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Graduate Executive Search Consultant – Private Equity
Leeds
Our client is a specialist executive search firm working exclusively within Private Equity — placing C-suite leaders (CEOs, COOs, CFOs and other senior operators) into PE-backed portfolio companies, and placing investment professionals directly into PE firms themselves. They work across sectors including commercial services, industrial services, HVAC and building automation, largely across the US market, and have built a genuinely strong reputation for de-risking high-stakes leadership hires for their PE clients.
This is a rare chance to learn executive search from the ground up, in one of the most commercially sophisticated corners of recruitment — where the stakes, the fees, and the calibre of client conversation are a world away from high-volume agency recruitment.
The Role
As a Graduate Consultant, you'll be trained from day one in the mechanics of retained executive search: rigorous market mapping, direct approaches to senior executives who aren't actively job-hunting, structured candidate assessment, and managing a search process end-to-end for demanding institutional clients. You won't be cold-calling switchboards — you'll be learning how to have credible conversations with CEOs and Partners.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Responsibilities
- Conducting in-depth market research and mapping target companies and executives
- Identifying and approaching senior leaders for live search mandates
- Managing candidate pipelines and supporting structured assessment processes
- Building your own network within a specific sector or geography over time
- Working closely with senior consultants on live, high-value search assignments
What We're Looking For
- A strong academic record — you'll need to think and write with precision
- Recent Graduate with strong academics and credentials
- Genuine intellectual curiosity about business, leadership and what makes companies succeed
- Resilience and comfort with rejection — this is a long-cycle, high-reward environment, not instant gratification
- Confidence to pick up the phone and talk to senior people who have every reason to say no
- No specific degree required, but candidates with an interest in finance, business or Private Equity tend to pick this up quickly
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Worth Knowing Before You Apply
This is a slower-burn, more cerebral style of recruitment than typical 360 agency work — search cycles run over months, not days, and there's more research and less high-volume dialling. If you want fast commission and a noisy sales floor, this isn't it. If you want to build genuine expertise in an intellectually demanding, well-paid corner of the industry, it's an excellent place to learn.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
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