Giving people a heads up that 2026 buyside recruiting has officially kicked off. Firms we know are going include:
[Updated as of 6 ET]:
Sycamore
CD&R
Bain Cap
New Mountain Cap
Berkshire
H&F
GA
Apollo
Berkshire
Heard rumors of Thoma, TPG, BX, L Cat as well, but not confirmed.
Feel free to use this thread to include any other firms you hear are launching.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
| +307 | Private Equity Analysis is a Joke | 71 | 23h | |
| +138 | 2026 Buyside Recruiting Kicked Off 6/24/24 | 211 | 4s | |
| +133 | Maybe PE isn't for me. | 24 | 1d | |
| +87 | Oncycle Kicks Off Tomorrow | 59 | 1d | |
| +70 | Explain on-cycle recruiting to a clueless Europoor | 13 | 1d | |
| +43 | Status of PE Recruiting | 8 | 1d | |
| +39 | Why not just buy your own business with an SBA loan? | 42 | 1d | |
| +36 | Off-Cycle 2026 Megathread | 12 | 1d | |
| +36 | Asked to fudge numbers? | 20 | 1d | |
| +30 | What happens after signing PE Offer | 13 | 2d |
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naw what the fuck
Unfortunately, I can confirm this is true. GL people
At Evercore and this is correct
Bain is also out
Sycamore, New Mountain, H&F, Berkshire too
AmSec?
Bump
This is why megafund PE will always suck for juniors, we have people willing to drop post-grad summer plans and anything else going on to go through a process like this
Can attest to the above:
GA
Apollo
Berkshire
Oaktree started as well/
Do you know if it’s just PE interviewing, or is PC also interviewing?
It was global opps
PC too
BX started
Really for corporate PE? Thought they sat out last year.
Not anymore
Centerbridge started
what in tarnation
are the interviews just tonight or also tomorrow?
received an invite for tomorrow
Can confirm we are going till Thursday if not filled. But we were told “it is not imperative to fill the class”
Virgin oncycle vs Chad off-cycle
I’m literally at Analyst training right now and analysts are leaving the training room lectures to go to interviews 🤣🤣
evr moment
Do we know which funds kicked it off this year?
Heard Apollo
Anybody else sitting around twiddling thumbs with no interview inbounds
Yep lol
Right there with ya
sucks to see some of the firms that HH's have told me to "keep an eye on" or "be ready for" have sent out invites. RIP
Yes and the same firms have been scheduling coffee chats with me so I'm confused
same here. just got another coffee chat invite, but the firm is already interviewing
Same here. From friends at other firms sounds like mostly EB kids have gotten interviews - not sure if that is completely true. Anyone not currently in NYC have interviews scheduled?
Analyst heading out to interview just asked me what IRR is. I think that sums up the state of on cycle
.
L Cat is not interviewing
Did you get the Opus email from them too?
guess it pays to be a rich diverse kid
To those reading this comment in the future, myself and 3 recruiting buddies are all non-diverse asian males from low to middle class backgrounds and we all each got multiple invites to MF/UMM firms tonight. And I am pretty anti-diversity too. It's all about killing headhunter calls and coffee chats, doing proper research of funds, and coming from the right background (BB/EB, minimum GPA threshold).
what is that threshold
What is a 'non-diverse asian'?
Do firms send out interviews late at night? Am I really supposed to sit at my computer all night waiting, or are invites done?
bump
total guess but im guessing 10 EST is probably as late as it'll get
Any MBB consultants land interviews?
sir, this is an arby’s…
Agree with all. And while the associate role is critical bc your vps life will suck if the associate sucks it's very much an entry level role
Del
Del
Anyone got an offer yet?
Are offers already out?
Word in my class is all invites are out for kkr/apollo
Feel for all the guys who were trying to enjoy their last few weeks of freedom on vacation
Heard some offers are out
where?
Some offers out at CD&R
Which groups?
Which groups?
Wtf are candidates supposed to even talk about??
While checking for missing periods and misformats on project Evergreen, I came to deeply appreciate the transactional structure of
Absolutely nothing that can meaningfully indicate if they can do the job well.
TPG SET went out
offers?
And TPG HC
heard it started around 6pm and it's just back-to-back and still going
Someone please confirm this is verified , this not a sick joke ?!
Any update on the H&F interview process?
They were still filling 2025 seats less than a month ago.
can you please verify this for PE NY or SF - would bring me peace of mind. Sounds unlikely to me they had a slot open unless someone renegged or quit banking tbh
Are interviews less technical given how early ? Imagine prob not but have college seniors really been cranking LBOs???
Absolutely not…that was brutal
Can you expand on this, maybe touch upon your experience within one of these interviews?
It's generally the opposite. Interviews are more technical since they don't have deal experience to talk about.
can confirm Centerbridge participating in on-cycle
YTM calc at a MF without RX/debt focus (not Apollo)?
Guess it will just get earlier and earlier every year... fully expect it to creep into spring semester at some point. Some of these guys just walked last week.
