Give me your experience working at a private-equity owned company

[Anonymous]

Is it as nightmarish as the google machine makes it seem or is there an unusually high amount of people who complain?

[Anonymous]

I am paid well people are fired a lot, sometimes related to performance sometimes just a dip in their business line. Everyone is very professional and upper management distant - more into spreadsheets than management, so the management strategy is basically just fire people and pay well and assume the system will sort itself out.

It’s my favorite job I’ve had so far because I got a promotion to go and I’m paid well and haven’t been fired yet. So I’m riding the dragon.

Are you getting a raise? If so, may as well try it out. Everyone I personally know who got fired found something else pretty quickly.

If you aren’t getting a raise don’t bother.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine. You might learn a lot about strategy and efficiency, weak bosses get replaced with strong bosses. If you have stock options they may increase in value if the company grows. May see some M&A too.

[Anonymous]

My experience is that you'll know pretty quickly if they plan to dismantle the company, sell off the IP and lay most of the people off. My boss walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars, which was good for him.
I know in other cases they clean up the operation and run profitably for years.

The thing to remember is that this just about the money. Private equity would not be fulfilling its responsibilities if it cared about the "mission" of the company or what happens to the people Don't get emotional, it's just business.

[Anonymous]

Lots of penny pinching. Not a lot of room for salary growth, lots of potential for lay offs to cost-cut. Keep things lean all the time.

[Anonymous]

I could never especially if health care sector.

[Anonymous]

There could quickly be cost cutting as the new owners go after the low hanging fruit they identified during their due diligence. Once that takes place the focus should be on growth. If growth begins to be realized it is a very good working environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There could quickly be cost cutting as the new owners go after the low hanging fruit they identified during their due diligence. Once that takes place the focus should be on growth. If growth begins to be realized it is a very good working environment.

It depends on how the growth is being realized. Ask vets who work in PE owned clinics if things are great

[Anonymous]

I'm in PE in the accounting/finance area. There is no way all the work can get done unless everyone worked beyond human limitations. Like the person who said they are riding the dragon, same here. I get paid really well. Just want to do this until I get bounced, then do something different.

I will say, the problem with PE is also the people who work in these firms. Many are privileged backgrounds/top school types who are insufferable.