"On-Cycle" recruiting, which should be thought of as the "normal course" private equity recruiting process, typically happens right at the start of when you begin a two-year investment banking analyst program on the desk --  it can even happen during the first 1-2 weeks of training as an investment banking analyst.

"Off-Cycle" recruiting is essentially everything after on-cycle recruiting...

If becoming a private equity associate is your main priority post-investment banking, the most important piece of advice I can give on how to decide between pursuing on-cycle or off-cycle based on my experience as well as witnessing countless analysts go through the same process is as follows: if you do not feel ready, wait until off-cycle. On-cycle recruiting requires, on the safe side, months of preparation in advance both to be successful in the qualitative and quantitative parts of the interviews. When on-cycle kicks off, breathe, and think to yourself if you have really put in the time and effort to be ready for on-cycle. It is pretty unforgiving in that for private equity specifically, you essentially get one chance to interview with any given firm... for example, if one goes through the process and unfortunately does not make it with said private equity firm, it is a very low, if not a 0% chance you are able to re-interview with the same firm.

• Yes To On-Cycle: While you might never feel 100% ready, if you feel 80% there, and you've decided that becoming a private equity associate is your goal after the investment banking analyst program, strongly consider participating.

• ​No To On-Cycle: If you do not feel ready (or at least 80% there) / you need more time to think, it is also entirely ok! Top firms / an abundance of firms participate in off-cycle recruiting every year, and you should never feel pressured into recruiting when not fully prepared -- it is your career.

Being aware of this timeline is Step 1 -- while there has been industry pushback, both from investment banking analysts and a select few private equity firms, to delay the usual timing of on-cycle recruiting, it is something that one should prepare for regardless. While yes, the current on-cycle recruiting timeline norm does not allow current investment banking analysts to get to know their current job or team all to well prior to making a very important career decision, if you have already made up your mind and desire to enter private equity, consider preparing for on-cycle.

Researching Firms: Should you want to recruit on-cycle, as mentioned in Step 7, you will most likely have 2-3 firms, if not more, asking to interview you at the same time. You can only be in one place at once and will have to prioritize! Hence, it is critical that you do your research on private equity firms of interest way ahead of the process. I recommend doing this early, as your thinking of what is interesting (i.e. sector interest, investment strategy, team size, etc.) may change! As outlined in Step 3, because cold outreach / networking is not necessarily a thing for private equity recruiting, your research will primarily be limited to what you can find online. Try searching for press releases of investment announcements, firm websites for portfolio company lists as well as team pages, recent fundraising press releases, and forums that discuss culture -- disclaimer that online forums can be completely misleading and false. Take what you read on forums with a grain of salt!