Ryan Van Wagenen gives advice to university students looking to join the private equity industry

Ryan Van Wagenen knows first hand that landing a private equity job is a trick. You can not just luck upon a job like this. What it comes down to is time and vision. In order to land the dream private equity job, one must take the time and also do the research. It comes down to knowing exactly what is the best fit for your personality and skill set. Mostly, private equity firms do their hiring at the time of fundraising. PE firms may also have interest in hiring at the time of expansion. A person can get a proper PE job under a few conditions. These may include hard work, good networking, and a little luck.

Ryan Van Wagenen gives University students career advice for finance jobs.

Ryan Van Wagenen enjoys giving University students advice when it comes to career

Ryan Van Wagenen gives students advice upon their University Graduation.

Ryan Van Wagenen's Background

Ryan Van Wagenen is an American financer based out of Cottonwood Heights. He has always had a great interest private equity and right out of college knew he wanted to work in the industry. He first started at Citi Trends based in an operations role. This job prepared him well and helped him understand how a company is to be run.

Van Wagenen started working in private equity in 2009. Ryan worked really hard and did challenging tasks. Within two years he became a Director at Global Private Equity. He feels that being good in business can bring a future in private equity. While doing his job he performed many challenging job tasks. Van Wagenen manages the origination processes. He provides and leads the team in the agreement assessment, due diligence, as well asfinancial modeling. Apart from this Ryan also leads execution and negotiates the transaction. Recently, Ryan is now also co-managing the deals with both the teams in the United States and those based in London covering Europe.

“A private equity job is a dream job for many.”

Ryan Van Wagenen and Private Equity

Joining some good private equity groups on the internet may also provide good training. It will improve the knowledge and skills of those interested in funding companies. Ryan says that technology can provide a person with many opportunities. They also can get connected with employees and recruiters of PE firms. There are two main ways of breaking into a PE job. The first is getting two or three years experience of working in the sellside. This can include many different entry level positions including an analyst at an Investment Bank. The second is having an internship in the finance department of a private equity firm.

“Landing a private equity job can be extremely challenging”

Ryan Van Wagenen gives advice to those University students interested in private investing in businesses

Skills Required for Landing a PE Job

To get a private equity job a person must have a strong knowledge of the industry. Ryan Van Wagenen says it is better to get some practical experience too. In addition, the knowledge and experience of this industry are really helpful in getting success. Van Wagenen argues that the basic analytical abilities are essential for working in the industry. Without the knowledge of financial analysis, it is really hard to stay on the same level as the rest of the competition.

In the process of hiring, recruiters check the financial insight of the candidate. Ryan is a financer and he learned a lot when it comes to the basics of finance and analysis. Therefore, he was prepared when he interviewed and was able to get a job at Global Private Equity. Moreover, as a private equity candidate, you should be able to carry out quality research. Especially in markets, customers, competition, as well as supply chain.In order to be a success in the private equity industry, people management is necessary. Communication, empathy, and sympathy of other people are also critical in teamwork.

Role of Networking in Landing the Dream Job

Likewise, networking plays an important role in getting the dream private equity job. The key to networking is to get strong interpersonal skills. Ryan emphasizes that all the expertise and skills in this area will give you a big chance of landing a PE job. In the future, you can easily gain success and can become attractive in the eyes of those in private equity. With all these skills, Ryan became an important member of Global Private Equity. He got the position of a director just after two years of his joining. Private equity firms try to add value to the companies they hold. The PE firms provide financing to the holding company. The value may also be in the form of operational expertise, strategic expertise or restructuring expertise.

Stages of Investment in PE

Private equity firms can invest in three ways.

Venture Capital

Venture Capital is becoming increasingly popular. It is the investment of PE firms in companies in their early stage. It may also include the investment in the seed stage of a company.

Growth Equity

This type of investing includes an investment of private equity funds in the late stage of more developed companies. These companies get PE funds to raise their operations.

Distress Investing and Buyouts

This is the investment in a company in the last stage of the business cycle. It includes the investment in established companies which are generating large cash flow but are not growing as speedily as before.

Additional Information About Ryan Van Wagenen

Ryan Van Wagenen graduated fromWestminster College. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. Outside of business, he loves his family. He is the youngest child in his family. Therefore, Ryan was always pushed to live his life fully. His outdoor activities made him a good hiker, rock climber, and mountain biker. Van Wagenen is also a caring person. He is continuously doing welfare activities and involved in philanthropy. Ryan gives value to his relationships. In the future, he plans to teach these values and characteristics to his future children.