Private equity recruiting returned with its usual chaos - and better candidates

"After a roughly six-month pause, private equity's on-cycle recruiting machine roared back to life last week. The process was just as frenzied, but recruiters said the extra time produced an unexpected upside: sharper, better-prepared candidates. The hiring restart came just as first-year bankers returned from the winter holidays. Firms began outreach for 2027 associate roles they had originally planned to fill in the summer, before banks cracked down on the practice."

"Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and Thoma Bravo were among the more than a dozen firms that interviewed candidates and extended offers, according to people familiar with the process. Some firms declined or did not respond to requests for comment. But sources said the cycle's customary theatrics - late-night interviews, exploding offers - were back in full force. In some cases, candidates spent most of the day inside the offices of the industry's largest buyout firms, the people said, declining to be identified to preserve professional relationships."

""You show up, and depending on the firm, it could be up to 100 kids in suits crowding the lobby at the same time," the banker said. "It was chaos.""

Private equity on-cycle recruiting restarted after roughly six months of hiatus, returning a frenetic timetable and intense interview days. Firms launched outreach for 2027 associate roles that had been intended for the summer, following earlier bank efforts to curb early hiring. Major buyout shops including Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and Thoma Bravo participated, interviewing and extending offers. Interviews clustered around early January, with long days, late-night sessions, and rapid, on-the-spot offer requests. The pause appeared to leave candidates better prepared and more experienced, even as the process's familiar chaos returned.

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