Recent Exclusives

How College Grads Land Lucrative Back-to-Back Finance Jobs a Month after Graduation

The race for jobs that begins right after college move-in day

– AMObserver, September 30, 2024

Each summer, a select group of fresh college graduates steps into their first job at top investment banks. But before they even settle into their bank desks, many of them have already secured their second job at another firm—one that won’t start for another two years. The most recent crop accepted their second offers at private equity and credit firms in late June, without ever having worked a day in a full-time role.

While most graduates are still figuring out their post-college plans, these hires have already charted their career path. Class of 2024 graduates lined up two consecutive jobs over a four-year period—one as entry-level analysts in investment banking (2024-2026), followed by a future-dated associate position (2026-2028) at a private equity or credit asset manager—and some plan to accelerate their careers in the Fall of 2028 when they skip the once-essential MBA and jump directly into more senior roles at their firms.

While compensation varies by firm, by team, and by individual performance, these hires can expect to earn around $1.0 to $1.2 million over the next four years. Their private equity or credit pay stubs will account for approximately two-thirds of their total four-year income.

Every year, over 10,000 well-qualified college seniors from an expanding list of target schools compete for these concurrent employment agreements. Yet, only a few hundred succeed. Those who do typically receive short deadline ‘exploding’ offers from their prospective second employers, requiring them to accept the position within 24 hours.

Approximately 20 private equity and credit firms engage in this talent rush, securing future hires after they’ve completed their two-year investment banking stints—bypassing the need to train these recruits from scratch. Most of these firms are heavy hitters like Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, and Apollo, alongside upper middle-market private equity funds handling up to billion-dollar deals. Even the largest among them employee no more than 1,000 full-time investment professionals.

The appeal of moving from the service provider ‘sell-side’ of investment banking—pitching, representing and advising clients on their investment and finance needs—to the decision-making client ‘buy-side’ of asset management, hasn’t waned. It’s about more than just perceived pecking-order prestige; it’s about taking investment control, making investment decisions, and of course, extraordinary financial gain. 

Buy-side professionals often see seven-figure compensation by their 30s, and for those who reach the senior partner level, eight-figure paydays aren’t uncommon. Although today’s private equity associate roles often feel like an extension of investment banking, or “Banking 2.0”—with a heavy focus on deal processes and financial modeling—many view the work as a step up in terms of decision-making power and responsibility.  

Lifestyle also plays a role. While office hours at some investment banks can average 80 to 100+ per week during peak deal activity, private equity and credit firms demand fewer, with associates logging 60 to 80 hours per week on average. For many, the prospect of fewer grueling hours and transitioning away from an ‘on-call 24/7’ work culture are added incentives to make the leap. 

Meanwhile, these candidates generally view private equity and credit as having relatively stable career paths, citing long-term capital commitments by these firms’ public and private capital allocators, and relatively low staff turnover. This also means fewer opportunities to join these firms, which promote heavily from within, for more senior investment roles.

The road to securing a private equity or credit associate offer remains unchanged. It still requires a couple of years of full-time investment banking experience, ideally at major firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, or J.P. Morgan, or at elite boutiques like Lazard, Centerview Partners, or PJT Partners. Some candidates hail from middle-market banks like Houlihan Lokey and Jefferies, or from large international institutions like Nomura and HSBC. 

Receiving a full-time investment banking offer still almost always requires a summer internship at an investment bank between one’s junior and senior year of college. Most full-time analyst roles are extended to strong-performing interns within weeks of completing their 10-12 week summer programs. Many of these successful candidates will typically have found a finance or business-related summer gig between their sophomore and junior years as well.

What has shifted dramatically is the timeline. First-year college students are caught off guard by the ever-accelerating starting point for this career path, while graduating seniors and even their future banking managers are startled by aggressive buy-side hiring cycles. Private equity and debt firms now snap up talent earlier than ever, locking in associate talent 25 months in advance, before their banking analyst training even kicks off.

A few manage to get these buy-side roles without having landed that first analyst job through a banking summer internship or capitalizing on that initial wave of buy-side recruiting immediately after college graduation.

But competition is fiercer than ever. With investment banks expanding their recruiting efforts to include more schools and increase diversity, and with the allure of private equity growing—driven by an associate path that may now include carried interest (a share in firm profits) and bypassing the traditional MBA—securing a spot on this elite career track has become a battle among top candidates. 

Coming Soon:

PART 2: Key Hiring Changes Catching Students, Incoming Bank Analysts and their Managers Off Guard

PART 3: How to Navigate Asset Management Hiring from College Move-In Day to Senior Year

Subscribe to AMObserver Newsletter

Contact us for hiring needs and career advisory services