Maybe PE isn't for me.
On cycle kicking off in June...
Like fuck me yeah I should have studied sooner, I am probably like 60% there but June is insane.
Stuff like this makes me wonder if I am cut out for this "high finance" BS pipeline. I am about to spend 2 years of my life in a sweatshop, and I wanted to enjoy my last 2 months before hitting the desk.
This whole process is just a turn-off for me. Respect to the people that grinded and were ready, but that is just not me. If the expectation was to spend the final months before hitting the desk cranking out LBOs I can't imagine what it is like working there. Maybe this is where I finally hop off the prestige circle jerk.
I am tired of stressing myself out. I just want to chill with my friends, fish, day drink, and do whatever other stupid shit I can't do when I start work.
I am sure I will continue being humbled all week, but it has been eye-opening.
If you participate good luck and I wish you the best!
I just wanna know how these interviews are going knowing where most kids are at. Whatre they even asking 😂😂. Saw on another thread someone left an interview asking “What’s IRR?”
I’m sure some of these guys are prepped but a lot of people I’ve talked to got their cheeks clapped by megafunds and stopped doing on cycle lmao
There are plenty of other PE firms besides MFs man...
I’m right with you. I just want to enjoy life for a little bit longer, and if chilling for one summer is gonna “wreck” my career then maybe this isn’t worth it
I totally get how you're feeling. It’s tough to stay motivated when it feels like the grind never ends. High finance isn't for everyone, and there's no shame in wanting to enjoy life more. Do what feels right for you. Good luck with whatever you decide, and take care of yourself!
I said this on another thread but dropping it here for OP:
TL;DR, you’re fine. enjoy your life and worry about this when you are at your desk
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.
It's not on the recruiters. It's on whoever the toppled the first domino - once one MF kicks it off they all have to
How'd you switch from banking to PE? Im trying to do the same but i dont exactly know how considering the skills dont overlap that much
Bruh wdym the skills from IB match basically directly to PE.
Yea dude, maybe it isn't, and that's fine. I'm a year in to the IB gig and have a PE job lined up and the reality is pretty brutal. You have to fight to maintain your physical fitness, social life, and sleep. It's an emotionally and physically taxing job, my relationships with my parents and siblings and friends have taken a toll because I can't make time for them often and when I do I'm usually still stressed out. If you don't stand up for yourself you will end up missing meals, sleep deprived, etc. There's a lot of jobs out there that will pay a pretty nice salary without being this demanding.
Early on-cycle recruiting is the dumbest shit ever. Unless you just really want a top megafund (and even if you think you do I'd beg you to reconsider) there are zero good reasons to do it regardless of if you secure an offer.
People underestimated how much you will grow and develop as a finance professional 6 months into the job, the pattern I've seen in my class and over the last two classes after me is almost formulaic: 1) sharp kid graduates from good school and wants to prestige chase a MF 2.a) they get an offer and by the end of their two year analyst stint they realize they actually don't want to work at a MF or in the industry group of the MF they signed 2.b) they don't get an offer and end up with a PE offer off-cycle that they're actually a good fit with thereafter because they had the time to actually consider what they want.
Trust me, there is no worse feeling in the world than 2.a where you dread your next job for two years.
Can I ask when you saw good shops interviewing during your first/second year? Would be helpful to clarify if this was MM / UMM / MF
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 to take or not take when getting crushed by job. Lot easier to take stuff 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.
It sounds dumb but I would only take interviews with firms where you would take the offer on the spot if given. (very bad look to not take an offer once given and will hurt your relationship with HHs) The hard part in all this is figuring out what subset of firms fit that criteria for you.
You're not going to be able to get everything you want and may have to give up one of geo/industry/investment style/size but you really just won't know what's important to you till after you spend some time on the desk. The cost of making a bad decision here is far higher than banking. The difference between working at a top-tier and mediocre bank is relatively low but the difference between PE firms can be night and day now that I'm on the other side (from a culture/returns/industry POV).
Take the scenic route unless you're 100% sure of what you want.
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Breathe.
There’s a lot of buyside jobs out there that invest across strategies. Majority PE, growth (minority) PE, late stage VC, mixed strategies at family offices, etc.
I am an associate and I see associates and even sometimes VPs exit to the buyside across a mixed range of roles in the above list. Sometimes those people do a year or two there and then go to “better” funds.
Your career is a marathon not a sprint. You’re like 21. You’re in a great spot, with a great job you are starting soon. You will do great.
Lol just do off cycle recruiting bro, not the end of the world
Look at it as a practice round. There’ll be numerous opportunities to get into the industry. You can only gain from this experience and grow professionally, even if you don’t get the job. Every action is a step in the ladder until you get there.
imagine the type of person that IS prepared for this
now imagine working side by side with those type of people
thats megafund life and its not fun boyos
Not all funds participate in on-cycle anymore because some started realizing long ago that the quality of candidates the process offers is just not there. Most of the firms that participate in on cycle (baring a few that get FOMOed into it) are the sweatshops funds I would advise you to avoid anyway. Take this early on cycle as a blessing - now you know what firms to avoid
Adding in some wisdom from some senior people I've been fortunate enough to connect with + learn from:
The single most important* variable to maximize if you're interested in building long-term wealth in this industry is longevity. The person who bounces around and eventually winds up making principal/partner at a mid-tier shop in Chicago/Boston/Austin or whatever will wind up making multiples of the person who goes from EB/top BB --> MF but burns out at 27 and leaves the industry. I know on-cycle often feels like the be-all end-all from the POV of us 22 y/o's, but honestly, probably the worst thing you can do for your long-term career is blindly commit yourself to 2-3 years of a job that winds up making you want to kill yourself (and if you're a normal person like your post suggests, the odds that MF PE will be soul-crushing is pretty high!).
At this point IMO on-cycle is for the megahardos who spent second semester of senior year + their time off over the summer prepping LBOs and have dreamed about working at KKR/APO since they were 15. If that's you, no hate, go for it. If not – if you're a normal, somewhat smart, somewhat well-adjusted kid who went into IB because you're a high achiever and you wanted to open doors for the future, but also wants to spend time with friends + family before starting the IB grind – do some PE technicals during training when you have nothing else going on, then take a few months on the job and figure out what it is you actually like to do. Even if that winds up being PE (even MF PE!) there will be plenty of opportunities for you off-cycle. Even if they're slightly less "prestigious" or whatever, your odds of burning out leaving the industry go down, and your odds of actually experiencing some sort of life satisfaction go way up.
* before people yell at me – single most important variable holding all else equal. Yes the MF PE partner makes more than the LMM PE partner. But the delta between those two is smaller than the delta between the LMM PE partner and the burnt-out MF PE associate who quits and goes to corp dev because they hate the job they got themselves into.
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