Sr. Associate / VP Lateral Hiring Market
Anyone else not seeing too many opportunities in the market right now for senior associates and VPs? Would you expect the market to heat up in January or is there a bit of a hiring slowdown?
Started looking for roles 3-4 months ago (spoke to all the big headhunters, networked with friends, etc.) and have only been able to land a couple of interviews so far (that too, one of the places said they weren't sure whether they would be hiring now). I'm wondering if I should be broadening my search (location, sector) at this point.
What’s your background? Have you focused on NYC?
Currently at a UMM buyout fund. Did a couple of years in M&A at a pretty well regarded bank beforehand and went to a target school.
So far, I've been overwhelmingly focused on NYC. I would really prefer to be in NYC, if possible, but would consider moving to a different city if I found a really compelling opportunity. I have pretty good experience and think my background is solid so I was hoping to have a bit more luck with this process. That said, it's at least slightly reassuring to hear that I might not be alone here.
Have heard the hiring pipeline in general is quite slow at the moment. Not surprising since the last eighteen months or so have been gangbusters
Hearing the same. Looking at Sr Assoc/VP roles in buyout PE. Been in market since July and its been very slow. Would love to hear insight from anyone on if there might be a ramp up in January / Q1
The market has been slow. I got a few leads over the last month, two via headhunters and one via a industry referral.
are you a second year associate looking for your next move from a 2 and out program? Just curious.
Seems like that's what everyone else is experiencing. I'm just hoping there's an uptick in activity next month.
Answer to your question is no. I am a senior associate in an unstructured program looking for experienced senior associate or VP gigs.
Hopefully you’re able to secure something.
I'm talking to some LMM shops and the comp discussion has come up with one headhunter. Do you mind sharing what the senior associate pay at your current shop is. Just trying to get a sense for how I should approach my conversations and guidance.
Heard 2Ys at my MBA are having a tougher time right now compared to the last couple years, unsurprisingly.
Interesting. Pardon my ignorance here but do most MBAs sign full-time PE gigs by now or is there a lot of recruiting that takes place in the final semester?
All of the above. Big firms recruiting earlier and MM recruits just-in-time.
Looking for vp role as well. Started looking lightly in July and feel like I was a few months too late. A few interviews but not that much hiring happening rn imo.
What happens if at the end of your 2 yr program you can’t find another pe gig? Do most firms keep you on until you land something?
Wondering the same as well. 2nd year at a 2-and-out.
Same here. Started looking in October. Most recruiters say things might pick up in January as some funds will get their headcount approvals in December and start processes in Jan if they are expanding. There might be more sporadic hiring driven by bonus payments in Jan-Feb, but best bet could be to read PEI and look for funds which have materially expanded their fund size and recently reached a close, so that they're looking to expand their teams, and network your way in.
Well this is terrifying for those of us in 2 and out programs…is it worth trying to leave after a year for a career track program?
Honestly doesn't hurt to field conversations with headhunters sooner rather than later. Good to have an idea of what's going on in the market. Market could also improve in 6-12 months and think associate level hiring is less impacted than senior associate / VP level so would not be too worried yet but stay proactive if you can.
Also interested in hearing what people think will happen to the market in Q1
Lateral hires are usually a function of backfilling turnover and expanding platform size. I think the latter is going to definitely be slow for at least the first half of next year. Most LPs are tightening PE allocations given the denominator effect, although there are a few notable exceptions. You'll probably still see some activity from the blue-chip GPs that are able to fundraise with ease (e.g., Thoma) but much of their junior / mid-level hiring is highly structured. Will probably see much less from the start-up funds / lower brand name funds.
We think some firms will kick off interviews this week? I had a process start just a few days before the holidays.
Are you able to share what level (Sr. Assoc or VP) and size of fund this is for?
MM ($1B to $5B). Title unclear although headhunter had suggested VP.
Also in the lateral market as of the first of the year (just unhappy) & my guess is things start to pick up next week. Got to imagine first week back post-holidays isn't going to release a bunch of opps. Having said that, I'd be interested in which headhunters seem to be having the opps bc I swear folks like Ratio, Glocap, Oxbridge and maybe a few others just have nothing OR have completely cut me out lol.
If you’re an experienced VP, had several firms outreach between mid-December and now. This is UMM to large cap buyout.
Don’t worry too much about Ratio Advisors. Probably the most insecure HH ever. Very unprofessional and will ghost you at the slightest hesitation you’re not interested in them client.
