For many young professionals, standing out in a competitive private equity job market can feel intimidating. Especially since there are so few roles for private equity juniors compared to roles in other areas of finance like investment banking. It is essential to prepare carefully for a junior role in private equity. At the analyst level (especially for On-Cycle), you aren’t expected to have lots of deal experience but you are expected to have an analytical mindset, technical proficiency in Excel, an idea how deals come together, an awareness of what makes a good deal, and a demonstrated interest in becoming an investor.

Here are a few tips on how to stand out in a competitive private equity job market:

TIP #1: Practice your interview answers

Practicing your behavioral interview questions is essential to stand out in a competitive job market. A lot of people can teach themselves an LBO and create one that is up to their target firm’s standard, but not everyone can tell a compelling story of why they want to work in private equity or speak about their deal team experience and how that will make them valuable in private equity. 

If you can focus on some of these key behavioral questions throughout your interview prep, you have a better chance of standing out over your colleagues who will rush to formulate these answers. Take the time to dig deep into some of these questions and draw on examples from your current and past professional experience, college extracurriculars, and anything else relevant that is unique to you and your background. While there isn’t a one-size fits all approach, because everyone’s background is unique, there are ways to develop customized answers to high-delta questions based on YOU and YOUR path. Our mentors will help show you what to highlight in your answers (story, deal walkthrough, behavioral prep, headhunter outreach, etc.) and how to convert more INTERVIEWS into OFFERS.

TIP #2: Identify your unique skill set 

One of the best ways to stand out in any job market is to focus your energy inward and identify your unique skill set. In other words, determine what you bring to the table that others can’t or won’t. This can vary depending on your circumstances. For example, if you come from a particular industry group in investment banking (whether that be consumer, energy, healthcare, or something else), play to the strengths you have within that particular industry. If you’re interviewing for a generalist fund or a fund with a slightly different industry, this can also apply in those situations.

Interviewers want to see that you are developing expertise in something and that something can either be directly or tangentially related to what they do. What matters is that you can speak to your current expertise and show how it relates to becoming a great investor using their fund’s strategy. In my experience, I was part of the Natural Resources group in investment banking and was able to directly apply my learnings to interviewing for a role at an infrastructure private equity firm.

Apart from the group you work in, everyone has skills that set them apart. Sometimes it requires digging a bit deeper to find them. For example, when I was going through the interview process, I knew that I might not be the best in Excel or have a lot of deal experience, so I played to my strengths of being a strong presenter and having a deep understanding of the fund’s strategy and current investments in the portfolio. While my model test passed the firm’s bar, I knew that my unique skill set would put me ahead of other potential analysts who also passed the technical skills tests.

Take the time to find your unique skill set before you begin the formal recruiting process. If you are actively recruiting, make this a priority before your next few interviews so that you can present yourself as a highly competitive candidate.

TIP #3: Nail the model test

Most, if not all, private equity interviews will have a model test. The timing may differ, as some firms use it as a screen during the first or second interaction with candidates while other firms choose to do the model test later on once they’ve screened the candidate with behavioral questions. As an analyst, you might not be very familiar with leveraged buyout (LBO) modeling, so this is important to practice before you start to interview seriously. There isn’t really a way around mastering the modeling test besides lots of time and practice. Remember, you can use the models on OfficeHours and have our Mentors guide you through elements of the modeling test that might be more unfamiliar or confusing to you. Want some help? Click here to get take a look at our platform access.

Besides the mechanics of building the actual model, the most important aspects of the test to master are the assumptions you use for transaction entry and exit, growth, and returns. Firms may have some sort of “debrief” after you take the modeling test where you will be asked to present your model (and investment thesis if you built the model from a CIM) to a member of the investment team. It is important to practice presenting a model before your interview and learn how to pull key pieces of information from a CIM so that you can support your company’s transaction multiple, growth, and other assumptions. Don’t worry, OfficeHours can help with that too.

TIP #4: Networking is key

Another way to stand out in a competitive market is to form genuine connections with people who work at your target firms and in your industry of interest. Having coffee chats with experts in the industry can help you learn more about current trends and firms’ expectations for the junior team.

Before you go through the formal recruiting process, either On-Cycle or Off-Cycle, (click here for the latest article on On-Cycle vs. Off-Cycle), you should try to speak with as many analysts, associates and directors who work at your target firms of interest. This can be through LinkedIn outreach, mutual friends or colleagues, school alumni, or people who have previously worked at the bank (consulting firm, etc.) you’re at now.

Ask them questions about their work, their professional path, expectations for the role you’re targeting, and, most importantly, what they like about the people they work with (i.e. culture). If they are an analyst or associate, they can tell you exactly what you need to do to excel in that role. If they are a director or higher, they can give you insight into the caliber of work they expect to receive and give you hints as to what you can highlight in your interviews based on the skills you currently have.

Any role can help push your resume along internally, but you still have to perform in the interview. Knowing a Hollywood producer may help get you onto American Idol, but to win the competition you have to PERFORM and impress everyone along the way. We speak with so many bankers who feel they are good with the prep (because they’ve worked in banking or know how to model). Getting the interview is part of the prep. Also, if you’re not getting interviews, it’s most likely because something you’re showcasing to headhunters/firms is not being casted in the right light. OfficeHours can help with all this - schedule a call with our top coaches or submit your application directly here.

Watch this video where our Megafund Coach walks us through how she would answer a Basic PE Verbal Case Study.

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