Using case studies can be an effective tool to assess candidates during the interview process. In this video, Rupert Bell explains the merits of using case studies as well as the attributes you should look for to make sure you find the best candidates for your business.

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On the face of it, recruitment of a senior private equity professional follows a similar pattern to a junior hire: choose a search firm; set the criteria; draw up a shortlist; select your preferred candidate; negotiate a package and fix a start date.  If only it was that simple.

Firstly, let’s consider why the need exists. At junior levels, the recruitment is often triggered by the need for more execution resource. In the case of senior hires, the need is usually to add something new: a sector capability; geographic coverage; greater exposure to strategic relationships or enhance the team ahead of a fundraising.  And it can’t be filled by the preferred route of promotion from within which rewards performance, builds loyalty and re-enforces the firm’s culture or DNA.

The perceived risks of bringing someone in at senior level are high.  Senior appointments come in over the heads of mid level colleagues, risking frustration and resentment. The harshest judges of your new partner will often be those below them in the hierarchy. Making clear what the deliverables are for the new hire can help – but don’t set them up to fail.   

What can you do in the search process to get it as right as possible?

Finding the person with the right experience who will fit in is a subtle and complicated process.  It is worth investing time with your search partner to identify the core need that you are aiming to meet. Ask yourself the question - what should our new partner have delivered in their first twelve months and then in the first two years for us to know we made the right choice?  This will identify the skills and experiences you want to bring into your business.

Then overlay the key cultural criteria that will give the best chance of fit into the team. This will force you to think through and articulate your own culture and values and your search partner can help you with the best tools to test for these intangible qualities. 

Timing and package come next on the list of considerations. Many experienced candidates are established in funds, locked in with contracts and incentives and not actively looking for a new position. What cost are you prepared to bear and how long are you prepared to wait for your new partner to come on board?   More...

It is now almost a year since we opened our office in Munich, headed by Rupert Bell. We would like to use this occasion to give you a brief update on our progress to date, including some of the placements we have made, and our thoughts on the market situation as we approach the final quarter of 2011.

What a difference a year makes....

The last 12 months have seen a pick up in market activity, with even large cap deals finding a match between buyer and seller as well. Direct deal activity has been cautiously growing in the buyout and growth space. Venture deals remain few and far between, though a number of strong exits have added momentum. We have seen considerably more activity in the secondary market, for both fund and direct holdings, as investors trade value for liquidity. Fund of funds strategies continue to attract investor support.

Until recently, debt funding was starting to come back into the market, though we heard mixed views on whether this is driven by more confidence in the economy or by the need for funds to deploy dry powder before the end of investment periods. However, in recent weeks the debt market has drawn back noticeably. Anecdotally, much of the mid sized and larger dealflow in the direct buyout market remains driven by secondary opportunities. More...

It is just over six months since I moved full time to Munich to open a local PER office focused on the German-speaking markets. In that time, we have begun a number of new relationships with PE funds and been able to develop some existing relationships further, simply by being here full time and therefore being available to meet people readily in person (and so to pick up the local gossip). We have significantly increased the size of our German-speaking candidate pool and I am pleased to report that we have also completed a number of assignments successfully.

My impressions so far are of a market in quite good health. Mid-market buyout funds in particular have come through the recession quite strongly and are looking to make new investments in the recovery, and this of course prompts the need for people and in particular candidates with proven investing credentials and experience. In normal conditions, most recruitment into the industry is at entry level, analyst or associate, perhaps up to 70% of the open positions, reflecting the long term nature of the business and the incentive schemes. At present, however, we are seeing greater than normal demand from clients for mid level investors, candidates who can originate and lead deal teams on execution.

We are seeing renewed hiring interest from a few large LBO funds and the classic demand for top class junior investment bankers remains strong, but at present there is slightly greater interest among current PER clients for the best candidates from management consulting backgrounds. This partly reflects the emphasis on growth-driven investment cases rather than financial engineering, and the need for investors who can identify long term growth markets and business models. As ever, many funds are considering people from either background and the challenge is for candidates to demonstrate the best of both mindsets to present themselves as rounded investors with strong technical toolkits as well as broader commercial judgment. More...