How can a searcher provide value to his/her interns?

searcher profile

August 04, 2022

by a searcher from University of Cincinnati - Carl H. Lindner College of Business in Bear, DE, USA

I have noticed that most of the students who want to do internship with a search fund are interested in lending a job with private equity firm or an IB. How can a searcher with no PE background provide any value to his/her interns and make their time worth while?

Any ideas and suggestion will be much appreciated.

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
in Boston, MA, USA
It'll be largely informed by whatever skillset you had prior to launching a search. It may be easy to forget depending on how far out of college you are, but you know a *ton* compared to the average undergrad intern. What I tried to do with my interns given a Consulting background and an MBA:
- Excel training / modeling hard skills
- Finance intro (DCFs, NPV calculations, etc.)
- PPT training
- Resume writing day - showed a good resume, had them write, and then walked through everybody's with a fine-tooth comb
- Primer / intros on various careers, either what I knew personally or could piece together from friends - Consulting, Banking, PE, etc. (what the job was like, what the recruiting process was like, etc.)
- Primer on MBA programs - how to get in, what they're like, what you can do after, etc.

We would have a weekly Professional Development session on one of the above topics, typically with a prep assignment, lasting for at least an hour with some open Q&A as well.

All the above in addition to what ^redacted‌ mentioned, the learnings and value they get by just doing the intern job.
commentor profile
Reply by an member
from Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in 11100 San Fernando, Cádiz, España
Having worked as intern in a search fund, I would say it's not that much about your background, it's about the following: 1. Giving them as much exposure to the deals. Interns want to be involved, the more you share with them the details of the deals, the more motivated they will be; 2. Working in different areas. Don't use an intern just to e.g. make power point presentations. Make them work in modeling, presentations, looking for companies, etc; 3. Make them participate in calls. They will feel trusted and become more motivated. Working alone from your house can be demotivating at times; 4. Refer them to your network. Creating a valuable network is one of the things they look for when deciding for an internship
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