How soon is too soon monkeeys?
Hello Fellow Monkeys and Happy New Year,
I am 24 with an undergrad in Econ and a MBA from non targets, happily landed my 1st job 4 months ago as a Financial Analyst right outside Philadelphia. I work for a smaller Audit and Recovery firm on the rise (company more than double over past two years and was recently purchased by Advent International Private Equity.)
Now I do enjoy the work I do however this is not a very typical FA job, mainly because I am the 1st FA hired by the company so it’s more of a starter/feel position for the company, basically they are not quite sure what they want me to do overtime. Data research, forecasting, and model building make up about 1/3 - 1/2 of my work while the rest is a variety of things. I am very grateful I landed this job which I do enjoy) however I have been searching around in hopes to do more analytical work and make a higher salary (45K as of now, which I understand is on the lower end for FA). I have been searching around such as Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, Amazon, EBay (GSI Commerce), Campbell Soup and others in my area
My real question is how short is too short to leave a job without it looking like you are just job jumping? Or will having some experience now with my MBA be something bigger companies look for?
Thanks in advance!
It's not job jumping if you
It's not job jumping if you have the credentials to show that you could do better than the job you have now, people like other people with a drive as long as it's not backed by just plain unfulfilled content. Just make sure to subtly slide that into any interviews.
4 months seems to short and
4 months seems to short and any interviewer will be wary that you will be equally likely to work a short stint for them and leave.
If you are unsatisfied with your job after 4 months, you should work with your boss to improve the role. It sounds like they didn't have a firm view of your responsibilities when they created the role. Talk to them about what you would like to do more of / less of, and how to improve the role. I would suggest you do this at the 1 year mark.
I get the sense that you don't have a great answer to what you'd like to do differently, but instead just want an FA job at a different company- you mention financial firms, internet firms, campbell soup - so you want to be an FA at another firm in the same geography?
I think you'd have difficulty getting interviews, as you aren't straight out of school but you don't have meaningful experience. If you did land interviews, "Why are you leaving your current role?" would be a top question and I think it is all but impossible to give a solid answer. You haven't worked there long enough to have a solid list of fair dislikes, and you haven't been there long enough to try and make changes.
1 year is an appropriate time frame. You learned some stuff, you had a review, you suggested changes to make the role more appealing, you came to realize the specific type of work wasn't for you -- you can't do that in four months.
grosse: 4 months seems to
4 months seems to short and any interviewer will be wary that you will be equally likely to work a short stint for them and leave.
If you are unsatisfied with your job after 4 months, you should work with your boss to improve the role. It sounds like they didn't have a firm view of your responsibilities when they created the role. Talk to them about what you would like to do more of / less of, and how to improve the role. I would suggest you do this at the 1 year mark.
I get the sense that you don't have a great answer to what you'd like to do differently, but instead just want an FA job at a different company- you mention financial firms, internet firms, campbell soup - so you want to be an FA at another firm in the same geography?
I think you'd have difficulty getting interviews, as you aren't straight out of school but you don't have meaningful experience. If you did land interviews, "Why are you leaving your current role?" would be a top question and I think it is all but impossible to give a solid answer. You haven't worked there long enough to have a solid list of fair dislikes, and you haven't been there long enough to try and make changes.
1 year is an appropriate time frame. You learned some stuff, you had a review, you suggested changes to make the role more appealing, you came to realize the specific type of work wasn't for you -- you can't do that in four months.
This is a great answer and much appreciated, it’s not that I’m unsatisfied I guess I feel underutilized with most of my work and slightly bored. I was thinking the 9-12 month range is an goof time to begin searching, but wanted to get a grasp on some other thoughts since this is my 1st real job.
The reason I listed those companies is because they are large set firms, in my geographic location offer positions I quality for. Also because they are places with set FA positions rather than a newly created roll.
But I will definitely take that into consideration and continue to work hard and learn, then in 6-8 months down the road meet with my Boss to discuss my role some more.
Thanks again
"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup
Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.
i don't think it's THAT big
i don't think it's THAT big of a deal to jump out of a job 4 months into it, as long as you stay a few years at your next job, and you have a decent explanation for an interviewer as to why you made the jump so quickly. however if this happened multiple times, it would definitely raise some red flags to hiring managers.
Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?
It's not a big deal at all --
It's not a big deal at all -- as long as the job is a better one. When reading over a CV one usually looks for ambition, so job hopping once or twice to get to where you want, which is where you'll be interviewing, shows a certain zeal or enthusiasm than staying low and settling for a while.
See my other WSO blog posts
That is also true, honestly
That is also true, honestly if you look across the field I would like to know the % of people that stay longer then 1 year at their first job, by their choice
"When a defining momnet comes alone, you either define the moment or the moment defines you..." - Tin Cup
Talent is hitting a target no one can hit.
Genius is hitting a target no one can see.
I look at a fair amount of
I look at a fair amount of resumes at any given time and <1 year = red flag. If you told me, "hey, I left because they sold me a job description that wasn't true", I'd cut you some slack, but that's going to be real rare.
What if someone told you that
What if someone told you that they've outgrown their responsibilities, smartest in group, etc. and haven't been promoted due to a logjam in front of them?
And a quick follow-up, are companies willing to build off of 1 year or less of experience or do you just come in as a regular first year analyst?
We had a recent candidate say
We had a recent candidate say he/she "felt like the smartest person in the current group." Needless to say, he/she did not make it the next round. You can be smart and proud of your accomplishments but always be humble. If you're going to drop something like that when you're supposed to be at your best, you're probably going to be a treat to work with later.
If you "outgrow" your responsibilities, that means you're perfectly OK waiting for me to give you direction and don't want to bring ideas to the table. In lean groups, you don't want someone who's not asking for more work at all times. It's the sad truth but you're better off riding out the remainder of your first year.
Also, if you have <1 year experience, you're going to be treated as the last position you held. I'm not looking to promote you.