Honestly to break into PE investment roles post consulting you will have to go through the pains of breaking into consulting once again.

I know I am kind of a bummer right now but hear me out.

The skills you will have to do as an investment associate at PE firms will be different than what you are doing in consulting roles, and yes including the DDs you have done for the PE firms. These PE firms will appreciate you more if you come from IB buy side background since IB jobs more closely resembles PE investment roles.

This is not saying that having consulting background does not add value, because it does, but not as much as IB roles do. Your consulting background will be merely viewed as a brand name and not transferrable experience.

Hence if you do want to break into PE investment roles I would suggest to skip consulting and go ahead with PE. The more senior you get, the more difficult it will be. Just my two cents.

Hi Bob,

It's a very general question asked without a lot of context given - yes, for sure it's possible, but it mainly depends on your credentials which make you attractive (or not) for private equity. Definitely, consulting is not the only safe way into PE anyway.

Robert

Hi A,

In general, PE firm recruiting from top consulting firms as well as from Investment Banking background. However, one of the prerequisites for being recruited is that you already have relevant experience. Don't expect PE firm will teach you any basics in finance. So by the time of your application you have to prove your finance skills (in a parallel you can do a CFA being a business analyst) and ideally have been completed a couple of due-diligence projects with McKinsey. These are key requirements to be selected and invited to the PE firm.


Best,
André

Hi Bob,

If I understood correctly, you would like to:

• Do a couple of years in the industry
• Join a consulting firm
• Join a PE fund

Theoretically it is possible, but PE is very competitive. Moreover, you would have better chances at PE doing IB for a top brand (GS, MS, JPM) than Tier 2-3 consulting companies (MBB should still give you a chance if you do due diligence there, but IB gives you more chances).

Best,

Francesco

Hello!

To give you an insightful response about your posibilities, we would need to know a little bit more about yourself (your title, university, experience if any, class rank, etc.)

For sure it´s a possibility, and also it´s clear that going from Consulting is one of the usual doors.

However, as mentioned, "general" is not that useful and best thing would be to know what applies to you especifically.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara