I have two opportunities at a BB firm. Both are in a back office finance position but eventually I would like to move to a more client facing role. My question is would I be better off staying as a direct hire or going to a 2 year rotational program. I also like to mention I plan to finish the 3 levels of the CFA exams by the end of the 2 year program.
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Rotational versus set-role (Originally Posted: 11/14/2016)
I am currently in a strategy and finance role with a F500 company and looking to move sectors. I am trying to move to a different sector in which I have more interest and was able to secure two offers, both with F500 companies. One is a well-known, established mid-career rotational program with a Fortune 200 company,, the other is with a larger competitor (one of the two market leaders of the sector, Fortune 100) of the first company in a direct hire role. My issue is, the mid-career role offers greater professional development and exposure, but pays significantly less (~20% less) and is in a slightly higher cost of living city.
Without getting much more specific, is the pay hit worth it for the exposure? Also how much should company size play a role in this decision?
If it's a good rotational program it definitely could be worth it. Getting a variety of experiences is extremely beneficial when moving up the ladder.
Size (Revenue) does matter, but as long as they're both F200 then experience, brand name, opportunities, etc... likely outweigh size. Your career goals should also help guide you. My advice would be very different if you were planning on specializing in one area (Tax, M&A, Treasury, etc...) vs. being developing a broader skillset in corporate finance.
I don't know all industries, but if you want to PM me the positions and companies I'll give you any insight I might have.
This is definitely an interesting situation. You mentioned you are switching industries. Is this a switch back to an earlier career field or an entirely new one? If the former, it becomes rather complex, if the latter though, I think you go with the rotational program.
accountingbyday Thank you, the rotations from the program and the direct hire job are both in BD/Strategy/Strat Planning rather than corporate finance, in a high capital expenditure oriented sector (Think Manufacturing/Aerospace/Energy)
GlobeTF Thank you, I have prior - pre-MBA work experience - in the sector that I am trying to go back to (both roles). With that in mind what do you think?
PMed you.
Do you NEED the extra money?
If your cost of living is covered for and you're talking about having more or less cash going into savings, then I think you should analyze your expected return on invested cash vs. invested time with the lower-paying role. Obviously, math is not straightforward, but i think this is a good framework.
HY.r.e.a.m Thank you. That is an interesting way to look at it that I didn't go far in-depth on. Essentially, the lower salary plus higher Cost of Living would result in living in a smaller townhouse and not saving, versus being able to probably buy a decent house in a year (the CoL) is a big factor on the latter. I am finding it hard to quantify the benefit of the rotational though. I can say the program has been around awhile and there are a number of senior employees in the group who came out of it.
Benefit of the rotational program is the salary difference between the job that leads you to and the job you'd get after the same amount of time at the other place.
Obviously I'm being very negligent with intangibles here. They matter. I just don't know how to quantify them.
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