“”Hiring is still slow in private equity, and the sense of malaise is still in place,” said Anthony Keizner, co-founder ofexecutive recruiter Odyssey Search Partners.

The industry is still hamstrung by the difficulties of selling companies profitably in a down market and raising new money from investors, he said. “Maybe there’s a little sunshine through the clouds, but there are still some pretty big fundamental challenges,” Keizner added.

Keizner, of Odyssey Search Partners, says some private-equity employees are open to leaving the industry for other roles, something that rarely happened during the sector’s boom years. The market correction makes people wonder whether future bonuses and deal profits will match their hopes from just a few years ago.

Private-equity employees “who in prior years would not have considered another role are now re-evaluating whether the pot at the end of the rainbow is as big as they first thought,” Keizner said.”