Just delay recruiting and go to b school if lateral doesn't pan out. You'll ride out the bad economy hopefully
"Just drop $250K on a superfluous degree bro, easy"
Not everybody's parents still pay their rent & tuition, ya lil boarding school candy ass
I mean I’d hope you’d be able to afford rent + tuition if you’ve been working in IBD and PE for four years. And it’s not like b school is an unusual step at this point in your career. Take a chill pill.
Retarded take. You know it's a basic economic phenomenon that people pursue / extend education to not graduate in a down market or remove themselves from the market because the opportunity cost is lower right?
it's like Econ 101 level conclusion..
It's just funny because literally like 6-12 months ago, firms were hiring people at all levels, nearly on the spot.
I’m sure you’re all doing this already but definitely get on the phone with recruiters vs. wait for them to email you. Sometimes they’ll tell you about processes that haven’t launched yet that may be a good fit and you can preempt the broad email blast.
Not seeing many inbounds atm...also hoping that changes soon
Yea I'm trying not to let myself get anxious since it's still beginning of the new year...but I'd love at least some inbounds....
Function of 1) over hiring, 2) slow M&A market/LBO financing is more or less shutdown except for smaller deals.
Zero interest rates are gone... PE returns are going to be much less attractive as a result (higher cost of debt / lower vals)
A lot of people/industries have to be praying interest rates come back to zero...
A good friend of mine is hiring two associate / sr. associate positions currently (title based on experience). Healthcare PE fund focused on $5M - $35M EBITDA businesses. Northeast location.
If you have relevant experience feel free to message me and I can share the job spec.
Extremely slow for Chicago SA / VP lateral hiring as well. Hoping things improve soon. I’ve been following up with the recruiters regularly and one mentioned a few opportunities coming to market soon but so far nothing concrete.
Heard something vague suggesting "next few weeks" but would have expected more roles to trickle through in the meantime...
Every recruiter I've spoken to (mostly the big hitters) has said the same; end of January they expect more things to kick off. Fingers crossed.
What are the best PE headhunters for the NY area
Probably CPI and HSP (two biggest headhunters in general)
Continued layoffs in big tech have me sweating...
Bump
Market continues to look quite dry...market was supposed to pick up around now but it's still very quiet for me
Bump
Still very slow
Currently Asso 2 at an MM PE (ignore the wso title). In touch with HH since last summer and can echo that things have been extremely slow. I'd say when I first reached out in summer there were a couple decent opportunities (which now I sort of regret passing those due to my location preferences), October - December heard absolutely nothing, and now starting seeing some emails again (though still very few, like 1-2 last month).
BUMP
Alright, for my own sanity, is everyone else also just getting ZERO fucking recruiter emails at the VP+ level? Even tried pinging a couple times to sync up and either getting ghosted or they say there's nothing there right now and that I'm squarely on their list once something of a fit kicks off.
I've seen a handful of standard BizServices/Industrials style firms pop up, but tech landscape seems barren except for a couple megafunds which I don't have the history for anyways (LMM/MM historically).
I have gotten a handful of VP emails this past week or so. At least 2-3 were for tech roles (MF, MM).
Comfortable sharing the headhunter or firm names? I got KKR last week, but given my experience, zero shot I even get a round one. Is what it is for some of the heavy hitters; used to it at this point in my career.
I’ve actually gotten a good amount of VP / Principal level roles recently, but I’m also at a MF
Any insights into the London market?
When do we expect people at this level to quit post-bonuses?
Bump for London market.
Bumping because I'm still not seeing much of anything...one tech MF recently, but otherwise nothing.
My target market is LMM/MM tech & software, FWIW; I never have luck with the big dogs given my area of expertise (which is totally fine, I prefer sub-scale saas). I've gotten quite a few more inbounds about biz services / consumer / industrials / healthcare though.
Got an email about Apollo hiring for mid-level from bellcast
Was this for their hybrid value fund?
BUMP
Was told things would pick up by now but they really haven't. Saw a few postings a couple of weeks ago but relatively slim pickings out there
Any pick up in inbounds?
In 2 separate MM PC process for Sr. Associate role (3 year on buyside at current shop, 1 year IB) that are still on-going coming up to 2+ month mark from initial call..
In touch with few HHs who basically said they will keep me in the loop but haven’t heard anything on new roles since Oct/Nov ‘22.
Market super slow for others?
