What Should I Ask a Private Equity Recruiter?

Securing a job in this cut throat competitive market is pretty tough and when it comes to the alluring job opportunity from an equity company, then it is hard to ignore. But you need to get a crystal clear perception about the equity firm and prospects of your job position to avoid despondency in future. 

At the time of appointing a private equity executive, the company will offer you an opportunity to ask questions to the interviewer regarding the company and your work. It is always advisable to be ready with your set of questions during the interview process of private equity executive search, to demonstrate your interest in the firm.?

Apart from this, you need to make certain during the question answer session that the company and position is living up to your expectations or not. Here in this article we will offer you with specimen questions which will help you out in the conceptualization of the entire process.

Questions to ask to the recruiter of a private equity firm :

To ensure that you are going to work for a great equity venture, you need to ask the following questions to your employer but prior to facing the interview, you need to get an idea about the equity firm from their website –

  1. ?Which responsibilities are expected for the position of an executive in the equity firm ? (To know about your duties.)
  2. ?What are the long-term goals of the firm ? (To know more about the firm.)
  3. ?Is there enough scope for an individual to make a career here over a medium or long tenure ? (To form an idea about your future there.)
  4. ?Which qualities can let one successfully survive in the industry of private equity ? (To get a reality check)
  5. ?How many products does the equity firm real in or in how many funds they operate ? (To verify if they are authorized or not.)
  6. ?What kind of assets do they invest in ? Is it company or infrastructure ? (To recognize the quality of work.)
  7. ?What’s the investment strategy of the fund ? Distressed / Glamorous / High-growth ? (To get a glimpse about the situation you’re going to face there in terms of types of work and strategies.)
  8. ?Is it a small-cap fund or a mid-cap fund or a large-cap fund ? ( To get knowledge on your work type.)
  9. ?In which areas do they invest ? (To know how much travel you need to undertake.)
  10. In which industries do the equity firms make their investments ? (To derive more ideas about the job.)
  11. Does the fund indulge in minority deals or majority deals or both ? (To know how much time you require to devote to your work.)
  12. ?Does the fund need investor funding on deal-by-deal basis or it’s committed ? (To ensure if it’s stable enough to bear with the ups and downs of the market or there is pressure to put investment at regular intervals.)
  13. Most recently, when the funds got raised for the firm ? (To find out if you would be seeking investors or get a fair share from the old portfolio companies.)?
  14. ?How is the comparability maintained between the fundraising amount and the fundraising target ?
  15. ?How much fund is being raised at present and if the fund growth is going up or down compared to earlier ? (To get an indication that the investors are not getting convinced and thus one needs to emerge with innovative ideas to set the seal on new investments.)
  16. ?Does the firm have other offices ? In that case, you must know where it’s headquarters are. (Depending on this, your role in the firm will be fixed.)
  17. ?Does a sincere operations team exist in the firm and the number of heads present in that team. (To find out if you require to involve less in the operational and commercial facets.)?
  18. ?How many people have joined the team in the past 1.5-2 years ? (As lessening in the number of heads indicates the struggle of the equity venture and thus your future is not too bright there.)
  19. ?Name the senior most sponsors of the private equity fund.
  20. ?May I get a chance to meet the other team members ? (To get acquainted with them.)

The questions you will be asking to the recruiter during the interview process of private equity executive search, must be shortlisted carefully to derive maximum information regarding the job. A good firm will definitely provide you with most of the answers to give a clear view of the company as well as your prospect of working there as an executive.

Read More : Is It Tough to Get a Job In Private Equity?