- Private loan investors are hiring. BI spoke to recruiters to find out where.
- Workers who get their hands dirty during drills, restructuring and operations are in demand.
- Private equity deal hiring is likely to increase as more companies trade hands.
Private loan fever is heating up on Wall Street as major financial firms, from Goldman Sachs to Point72, pour capital and talent into non-bank lending.
Of course, “private credit” is a broad term for a wide variety of lending—everything from the quiet business of loan writing to blue-chip companies to the bare-bones fight of distressed debt with its propensity for “creditor-to-creditor”. violence” (when lenders try to outbid each other for higher profits in a restructuring).
So what roles are private equity investors being hired for in 2025? And what can this tell us about how the industry is growing and developing?
Business Insider spoke with the two top recruiters, who highlighted roles in restructuring, special situations and even portfolio operations as signs that private lenders are increasingly looking for ways to make money while lending — even if that means return from the lender to the owner.
“They’re now comfortable with owning businesses versus just getting the keys and trying to get out of it as quickly as possible,” said John Rubinetti, co-head of the private equity and loan origination practice at the advisory firm of Heidrick & Struggles leadership.
Firms are also looking for professionals with specialized skills, such as asset-backed finance – a sign that the non-bank lending industry is looking to get creative with how it lends. Robin Judson, founder of recruiting firm Robin Judson Partners, said that while her firm is seeing demand “all over the map” at all seniority levels, there has been less interest in generalists.
Most of the demand is not “plain, simple, vanilla lending,” she said. Instead, firms are looking for talent where they see returns: in the less traveled areas of finance.
Here are four employment trends in the booming non-bank lending industry, also known as personal loans.
Loan to own
Private credit has seen an increase in defaults in recent years, particularly with older lenders. The default rate on old loans almost tripled between mid-2022 and September 2024 for MSCI. But the concern can also provide opportunities for lenders who have the right talent.
Rubinetti said he has seen a “significant increase” in roles for restructuring professionals over the past year as more direct lenders look to invest in opportunities where they can become owners of the companies they lend to.
Lenders are also following in the footsteps of their private equity cousins and investing in portfolio operators who can help run businesses that have defaulted on their loans.
“I’ve also seen, for the first time ever, credit firms hiring private equity-style portfolio operations professionals,” Rubinetti said.
Rubinetti estimated that most of the larger loan-only players now have someone on their team with some operational portfolio management skills, but said it’s still an emerging trend at lean and loan-only firms.
Special situations
Judson is seeing a lot of demand in a related corner of the market: special situations. Special situation lenders step in when a company is dealing with a kind of, well, special situation and needs a lender willing to write a complicated, risky and, conversely, very profitable loan.
For example, a fund may have lent money to a company and the loan is now defaulting, putting the fund in trouble as well. The fund can contact another fund, which will take on some of the risk of that loan, but also gain more control over the business in the meantime. Underwriting that loan involves a lot of risk, but it will also generate very high returns.
“You have to have a very keen sense of risk and reward,” Judson said of loan professionals in special situations.
“It really takes someone who understands credit and leverage, and understands how to put together a transaction that will benefit everyone involved,” Judson said. “How to Get the Financing a Company Needs and the Return a Fund Wants.”
Judson is seeing demand for credit experts for special situations from independent private credit funds and megafunds, as well as private equity firms with industry-specific multi-asset funds.
According to job listings, lender and asset manager Golub Capital is hiring an associate for its direct lending practice group and special situations team. The associate would help the firm with “maximizing recoveries and minimizing losses” and may seek “operational returns.” Base pay for New York-based hires is $170,000 to $185,000 and is likely to include a bonus, the listing said.
Asset-backed finance and other specialties
Professionals who specialize in complex and lucrative types of loans or lending to in-demand industries are also getting a lot of attention in today’s job market, recruiters said.
“The demand we see is in the corners of the market where the structures and issues are more complex and fluid,” Judson said. In these countries, lenders can differentiate themselves from the competition through the way they structure and manage their loans, and also deliver higher returns, she added.
Rubinetti said he’s seen the most interest recently in areas such as alternative loans, asset-based lending and specialty finance.
“If firms don’t have this capability now, they want it,” Rubinetti said. “It is a small area, but by far, it was the most active area.”
Corporate consolidation shows how much interest there is in some particular lending strategy. Janus Henderson acquired asset-backed lender Victory Park late last year to offer its clients a “private credit strategy focused on highly sought-after assets,” according to Ali Dibadj, CEO of Janus Henderson, in a release for press. the agreement.
Rubinetti has seen job demand for lending roles in equipment leasing, aviation finance, consumer finance or any real asset industry. “Infrastructure and energy transition credit have been hot areas,” he added.
Sponsors’ finances are about to be restored
While demand for loan generalists has been soft, non-bank lenders may see a return to the business that started the entire industry: providing leverage for private equity buyouts and recapitalizations, also known as sponsor finance.
At this point, Rubinetti said, hiring has been very slow for these roles, as most home teams are well-staffed for the low deal volume. But 2025 is likely to see “a significant increase in the flow of PE deals,” according to PWC. And firms that feel fully equipped may now see things differently as more deals unfold.
“That will change in 2025,” Rubinetti said.
In late December, Apollo posted for two US Origin Sponsor roles: an associate position with a base pay range of $175,000 to $200,000 and a principal making $300,000 in base salary, according to job listings that also emphasize that the positions are acceptable. for an annual bonus.