Quarter system kids are moving out of their dorms/apartments right now.
TPG Growth sent out interviews
who covers TPG growth?
When did they blast?
Multiple groups, a few hours ago
Did anyone get a second round yet?
went through TPG case round and a technical. Not sure if I did well on those at all. How do you know if you've been dinged?
when did you get blasted for the interview request / when did u interview
started 730/8pm, ended around 12am
If it lasted from 7pm-12am and you aren't still interviewing, it most likely is not good news. PE firms like to keep you until they give you the offer to prevent people from interviewing at other places
How late do interviews go until?
Also havent heard back yet, how did u feel the case went? Did u get a reasonable irr and stuff
For those who didnt get a single thing tonight, are we screwed?
+1 here wondering the same thing.
Wondering the same thing - talked to most of the HHs but not being shown a thing lmao
Referring to previous years, the next 48 hours is still hard "on-cycle" and about 3 weeks from now will be "off-cycle", everything in between is some mix of the two. UMM and MM will be interviewing for their on-cycle roles for the next few weeks. So if you are gunning for a MF, you might have missed the initial boat but there are usually open roles on the back end. If you aren't strictly MF, then you will still have a lot of opportunities.
Thanks for the encouraging words. It’s crazy to see some of your friends getting 5-6 interviews while no headhunters have sent u anything lmaooo
Way behind everyone else here. No IB job and trying to go strait to pe. Ik how to do lbo's and feel decently prepared for an interview but legit have no idea how to get one. any ideas?
get an IB job
Second year analyst here. I remember when I was at training and superday happened right after training. I am transitioning from banking to PE, so I think I’m qualified to give some input here. I got an offer during off-cycle.
Don’t forget the fact that you are not even an analyst yet. Most of you don’t even know what banking is and what this job is. You might even hate it. Yea, it sucks if you don’t hear from the biggest PE firms that are kicking off but I strongly suggest everyone to take some time to truly understand what kind of investing they want to do while they study LBOs.
No, you’re not screwed if you don’t hear from firms right now. But it will be difficult. I won’t hide it from you that it’s going to suck, you’re going to have to constantly prep hoping the firms on your prioritized list will kick off. But that’s the beauty of PE recruiting. It’s very competitive and if you really find it interesting, you will be motivated to continue pushing through. For the folks that are interviewing and getting offers right now, congrats. This is a huge achievement but please go into banking with the right mindset to learn as much as you can and please please please be kind to those that have not had the luck you had.
Lastly, I will re-emphasize that this will suck. But it will be worth it and patience is truly a virtue. There are great firms like Silver Lake, TA, and others that will go later (i.e. Advent, TA, and some other great shops looked for candidates 3 weeks ago for 2024 start). Also, you can do a lot worse than being at your current bank if you go to a weird shop, be careful.
Anyway, good luck. For the rare chance the recruiters are reading this, screw you.
Can I ask when you saw an uptick in good shops interviewing during your first/second year? If you got a mid inbound meaning didn't fit your strategy/fund size/geog did you still take the interview for reps or avoid engaging unless it was on your top list during offcycle? decision matrix seems a lot harder in offcycle when getting crushed by job than when oncycle is a craze and you're taking 1-2 interviews max in a 48 hour sprint w/o work breathing down your neck / risk of losing HH inbounds if take a mid shop interivew.
wondering if you secured offer in second wave during ~ jan?
Different from OP but also a second year going to MF / UMM PE. I didn’t go oncycle because I did 0 prep before starting my job, but that didn’t matter.
During my first year in Jan / Feb there was another massive wave of recruiting with a ton of UMM and a few MFs who went. The interview process was much longer than my friends who did oncycle (multiple interviews over week+ timeline) so if you don’t get an offer now (or don’t recruit now) don’t freak out. Focus on hitting the desk strong and getting good reps and you will land just fine.
Heard TA participating. Anyone know about Lindsay or amsec?
is this for people currently in ib? wtf does this mean
if you talked to hh and indicated interested in on-cycle, didn't get much inbound and of the inbounds for interview requests you got you rejected and decided to delay until off cycle or later, does that count in the eyes of hh as participating on cycle?
Wondering the same thing
No. Deciding to interview, messing up, and getting dinged is what will hurt you. If you didn’t interview, your performance is still a wild card in their eyes.
How were H&F and Blackstone interviews?
Any Berkshire offers out / updates on interviews?
They sent out more rounds today for interviewing - got a request to interview but decided to go interview for them during off cycle
Does anyone know if KKR AMPE went today??
TPG HC offers out
Any word on business services?
Laughing in European
What are you talking about, our process is way more brutal we have 40 spots a year in decent PE shops (if that) with each process being 15 interviews, 2 take home case studies, and 5 modelling tests over 6 months. Not sure what you are laughing about, I would love to have it condensed over a few days and have it done and dusted before I start my banking program and then cruise for 2 years knowing that the next 4 years of my life are planned out.
