Interview tips for a Private Equity internship

If its a med to large firm you better be able to model like a mother.

I have to say though if you only have non finance industry experience its going to be EXTREMELY difficult to land a PE gig.

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If its a med to large firm you better be able to model like a mother.

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It is a very small firm. I think they are still in the deal sourcing and filtering stage. I have attended many financial modeling sessions outside of the classroom to help me since I come from a non-finance background. Hopefully I have picked up enough skills to talk intelligently.

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I have to say though if you only have non finance industry experience its going to be EXTREMELY difficult to land a PE gig.

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I can imagine. Our career services folks say PE and VC are by far the hardest careers to get into because they don't have a structured recruiting program like consulting or I-banking and it usually just comes down to who you know and if you are lucky enough to get a referral.

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I am in PE and want to get the hell out of it.

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What exactly do you do at your firm? Can you walk me through a typical day or a week for you? What are some intelligent questions to ask the interviewer in your opinion?

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Best advice I can give you is really sell your non finance background because that is what will separate you. Alot of PE firms like candidates who differentiate themselves and bring a different perspective.

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Thanks for the tip. I will keep that in mind.

What is your email. I will explain the lows and other aspects to give you a seasoned perspective. I have a non finance background plus don't want to offend anyone on the board.

I work for a small firm using the search fund model. I have done everything from sourcing , executive summary,and when the time comes modeling , due diligence , financial analysis and post merger integration. Will say the work I have done in PE is fun. To me the way the industry is trending is why I want to get the hell out along with lows.

The trend I am seeing is your "typical PE firm" only has investors best interest in mind and mainly looks at improving business by cutting cost and improving sales. What I am seeing is the amount of buyers in the market outweigh is much greater than companies with potential value.

Just seems that many firms don't focus on improving value and operations ( investors playing puppet master) which is what improves the selling price.

Good luck with the core of your sales pitch being this " We are appreciate the amount of time and effort to create this semi under valued company. While you have built great relationships with the community and employee we would love to offer you a large sum of money to buy your company than sell it in 3-5 years to some strategic buyer who could even care less about your time and effort to build this company than I do"

Just an FYI: The industry is under pressure to reduce or even eliminate management fees charged to their portfolio companies and if this happens, it will not be attractive for employees who are not partners and not on deal teams. It's one thing for PE to bill out for your services, another for your services to be a cost to the firm.

ETA: I work in an advisory firm for PE and Debt fund portfolio companies and we are hearing this more often.

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Both are definitely needed - industry SME or resident CEO's are best utilized by adding value in the areas/businesses they know; no real reason they should be doing market research/financial modeling.

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One day, I would love to be involved as an industry SME or, ideally, 'resident CEO' as you put it. To help or replace management and improve a company that has some financial backing is an exciting opportunity.

I'm on track to build that type of skill set, but it takes awhile and some grey hairs to get to that point.

What is the compensation model in PE? What do most folks coming out of MBAs make?

I'm listening to this book right now. Good read (or listen) to get a background of the industry.

I've been in the IT industry for 6 years and been on both sides of the interview table. I can tell you from experience especially in your case for an intership many of the candidates will have similar resumes so you need to stand out.

1. Dress to impress. Khakis and a button down will not get you remembered. If you feel a suite is overkill at least wear a blazer and tie.

2. Look professional. Wear a watch show up with a binder and pen and extra resume's incase someone at the table doesn't have one.

3. Ask questions. When the interview is coming to an end and they ask if you have any quesitions ask a few to prolong the interview and make yourself look very interested. DO NOT ask about wages or time off but do ask things like what the position intels or how long the intership is for. Even if you know the answer you want to ask something here to let them know you're seriously interested.

4.Most importantly be overly personable. Many times like I mentioned there will be more than one candidate worthy based on the resume so you want to come of as someone these guys / gals won't mind spending 40 hours a week around. Laugh at their jokes, smile, and if the opportunity arises to get off the subject on football or fishing ect... partake in the discussion.

5. This goes back to the previous but in the beginning when they ask you to tell them about yourself they don't want to hear where you went to high school and who your first girlfriend was. Tell them where you're from and immediately go into your experience / schooling relavent to the position.

Sit up straight
Make eye contact
Firm hand shake

Most importantly be likeble like I said you want to come off as a dude they won't mind working with for the next 6 months

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What is your email. I will explain the lows and other aspects to give you a seasoned perspective. I have a non finance background plus don't want to offend anyone on the board.

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euphemus at outlook dot com