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Step 1
If you are focused on private equity I'll take it as a fact that you have have a good understanding of finance and investing. As a reminder, private equity firms typically work with well-established, profitable companies, so if your passion is really emerging technology or social networking platforms you might adjust your search to focus on venture capital instead of private equity.
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Step 2
If there is a particular company or product that interests you as you go about your daily life, see if that company has had any private funding and find out who the investors are. You will be more successful if you are investing in an area of personal interest and passion.
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Step 3
Once you've identified a few firms with companies that you admire and have researched, be proactive. Try to find an angle. Undergraduate and business school alumni networks are always a great entry point.
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Step 4
Cold call a partner to set up a meeting. Leave a voicemail in addition to mailing (physically) your resume. Emails can get lost or blocked in spam filters. Make sure in your first contact that you are very specific with regards to your intentions. General 'get to know' you messages are always discarded.
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Step 5
Come prepared to discuss the firm's portfolio in detail, and be well versed on that firm's competitors. How do they differ? Try to make the investing partner start selling you as opposed to the other way around. This information is easily available on the web, and it's amazing how few candidates seek it out.
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Step 6
Ask insightful questions. In particular, questions about the business model of a portfolio company are a great way to show you that know your stuff. What's the revenue model? Why are [insert portfolio company X] gross margins so high? Why does the nearest public company trade at such a high EBITDA multiple?
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Step 7
Be persistent and follow up. Private equity investors are busy, and they get paid to invest money (so interviewing is often a distraction from that goal). Develop and share your own proprietary investment ideas with the firm. Ideas are easy - execution is the hard part.
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Step 8
If all else fails, just submit an application to the TARP (troubled asset relief) program! They are handing out billions of dollars with no strings attached :)
Comments
goodguy2000 said
on 6/4/2009 great article, recommended*
jmikelos said
on 7/2/2008 People in the industry are key to landing a PE job, absolutely. The trick is to connect with them through a common activity/interest. After months of informationals/ referrals, I finally got mine through a trainer at a private equity training course, PEFIN. How? The guy had worked in the industry. He knew exactly what buttons to push and went the extra mile for me to get my current job. Why? We ended up playing tennis together a couple of times. That made a big difference. Also two of my classmates were already working in the industry. During the training, we were on the same boat, though. We were all there to get better, faster, smarter. Those guys were also very helpful- especially in preparing me for my interviews. I say, find those people that had and are working in the industry and socialize with them in a training, playing sports or other kind of activity. That is what worked for m
CareerHelp said
on 6/25/2008 Some help for finding the Private Equity Job opportunities. We recommend a niche industry job site such as www.JobSearchDigest.com. These sites have hundreds of private equity jobs and venture capital jobs. It makes the search for which firms are hiring much more efficient and they offer a free weekly job listing email so you can keep your finger on the pulse of industry hiring.
tommyboy2k said
on 10/2/2006 I wish I would have had all this info when I came out of Harvard Business School.