IB SA --> FT PE -- Interview Timeline/Process during Summer

From just a quick scrape of LinkedIn, the number of IB Summer Analyst jumping to FT Private Equity has definitely increased than in years past.

For those that did make the jump, how did you navigate the interview process/timeline during your Summer Analyst program? Did you call out sick on superdays? Were you taking phone calls during the day? Or was everything after the 10-weeks was over?

Any insight would be helpful. Appreciate it

SR21

 

I did my SA at an EB. Honestly, so little responsibility is given to you that nobody knows where you are 80% of the time. Probably more. I recruited for full time buyside jobs during the last half of the summer (idk what the timeline has looked like the past few summers). I would find conference rooms on floors where nobody had a chance of recognizing me and take calls there, otherwise if I couldn't find one I would find a quiet place outside to take the call. For super days, I called out sick two days. I got an offer from the EB (which one of my FT buyside offers was contingent on). I think that is a pretty common practice. However, usually your bank knows who is converting by mid summer reviews.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
 

What type of fund are you currently working at? If MM, did you not want to stick it out and try to aim for a megafund associate position?

 

My experience was that super days were mostly during the weekend. If they were only asking for one or two interviews, then you could squeeze it in either early in the morning or late at night. I know several people that switched without every taking a day off (you really shouldn't need to).

None of the places I applied were late enough to wait for a full a FT offer from my internship. These are generally very fast moving processes with exploding deadlines.

 

This is incomplete, but I'll start.

The megafunds that have strong, active analyst programs:

Vista Equity Partners Bain Capital Blackstone Silver Lake

Megafunds that have a handful of analysts:

KKR Apollo Warburg Pincus Carlyle TPG (although I've seen people go from IB Analyst --> PE Analyst rather than straight out of school)

 
Most Helpful

Recruited extensively for FT PE gigs and got an offer at one of the MFs, my experiences below. Feel free to ask questions.

  • Blackstone: strong analyst program but pay below street, hire a few in BCP, a couple in Tac Opps, and a bunch in Real Estate, entirely networking based
  • Warburg: the oldest and probably most established PE analyst program, take 3-4 per year, quite networking based but they have a breakfast for summer analysts part way through the summer which kicks off recruiting
  • Bain Cap - later in the summer, more friendly to consultants for obvious reasons, hire about 4 and will have a recruiting cocktail in NY some time in the summer
  • Vista - hire about 10 but office selection is random (+ no NY office) which was a deal-breaker for me, very tech-focused interviews, you'll probably have a recruiter linkedin message you (they spam everyone)
  • KKR - very small analyst program only in their SSG (2-3), most come out of their summer analyst pool anyway
  • SLP - 2-3 analysts (1-2 will be outside recruits), ofc tech-focused, harder to break in from NY due to WC
  • Apollo - only hires analysts in their Credit team, don't know much about the program
  • TPG - closed their analyst program a couple years ago
  • Carlyle - never knew them to have an analyst program

EDIT: Missed a few - Ares LA: 3-4 analysts, most come from summers but 1-2 spots every year - LGP: 1-2 analysts, highly dependent on how the summers perform - BDT, GTCR, Silver Point, Audax, General Atlantic: don't know much about them but they've taken analysts in the past

 

KKR is launching a new FT analyst program. Honestly have no details beyond this (and the fact that it is not SSG), but they are hosting info sessions at targets this spring.

Edit: Would add Insight to the list--not sure how to classify as they do a mix of late stage VC and LBOs, but they just raised a $6bn fund and have an established analyst program. I think most of their FT class comes from the SA program though.

 

Blackstone is completely wrong. I don't know how you got "entirely networking based." I know someone working now in REPE as an analyst and got it through their summer analyst program. She submitted her resume in a resume drop from a posting on her school career website. Several rounds before a superday. She's summa cum laude at a target (not Wharton/Harvard).

 

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