I gained a wealth of experience in seeing the acquisitions and development process at a family office. My team was small so my work was usually meaningful, and I had direct access to the partners at the firm. I had the opportunity to sit in on the weekly meetings and see progress on several live deals at the time. The work load was dependent on how much I could take on.
What I wish was different
The program did not have much structure, progress meetings were initiated by me, and at times I felt the person I was directly reporting to didn't have the time to answer my questions. I wish there was more structure and opportunity for mentorship at times.
Advice
To get the most out of the experience, I suggest you first have an internship at a firm that has an institutional training program. It's difficult to feel as though you're contributing to the success of the firm, unless you have the speed/efficiency that a larger firm would give you.
