Getting a Job in Private Equity by Brian Korb

Author:Brian Korb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2010-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

At the end of 2003 I began making calls to assess the possibility of a move into PE. Once January 2004 rolled around I launched a broad PE search. I made lots of calls—to clients, to headhunters and to friends in the industry. Some CEOs/clients made calls on my behalf and through that process I lined up a few interviews. My understanding was still that to get a post MBA job in PE one would need prior principal investing experience. When I launched my search process people confirmed that my lack of PE experience would be a significant impediment. I also quickly learned that once you are out of business school there is no fluid hiring market—it’s more like a spot market where people get hired once in a while. As such you need to be in front of as many firms as possible so that when they are hiring you will likely be on their radar screens. Casting a broad net was important. I eventually found a PE fund that was open to my background. Unfortunately, there is no published list of firms that will hire people without prior PE experience so it was a bit of a buckshot approach to the market.

For me, being at one of the top investment banks was crucial. It made me (and my resume) stand out, especially because I was a generalist. I’d say if you are a specialist banker, the group you are in is important. There is no doubt that the brand name of the firm that you join is crucial. If you are using the bank as a stepping-stone and have choices, I would say always go with the best brand-name firm even if you do not like the group/people as much. For me, it was an easy decision because I liked the people and the firm a lot.

If I could dial back the clock to when I was 22, I would have gone into banking after undergrad. Taking that path would have saved me a few years. The path I chose eventually led to a position in PE but it was a long process. I would say that building a network is crucial. It’s important that you develop a personal rapport with your professional contacts. In my case, my contacts opened doors for me that would have been closed otherwise. In the end, it’s a combination of being good at what you do, being very opportunistic and very aggressive, and, of course, catching some breaks along the way.

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