Feels very slow; will be 1-2 week periods or more where I don’t even get a recruiter email.
Seen more opps coming through smaller shops than the big dogs; swear to god ratio/amity/cpi/gold coast/Henkel has been borderline nonexistent for me…been told there’s just less roles they are running at this level (especially in tech) but can’t shake the feeling I’m getting passed over…
fwiw - I’m not targeting mfs.
Yeah, seems like I will have to network / create my own action at this point.
Same here. Do these HH only go for MF ppl these days? I get the same response from all (if any) and yet still cant shake the feeling I'm getting passed over...Is the market that bad right now??
Bump. How is the market now?
Still slow. Summer 2023 starts likely all full and feels like nobody looking for immediate starts
Talked with HH last week for Sr Associate and VP roles in MM. They said Associate and Sr Associates were spotty (no update on VP roles) and sent me a list of names that were also recruiting this time last year. Mostly West coast and non-NYC locations.
Bump
Any activity here?
Been active the past three months. Handful of interviews but few that I would be excited about. Tech seats seems to fewer and further between, with pipeline mainly around healthcare and services type roles. General feedback from HHs is that activity is very slow and may pick up more post-Labor day and again after December.
Following along. Seems like a slow market from my end too (senior associate / VP level)
How are you going about this?
what do you mean?
For all the folks ITT, know it’s been a slow market out there during YTD. Anecdotal but I think things may be improving in the market. I’ve seen more activity the past 2 weeks than the rest of the summer. Not Tier-1 Funds, but solid firms that have raised in the past 12-18 mos. at fund sizes ranging from $500mm - $2.0bn.
Love the positivity. Very slow on my side but i am in real estate so this might be it
Just commenting to follow on this thread, also looking for SA role in Tech. Has felt super slow
Following. Thinking of reaching out to LDN based HHs for SA / VP roles but given market is slow maybe should just wait? What do you monkeys think?
are you US-based? had the same thought but wasn't sure who the main HHs were in London
No, London based. Main ones are Kea, Dartmouth, PER afaik.
Just register interest. There are some things going on
Any details on role / place?
what's everyones update here? it's the same for me... super slow and not much ongoing things right now. market seems dead
Still dead. Averaging 1 or 2 HH emails a month...if that.
Dead as well - seeing processes once active put on pause
i saw that too. super frustrating and i don't know whether it's intentional for them just to see what the market looks like for candidates.
Just had a superday for a senior associate role at an UMM get cancelled. They said they’re postponing hiring until first quarter of next year. At this point I think I’m going to take a Corp dev role at a PortCo with equity.
What’s the drive to leave?
Current role has below market comp and horrible culture
Bump
F
Bump bc I am barely hanging in there :(
Bump - it's been absolute silence for me. Not sure if I've just been written off entirely by head hunters or if no one is hiring...
Anecdotally, I have heard MBA recruiting is still somewhat active.
Bump agree looking to lateral within tech growth / PE. Have had two processes look very promising and then go completely ghost
Me too; complete silence almost entirely across the board. Tech buyout / growth fwiw
Tech seems to be hurting more than other sectors, but it is currently pretty silent. Part of that is just the natural cycle of it being close to year-end when few firms launch recruiting processes. Expectation is for things to pick up in the new year. This is due not only to budgets getting set but also when someone quits unexpectedly after their bonus hits, the firm usually has an unplanned need.
This doesn’t mean you should be sitting on your hands. Active networking even in advance of a firm kicking off a recruiting process can help. Also, the stronger your resume, the more receptive firms will be to your networking attempts. So if you aren’t getting any traction whatsoever, it is probably due to one of these reasons…
Bump, any indication of uptick in activity in Q1?
Ended up taking a role at an advisory firm as the situation at the current place had become untenable. Had a somewhat promising process with a startup fund and then got the flu right after being given the case study so got dinged there. Sigh.
In IB?
Sorry to hear. Are you planning to re-recruit later?
Bump
What are people's strategies for getting HH's on the record / on the phone about their thoughts on the market instead of just the usual "nothing for you at this time" response? I feel like they were falling over themselves to Zoom or call when I registered interest a year ago and now I'm at the bottom of the heap and only get replies to chaser emails after I have a resume or timing or process update.
Okay so I’m not alone with this response lol
Have had this happen numerous times as well recently
Feel like there has been a slight uptick in inbounds as of late?
Is this for NYC or London?
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