“Dear Andrew,

Thank you very much for your recent application to the Texas-Pacific Group. Your resume and glowing recommendation from your MD were both somewhat impressive. We applaud your efforts to transition from Banking into Private Equity, it is definitely the right move right now. We were considering extending you an offer, actually, but upon review of the quiz you inadvertently submitted to for the New York Post, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to offer you a position at our firm.

Please note that you did score an 87%, which is nothing to be ashamed of. It turns out to a B+ with our generous scaling, and you know what they say—at least you won’t be lonely at the fat part of the bell curve. We only take A’s though. Have you considered a position at Hellman & Friedman?”

-Only 87% Tool, The Leveraged Sellout

Ah, private equity. The promised land. What you slave away for as a banker: the chance to become the next Steve Schwarzman. But unless you have an inside connection with Steve himself, you’ll have to go through a few interviews to get to paradise.

Read the rest of this article

So I realize I’ve taken some heat from some who have said that my original “Day In The Life Of An Investment Banking Analyst” back in December 2007 was an unfair portrayal of the job.

It can’t always be that bad, right? There has to be some upside. You can’t always have days where you pull all-nighters and are yelled at by 5 different Associates for 10 different things while being forced to fix printers and provide tech support, right?

Right.

I admit it; not every day is like that. That was indeed one of my worst days ever. So I’ve searched through old emails, talked to friends and former colleagues, and have pored through my own personal journal all in a quest to find my best day as an investment banker.

And I think I’ve found it.

Read the rest of this article

“I really enjoy it,” he says, folding his arms and lying back in his chair with a contented grin. “I’m in [private equity] because I like to be excellent and to win.”

-Steve Schwarzman, Fortune Magazine Interview (March 5, 2007)

If you want to be like Steve here and become King Of Wall Street, your first step will be tailoring your resume to get those private equity interviews and break into the industry.

Sure, you did a great job with your investment banking resume. You got into a top group on Wall Street, or even if you didn’t, you at least managed to land a job at a boutique investment bank.

But if you want to be King, you have to think about your resume once again.

And with private equity recruiting season having just started, I figured a discussion of private equity resumes would be a good way to start the week.

In many ways tailoring your resume for buyside jobs is similar to crafting the perfect investment banking resume.

But it’s different in one critical aspect: you have to focus entirely on your investment banking experience rather than trying to be inclusive of everything else you’ve done.

Sure, for MBA admissions or jobs outside finance, show the whole picture. But for private equity jobs, your investment banking and deal experience are all that matter.

Read the rest of this article

What is Investment Banking?: Ari Gold: What Bankers Actually Do, Why NOT Do Investment Banking

Investment Banking Lifestyle: A Day in the Life - Worst Day and Best Day, How to Stay Fit, Investment Banking Wardrobe for Men, Investment Banking Lingo Part 1 and Part 2, A Week in the Life (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Breaking into Finance: How to Get an Investment Banking Job, Networking into Investment Banking, Recruiting in a Tough Market, Breaking in from Engineering, Breaking in from Law, Breaking in from the Back Office

Investment Banking Resumes: How to Write an Investment Banking Resume, How Investment Bankers Read Resumes

Investment Banking Interviews: Investment Banking Interview Guide, The Interview Selection Process, How to Close Your Interviews

Summer Internships: Summer Intern Success Guide, How to Dominate Your Summer Internship, Tips from a Former Summer Analyst, What You Do as a Summer Analyst, 10 Summer Internship "Don't's", How Summer Interns Get Full-Time Offers

Investment Banking Salaries: Investment Banking Salaries vs. McDonald's, Why Investment Bankers Make So Much Money, 2008 Analyst Bonuses

Private Equity / Buyside Jobs: Private Equity Resumes, Private Equity Interviews, The Myth of the Buyside Job, Headhunters: Friend or Foe?

Specific Groups: UBS LA, Boutiques, Restructuring, The Back Office

Quitting Finance: The Conference Room: How You Get Fired, The Farewell Email, A Day in the Life of a Former Investment Banker