Dairon Sanchez

The transition from investment banking analyst to private equity associate is widely considered the most competitive career move in finance. Every year, thousands of IB analysts at firms ranging from bulge brackets (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) to elite boutiques (Evercore, Centerview, PJT) and middle-market banks (Solomon Partners, Harris Williams, William Blair) compete for a limited number of PE associate seats.

For an analyst coming from a middle-market bank like Solomon Partners, the path to PE is uniquely challenging. Mega-fund recruiting often pulls exclusively from bulge brackets through structured “on-cycle” processes. Middle-market bank analysts typically recruit “off-cycle” - meaning roles are posted sporadically, timelines are unpredictable, and the process requires active sourcing.

The majority of middle-market PE associate roles are never posted on LinkedIn or Indeed. They’re filled through recruiter networks, direct outreach, and industry relationships. Understanding which firms are actively hiring requires real industry knowledge - not keyword matching.

Dairon came to Archer Careers in December 2025 as an investment banking analyst at Solomon Partners. His goal was singular and urgent: make the leap from IB analyst to PE associate - the move that separates those who stay in banking from those who move to the “buy side.”

The challenge was threefold: Timing (off-cycle PE recruiting is unpredictable), Targeting (he wanted a middle-market firm with active deal flow and a culture that valued analyst development), and Bandwidth (working 70-80+ hour weeks on live deals left zero time to manage a recruiting process).

Archer’s team designed a campaign built specifically around the IB-to-PE transition pipeline. This wasn’t a generic job search - it was a targeted sourcing operation.

Each application was tailored to the specific firm. Cover letters referenced the firm’s recent transactions, investment thesis, and sector focus. Applications to Avance specifically highlighted Dairon’s experience with founder-owned businesses and services-sector M&A at Solomon.

Archer’s team also identified firms that had recently closed funds or announced new platform investments - signals that they’d be adding associate headcount. This kind of sourcing intelligence is invisible to job boards and auto-apply tools.

Of the 83 targeted applications, 7 resulted in interview invitations from PE firms across the middle market - an 8.4% interview rate, more than 3x the industry average for cold applications in private equity.

Dairon ultimately received 2 offers and accepted a position as a Private Equity Associate at Avance Investment Management.

Avance is exactly the type of firm that defines a successful IB-to-PE transition for a middle-market analyst. It’s a lean team with a $1B+ fund, which means Dairon gets direct exposure to deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio company management from day one.

The move represents a significant step up in long-term career trajectory. PE associates at firms like Avance are positioned for either internal promotion to VP/Principal or lateral moves to larger funds, hedge funds, or corporate development roles.