I’m coming up on year 3 at a top consulting firm and I keep hearing that PE firms care less about your case solving skills and more about whether you actually understand deal mechanics. The problem is, my work has been mostly operations stuff—process optimization, org restructuring, some supply chain work. Nothing that screams “I’ve thought about LBO models” or “I understand sponsor returns.”
I’ve been prepping for interviews, doing some modeling drills on my own, but honestly it feels hollow. I don’t have real deal experience to draw from. Some people I’ve talked to say they built this intuition by volunteering for M&A-adjacent work at their firm, others say they just studied relentlessly, and one person told me PE firms don’t actually care as much as I think they do.
I’m curious what actually moved the needle for people here. Did you actively seek out transaction-heavy projects? Did you self-study your way through? Or did you realize halfway through your interviews that your consulting background was enough and the deal intuition comes on the job anyway? What am I actually missing right now?
honestly dude, most pe folks don’t care that much. they want to see u can think through a simple waterfall and not sound like an idiot. real deal intuition comes after you’re hired anyway. your ops work isn’t a dealbreaker—just learn to frame it as “understanding value creation drivers” or whatever. networking matters way more than having the “perfect” pre-pe experience.
here’s the truth nobody tells you: consultants from ops teams land pe offers all the time. what actually matters is interview prep and knowing someone at the firm. i’ve seen people from the weirdest projects get hired because they networked aggressively. so yeah, build some modeling chops, but don’t overthink it too much.
this is super helpful context! so it sounds like self-study + networking is the real combo? ive been assuming i needed deal experience but maybe frame what ops work ive done differently?
i’ve heard the same—that pe teaches u deal thinking anyway. interview prep seems like the biggest leverage point then?
Your instinct is partially correct—PE firms do value deal exposure, but the pathway varies significantly. If you’re in ops, focus on projects where you influenced cost structures, margin optimization, or capital efficiency decisions. Reframe these as “value driver analysis” in your narrative. Beyond that, actively seek internal transaction support roles or cross-staffing on M&A-adjacent work. However, the reality is most deal intuition develops post-hire. What matters for interviews is demonstrating analytical rigor and the ability to think economically about problems. Your modeling skills and interview preparation will carry more weight than having touched live deals.