Should I Pursue an Early PE Associate Interview Opportunity as a Rising Junior?
I'm currently a rising junior with an internship lined up for 2025 at a lower-tier BB bank. I currently have the opportunity to interview for a PE associate role in my junior year at a solid firm. Problem is, I don't know whether I want to do PE after banking. I don't want to be in a situation where I go through two years of banking only to go through another two more years of a job I don't like, but at the same time I am aware of how competitive PE recruiting is (or seems to be based on the vibe I got here) and I don't want to pass on a golden opportunity. I'd really appreciate peoples' thoughts on this.
And, I'm aware that this is an early interview, not an early offer. Nonetheless, there is a chance that early interview converts into an offer and I don't want to be in a situation where I reject that offer or accept it and potentially commit to a job I don't want to do.
Edit: To clarify the interview is for an aso role which I would assume after doing two years of banking.
What's the PE firm? That's the most important detail you've neglected to provide.
Edit: to the idiot saying this wasn't helpful - we can't help if we don't know what half the options are dummy
Sorry about that. Don’t want to share the pe firm name but I’ll say it’s UMM if that’s helpful enough
Short answer: Yes, it's a no brainer that you should interview. For what it's worth, if this is a true ASO role (not an Analyst-ASO pipeline) for a UMM fund the odds you're getting an offer right out of undergrad are as close to 0 as randomly encountering life in the vacuum of space, but it'll be nice practice and a data point you can share in any other interviews you have in parallel.
Didn't need the firm's name, just details so we know what to compare here in terms of opportunity (e.g. if it were some 2-person $100m fund in Kansas vs the worst BB, obviously you'd take the BB). IMO in general, when you're in school you should take EVERY interview opportunity (unless it's a complete waste e.g. some recruiter approaches you for an FP&A role at random startup or something equally non-sequitur) as a chance for practice if nothing else. Failing an interview costs you nothing but time, which you have plenty of to spare in school. And even still, always a chance you make a decent impression on an interviewer and it's someone you can keep in touch with.
This is a pointless way to think so do yourself a favor and just purge it from your mind entirely. There is nothing wrong with rejecting offers (just reneging) and having them in hand is always good leverage for others you get so you can negotiate. There's nothing forcing you to commit to something if you don't want to do it, and if you realize you don't like something after committing that's life and nothing forces you to stay there for the rest of your career - lateral hiring is a thing. You won't know how you truly feel about 99% of opportunities until you're actually on the job because you're in school and have 0 frame of reference.
Good luck!
Thanks for the comprehensive response. And I was unclear in my initial post but the aso interview is basically for after I do two years of banking. So interview in 6 months, hopefully get offer, then do banking for two years and then join the pe firm.
YW. First skill for you to work on regardless of your choice - concise write ups that include all the important details to make a decision!
All else equal, might be better to go with the banking option. Provides good training and modeling experience, as well as just absorbing via osmosis from being in the environment, all of which can be leveraged to lateral over to PE. Starting straight in PE might not provide the same experience and could pigeonhole you if you're not 100% dead set on it. HUGE emphasis on "could" depending on the specific firm and the types of exposure you would be getting as an intern.
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