# Private Credit Process Tracker

Private credit does not hire on one calendar, which is exactly why people lose track of it.

The largest US platforms run a compressed process alongside buyout recruiting, so a deadline exists
and it is early. Almost everywhere else, and across Europe in particular, firms hire when a seat
opens. Those openings cluster loosely into an autumn window and a late-winter one, but nothing is
synchronised and nothing is announced twice.

So the thing worth tracking is not a date. It is **which firms, running which strategies, with which
desks, and where each conversation actually stands.** Copy the tables below into a spreadsheet and
keep them honest.

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## 1. The target list

Sort by strategy first, not by size. A candidate who applies to eight direct lenders has run one
search; a candidate spread across direct lending, special situations and asset-based finance has run
three, and will be asked three different sets of questions.

| Firm | Strategy | Seat sits in | Region | Ticket size | Why this firm, in one line | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Direct lending / mezzanine / special situations / distressed / asset-based / opportunistic | Origination or underwriting | | Mid-market or large-cap | The specific reason, not a compliment | 1–3 |

**The two columns people skip and should not:**

- **Seat sits in.** Origination is a relationship job: coverage, deal flow, who calls you first.
  Underwriting is the analytical one: the model, the downside, the covenant package, the committee
  paper. Some firms run both from one seat and some separate them strictly. Ask early, because the
  answer changes what the interview is and what the job is.
- **Why this firm, in one line.** If you cannot fill this in from the firm's own disclosure, you are
  not ready to apply to it, and the fit round will find that out faster than you will.

---

## 2. Where the roles actually appear

The branded careers subdomain is frequently somebody else's job board. Record where each firm really
posts, once, and stop rechecking the wrong page.

| Firm | Applicant tracking system | Direct board URL | Alerts on? | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Workday / Greenhouse / Ashby / Workable / SmartRecruiters / TalentNest / direct email | | Yes / No | |

Set an alert on every board that offers one. On the ones that do not, a fortnightly check is enough
outside the two windows and a weekly one inside them.

---

## 3. The process, stage by stage

| Firm | Stage | Format | Date | Who | Outcome | What they pushed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Screen / first round / modelling test / case / committee / final | Phone, video, on-site, take-home | | Name and seat | Through / rejected / waiting | The actual question that was hard |

**Fill in the last column every single time, within the hour.** It is the only part of this document
that compounds. Three entries in and the pattern is visible: the same two or three questions come
back across firms, and they are the ones you have not yet answered well.

---

## 4. The case study log

Credit case studies vary far more than buyout ones, so log the shape as well as the outcome.

| Firm | Company or sector | Time given | Deliverable | Instrument you recommended | Downside you ran | What you would change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | 2 hours / overnight / one week | Model, memo, or both | Senior, unitranche, second lien, pass | The stress and the level | |

The column that matters is the last one. A case you failed and diagnosed is worth more than one you
passed and did not.

---

## 5. Network

| Person | Firm | Seat | How you met | Last contact | What you owe them | Next touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

Keep "what you owe them" literal: a follow-up question, an introduction you promised, a thank-you
still unsent. A tracker that only records what other people owe you stops being used within a month.

---

## 6. Offers, when they come

| Firm | Base | Bonus, and whether it is guaranteed for year one | Carry or co-invest | Level and title | Origination or underwriting | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

Three questions worth asking before you sign, because the published tables cannot answer them:

1. **What proportion of the package is cash against carry, and when does carry crystallise?**
   A credit fund earns contracted income from the quarter a loan funds, so carry arrives sooner and
   smaller than in a fund that sells companies. Applying buyout arithmetic here gives the wrong
   number.
2. **Which vehicle does my carry sit in?** A drawdown fund and a permanent-capital vehicle pay out on
   completely different schedules.
3. **What happened to the last two people who held this seat?** The most informative question in any
   offer conversation, and the one people are most reluctant to ask.

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