeable, ii) capable, and most importantly, iii) natural. It can't be said enough - the people you are chatting with are normal and expect you to be the same. Most of the time, I argue that people will pick the semi-capable, social guy over the very introverted, overly capable guy. Cultural fit is critical.
This was my primary focus throughout my processes and I believe it helped set me apart.
I ended up in PE through standard recruiting channels. We'll touch on that and other related topics in the second part of the podcast.
Do you have any advice on how to practice technical skills as an undergrad? I want to feel like I actually understand financial methods, are there ways to practice this solo that you could recommend?
I would recommend reviewing the standard guides and supplementing with videos/tutorials online. Wall Street Prep, Mergers & Inquisitions/BIWS, and WSO have great material. Try to build a very strong core body of knowledge (i.e. basic accounting questions, 3-statement relationships, basic modeling understanding) and grow from there. Also don't be shy to reach out to a trusted contact and ask questions about technicals you might not fully understand. I did this plenty of times and it was very productive.
Did you intern at the investment bank before working there FT?
Mansa - I interned at a different shop than the one I ultimately accepted full-time with.
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