Corporate Development
I know that corporate development (internal M&A) is generally looked at as a good stepping stone to banking (while in undergrad), but is naturally perceived as significantly less prestigious. However, I am wondering about a specific situation.
How does this sound:
1) SA sophomore summer at BB
2) Corporate development at Google*
3) IB full time
*I'm using Google here to indicate the "most prestigious" corporate development, if there is such a thing. I'm sure there are others, Google is just the first that pops to my mind.
It seems like, at the right company, this could give you a really valuable perspective coming from the other side of the table. It could also create some valuable connections/knowledge... i.e. Google corp development then SF TMT
Any thoughts?
I mean if you could land a
I mean if you could land a SA sophomore BB I'm assuming yyou mean IBD, does it really make sense to pull yourself out of the industry for a summer where you could probably get the offer leveraged to another IB bank, another gorup in your same bank, or in some RARE cases just a job offer?
To clarify, assume that the
To clarify, assume that the prospect of getting FT IBD offer is not of concern.
Given that you are sure that you can get FT IBD regardless of summer choices, what are your thoughts?
internal m&a
Business Development, I hear it's called would be a good line of work. If you have that and not IBD BB, then go ahead. I've seen alot of students not finding any work these days.
I was going to pursue internal m&a at a BB, and still think about it to this day. For the summer, I'll be doing BB IBD. Just keep in touch with the recruiters wherever you go.
What interests you? I am from San Francisco and have a couple friends doing BB TMT and google finance.
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google finance is not google
google finance is not google corp dev...
The biggest difference
The biggest difference between IBD and CD/BD is deal flow and deal size. If you only work for one company, you end up doing a lot more before and after each deal rather than just doing deal after deal. That being said, you certainly can gain valuable experience in a single industry. Generally tech and pharma CD/BD have a more steady stream of deals (all of those tech license deals usually flow through a CD/BD department). However, these are usually very small deals, puncuated by a big one once in a while.
Bottom line (as someone who interned for two years in pharma CD/BD before deciding to work in banking), I think it's rewarding to take a deal from start to finish including formulating the initial strategy, identifying targets, making a bid, due diligence, closing, and integration. However, when you only work for one company, you get a narrow view of things and don't see as many deals. Therefore, at this stage in your career, I think IBD is better since it gives you much more exposure to more deals, companies, and people.
Perhaps the pay isn't as
Perhaps the pay isn't as good, but would corporate development be a natural exit op for someone from IB who didn't want to go into PE/HF for example? Or are you working the same hours doing the same stuff for less pay than IB?
Be careful when considering
Be careful when considering a job that is either Corp Dev or Bus Dev. Sometimes the jobs can have wildly different tasks/descriptions. Make sure you get a very detailed description of what the job involves.
I agree with being careful
I agree with being careful in accepting a CD/BD job. Some companies call their sales departments "Business Development." This is incredibly misleading and obviously has nothing to do with M&A. As a result, you must make 100% sure you know exactly what your job will entail. A good rule of thumb would be that if the department sounds large (greater than 10-15 people), you need to be very skeptical. Even big pharma CD departments are small, so watch out. Also, responsibilities vary widely from company to company. Some have their CD departments planning the overarching strategy of the business while others relegate them to evaluating and flagging potential small acquisitions. If you're going to get into CD, you need to be a growth stage company that is rapidly acquiring other companies.
I also can say that the pay definitely is not as good as banking (salary is probably slightly more, but bonus is a lot less). However, generally the hours are much better, so it's the classic tradeoff. That being said, if you move up pretty far in CD, you can get compensated pretty well. It also is a way to transition to senior management on the industry side. The VP of CD typically reports directly to the CEO.
Anyway, since I am at the beginning of my career, I left CD for banking for wider exposure. But, if you're a bit further in your career or know that you love tech/pharma then I'd say CD is definitely worth a look, assuming you can find a good opportunity.