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How to land a job with Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and other private equity titans

How to land a job with Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and other private equity titans

Kaja Whitehouse

Private equity is often seen as the Holy Grail of finance jobs — but breaking in can be challenging.
Insider has interview tips from executives at Blackstone, KKR, and more.

Private equity is often considered the Holy Grail of finance jobs. The pay is good, the work is challenging, and the culture tends to be gentler than the investment banks, despite some of the same long hours.

But getting in the door at these firms, which use investors' money to buy companies and take them private, can be fraught with complexities. From the headhunters to know to tips on nailing the grueling hiring process at firms like Blackstone and KKR, Insider has all the details on how to break into private equity.

How much will I get paid?

To find out how much analysts, associates, vice presidents, and more make in base salaries at private equity funds like Blackstone, Apax Partners, KKR, Oaktree, and more, Insider analyzed data about six firms from several sources: the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's disclosure information for H1-B visa holders, job postings, and people who have been involved in recent recruiting efforts with these firms.

Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital.

When does recruiting begin?

Private equity firms like to recruit young talent from investment banks.

In the past, this meant asking recruiters to start pinging top investment banking analysts for interviews. The lucky ones would get offers to begin after their investment banking analyst programs ended, usually a year or so down the road.

These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day.

Who are the private equity headhunters?

Traditionally, a small group of headhunters held power over the private equity recruitment process. These gatekeepers can make or break candidates' prospects before they can even interview with PE firms themselves.

Insider built a searchable database of top private-equity headhunters at leading firms, so you know exactly whom to contact to send your latest resumé. Access the database of more than 250 headhunters here.

How do I get a job at Blackstone?

We also spoke to Blackstone president Jon Gray, the firm's global head of HR and two of its outside recruiters, to figure out precisely what it takes to land at the prestigious PE firm, which hired just 0.5% of applicants for 2020 analyst jobs.

They also outline what they're looking for from standout candidates in job interviews.

How do I get hired at KKR?

When interviewing a potential investing team candidate, KKR looks for two main attributes: exceptional intellect and strong cultural alignment. The few going through KKR's hiring process could expect eight or more interviews to gauge that.

Insider talked to Grace Koo, a top HR exec at the firm, about the hiring process for a junior investing role at the firm. Read more here.

How do I get a job with Carlyle, Bain, or Apollo?

Insider hosted an exclusive webinar featuring top private-equity recruiters to talk about landing a job at firms like Carlyle, Bain Capital, and Apollo.

The experts talked through what kinds of modeling exams to expect, the quantitative skills job seekers need to demonstrate, and how to stand out as someone who could become a future star PE dealmaker and investor.

You can watch our entire webinar on private-equity recruiting here.

How do I get a job at General Atlantic?

Insider spoke to General Atlantic managing director Alex Crisses about the firm's first-ever undergraduate investment internship program, which he established.

Every summer, his team brings on about six to eight interns. Crisses walks readers through the process of choosing which candidates make the cut.