Which job would you take?

Question

Writting to you guys in flight back home from a consulting engagement. Had something weighing on my mind and knew just where to turn, my favorite forum ;)

Soo here at a career intersection and need your help. My near-term goal is to get into Private Equity once I pass my level 1 this December (fingers crossed). Which one do you think would be best?

So I am part of a leadership Development Program with my firm and have finished two rotations and now need to choose with one to go with:

Rotation 1: 
Financial Analyst II in Managed Services for  a telecom firm (information pulled from linkedin).
-Business Case responsible for multiple, highly complex, cross-business unit, bankable opportunities with annual cash flows ranging from $2M to $50M
• Contributed in contractual negotiations, legal review, KPI/SLA development, and financial due diligence
• Participated in multiple business development opportunities for corporate initiatives
to grow our offerings to include smart grid, data management, cloud services, multiple tenant scenarios, network and IT operations
• Financial responsible for first North American IT Managed Service engagement where I performed due diligence and participated in negotiations for a venture valued at nearly $200M

Rotation 2:
Consulting: Business Strategy Group
• Member of Big Data and Private Equity Practice areas
• Business case responsible for MENA-based Big Data strategy project spanning three markets, three brands and twelve use cases
• Provided clients with industry guidance, go-to-market strategies, market research and financial forecasts

Other Key Considerations:
Compensation-Salary delta is negligible but MS will deliver better annual bonus 
Work/life balance (most important):At Consulting job work/life balance is really out of your hands and varies with each engagement
	Most Strategy engagements run 2-5 weeks and some work is done remotely
	Giving more time to study, less time in the car, and gas savings.
	Managed Services is the classic 60 work week 9am in office leave at 6
End destination: Work in Private Equity (O&G, Telecom, or Growth Capital)
	Both can be pitched in a way that will show I have the credentials to join a PE firm especially with my CFA credentials. However, the strategy consulting role will be a much easier sell to potential recruiters
	Firms are looking for individuals with either an I-banking background or a mix of consulting and operations
	MS= Operational Acquisitions that has given me lots of modeling , negotiating, and DD skills
        Consulting= PPT monkey with intense modeling as it comes. I would be part of the Private Equity practice which would be great to get on a PE project

THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN THERE... Tell me what you think..

Cain_in_TX · Answer

From where I sit, operational experience is always preferable to generalized consulting. It also sounds like the MS opportunity might give you some good concrete examples of your contribution when it comes time for you to do your next jump.

Sophie Macon · Answer

Hi @Tonypetrunin (ah name changed again)? Linkedin and in person would be my bet, it's a bit more personal than in a crowded conference and you've time for better conversations.

If there's anything I have learned in my job hunting, switching etc days - you have to CHASE for your dream role. No one's gonna hand it to you :) Nothing's too aggressive really (OK maybe camping outside the firm may be a tad creepy..)

Good luck, pls let us know what you've decided and how you're getting on. I love hearing updates from you guys!