For those laid off

Tis the season to be laid off, tis the season to be jolly. Given the recent (and upcoming) slaughter in IB, I want to share my story with the simple message that things will and do work out.

I was til recently a 3rd analyst at a BB. I was communicated back in June that the firm was not going to promote me to associate. I took the news like any man with a backbone and turned it around expressing to my team that if it meant saving my team's ass, then I'd take it (up the ass). What I had in mind was that the sht was the sht and it can't possibly get any worse, but it could get better if I can depart the right way.

Long behold, my MD felt like he owed me a big time and started calling up his contacts to get me lined up for interviews. In 3 weeks time, I had multiple offers in hand and ended up going with a $bn distressed debt hedge fund. The funny thing was had I not been gutted, I wouldn't even consider exit IB. To top if off, I got 2 months garden leave and still received my $70k bonus.

More importantly, this incident reignited the spark to become my own boss man. After taking a nice vacation, I'm now working on several tangible business ideas with the plan to build one out in the next several months.

My message is simple: shit happens, exit on good terms, it's okay to be lost but pick yourself up and keep moving, and most of all, believe your worth and go out there and claim what's yours. Happy hunting.

 

Wow. "Boss" is just about the LAST thing I would call him. Shit like this happens all the time this time of year. Plus, It's in your MD/Firm's best interest that you get good placement after your analyst stint, so that they can sell it to prospective monkeys. Your story means nothing.

 
Best Response

Do you realize how bad the HF hiring environment is right now? Analysts graduating from the top of their class have trouble securing roles at large buy-side firms. There is a huge surplus of analysts on the market looking for similar jobs. This guy could have gone home, complained, been a bitch about things, and be trying to find some shitty job in bumblefuck illinois trying to save the world one shitty hospital bond deal at a time.

I'm not one for sharing personal stories or tooting your horn, but this is a rare instance where I will go out on a limb and say that this has some value to the overall community and a good story. Thousands of guys are getting laid off. Its never happened to me, but its something everybody is afraid of and is not sure how they would deal with. I'm sure a lot of guys are going to read this and get some inspiration out of it.

 
MoneyKingdom:
Wow. "Boss" is just about the LAST thing I would call him. Shit like this happens all the time this time of year. Plus, It's in your MD/Firm's best interest that you get good placement after your analyst stint, so that they can sell it to prospective monkeys. Your story means nothing.

I 2nd MoneyKingdom. This isn't the typical layoff story. Most 3rd year analysts/associates who get laid off don't have HF interviews lined up for them. Had the OP have to go through 1000s of applications, 100s of interviews to get back on track, then I'd call him a boss. But he was in good terms with his MD (good for him of course) and he got him some interviews. Go back and try search the horror stories of those victims of 2008-9 bloodbath. See how those survived then managed to pull through. That's the real story. That's the people who you should be calling "Boss"

Array
 

Major congratulations to you, sounds like you made the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Unfortunately I don't think your story is applicable to a lot of analysts who are being laid off right now. It seems like those laid off are in one of two groups:

  • Those who are told early enough that they will be let go soon or will not be promoted to the next level, and are given sufficient time to look for a new job while still working at the current one

  • Those laid off suddenly, and are forced to enter the job market while ultimately having to reveal the fact that he/she was laid off

Fortunately for you, it seems like you're in the latter category. Unfortunately these last few weeks have seen many analysts fall in the latter, a much more vulnerable and far less attractive position to be in, no matter how you look at it.

 

Nice to see your MD pulled out his roladex and call his boys on wall street. That's awesome! Congrats bud!

No contract means I have all the power. They want me, but they can't have me. - Don Draper
 

I was in the exact situation as you OP. Laid off, boss helped by calling some people, and I landed a better job with 50% more pay.

But I also experienced the flip side: laid off a few years ago, had to suffer through tons of applications, tons of interviews, and jump through hoops to get a job.

To tell everyone "it will all work out" is a mistake. Thousands of people are struggling and failing, and even I'm not arrogant enough to say it was all my own skill. You owe it all to your boss and I owe it to my boss, and we were both very lucky they rooted for us, and lucky there was an opening.

The only message I agree with you is for those that are down in the dumps to keep your confidence up and keep fighting.

 
BillyRay05:
3 weeks? How terrible!!!!

Humblebrag101

lol

I really don't want to detract from the OP. Getting laid off sucks no matter what, but I'll admit that I was hoping to see a story of greater grit and perseverance...I don't think that this is really a typical story. But good on him just the same.

 
phpmvk:
If you don't mind sharing, what do you think caused you not to get an offer for an associate position? I'm not trying to bash you, I just want to learn from your experience

Official answer: small team, fee pool, no headcount. Behind that, there had been changes in the top and how my team covers clients. I'm more of a technical person not so much "coverage" so I suspect I no longer fit my team's revenue model.

 

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