Chill out man - I am laughing at the fact that the associate process is happening before you’ve even got to your analyst desk. It is just absurd
Any indication if more funds will kick off processes tonight?
Is this only for PE/GE/private investing roles? What about HF clients like the crossovers, SMs, L/Ss, activists?
Naa, hedge funds don’t do this. It is only for the prestige chasers.
Has anyone at MM / non-top BB received any inbounds?
Yes, mid BB
Ok maybe this is kind of copeium, but I’m seeing that there’s a non trivial number of ppl who leave the industry after their associate gigs to go to startups or something entirely rando , even from the very top names everyone here jerks off to— if that’s the path you end up taking , what even is the point rlly
Yes that is completely a cope. People at places like Apollo stay for a while. Stop justifying to yourself and put in the work to get a PE offer. Startups, unless you’re the founder, is a shit paying job and no killer in their right mind is leaving PE for some pussy strategic finance role
Keep drinking the koolaid
while its more than okay to be passionate about what you do, you have to realize that job is just a job - no job is better or worse than others. Judging by the way you speak, i would assume it would be so fun to work alongside you. Wake up buddy
Taking a risk at a startup (First couple finance/strategy hires) that you believe in can yield a lot more wealth than any career in PE can aside from starting your own firm. Obviously is riskier and not for everyone, but don’t put down other people’s work or career paths because you’ve derived some sense of superiority through believing PE is the only option and make you better than others (even though 90% chance you are still in college without an offer and trying to manically plan out your career for the next 30 years with no sense of what the real world is like).
Spoken like a true intern
You know Apollo pushes associates out? It is very difficult to get promoted at Apollo, and most PE firms. Good to get the experience, but most people there aren't lifers
Any info about European Buyside Recruiting? Some First Years have not even started yet...
Completely different dynamics, most HH interactions start 6 months (for analyst roles) - 3 yrs into the job even depending on the type of firm and your timing preferences. You could obv have intro calls before starting your job, but those are just to get your resume into their databases. Most people tend to start interviewing 1-1.5 yrs into the job
Has anyone gotten another round for TPG growth after the case?
Advent offers are potentially out, just got the call from HH didn't get it
Any update Re: Advent Offers or Interviews? Any new firms launching their recruiting processes today?
For my LA folks: Has Leonard Green started yet?
Offers are out / have been accepted at most
top funds
Leonard Green??
Sir cap-a-lot
Has Cerberus gone yet?
They go Off cycle
just curious, how would HH processes work for PE analyst program laterals? would you have to personally reach out to the HH firms? rising junior (ignore title) incoming at a top-tier PE/GE firm summer analyst program, really enjoyed my interview process and like the vibe of the team, but just want to know for optionality purposes
bump also curious
You’d contact HHs as any IB analyst would, but if you seriously did decide you wanted to leave, it would definitely require some serious justification. HHs may be a bit hesitant of someone who is already wanting to leave X PE firm without working a minute there.
HHs definitely look favorably upon PE analysts for non-PE roles (primarily HF and public equities recruiting), but I haven’t really heard of anyone leave their PE analyst program to go to a PE associate program via the on-cycle process. Not sure why you would’ve accepted the PE analyst offer in such a case, would’ve just been better off doing IB.
I also imagine you would not be able to use your firm’s own HH, without screwing yourself. For example, if you were a Blackstone PE analyst, I doubt you use whatever their HH is to go to another client PE firm of theirs
bump curious about growth analyst roles like Insight/GA/Summit recruiting for PE
Almost no chance you’re on par (in terms of favorability in the HHs eyes) with investment banking analysts, certainly for on cycle. PE deal execution is much more akin to the technical framework in IB (especially if you’re in a sponsors coverage group, then literally) compared to sourcing calls.
Tldr if you’re at a Insight/GA, ur probably cooked for on cycle, if you’re at a KKR/Vista/Bain, ur definitely gonna be suspicious bc why tf would you leave without starting, but probably a good look for HFs
Got offer at TPG HC absolute brutal process
Congrats! What was the process like for you?
That place is an absolute sweatshop. I would renege if you can
^
roommate works at another group there but says HC is quite literally hell. May be one of the worst culture groups across all PE groups/funds in the entire street
Any idea if consultant offers went out? Seems like very few in the process
As an incoming AN1 in Europe, I'm baffled whenever I read threads like this. It's insane to me that a firm would reach out and conduct interview processes for role 2+ years down the road before you even hit the desk in IB.
Absolutely fucked up process but guess what? We'll still do it motivated by money and, above all, prestige.
As a European myself, the most insane part was learning that some places held interviews from 7pm-2am and offers handed out during the night
Absolutely, it's mental when you put it like that. Literally the equivalent of a dog fight.
Also heard of people dropping out of an interview process in the middle of it just to go to another firm at like midnight. Crazy.
Are interview requests still going out? If so, how long do you think until firms wrap up their on-cycle process?
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