Monkeys,
Have been trying to make the switch for a while with no luck. I'd be willing to start as a first year if it meant breaking into banking - would any places even allow that?
I know most(all?) BBs are done right now but I never really had a shot there anyway. Any decent MMs still recruiting? Have any of you done this before or know somebody that has?
Really need some advice here.
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Bump.
Why the switch
Has anyone made a similar move? Maybe not from FoF particularly but from another industry?
Bringing this up.
The answer is yes it is possible, really anything is possible if you know the right people and are in the right place at the right time.
Can you apply to campus postings and get in that way now? Probably not. Honestly, at this point if you were able to get a banking job they would make you start as a 1st year anyway because you have no relevant experience. Best bet is to look for lateral postings, network, and know your shit. The expectations will be significantly higher in interviews for you and your story will have to be on point.
Not interested in the FO/endowment route. Asset Management going forward isn't really appealing to me - I'd like to get on the deal side of things.
In terms of co-investing, it's not what you'd think. My shop does CI as well and there is very little original modeling/DD that occurs. The sponsor's DD/model is used for everything, with some testing/stressing of the assumptions in certain cases to make our own base case but that's about it. Our groups are very divided too so I don't have the chance to work on any of those deals. I imagine it's the same or similar at other shops and ultimately not a path I'd like to go down.
less miscing ayyy lmao
Mirin'
Why not try to get into a family office/endowment doing fund investments and then start to branch into other assets? Or, why not try to move to a fund where you can do more co-invest where you'd get more hard deal/analysis skills?
Those might be easier paths than starting over in banking, and you'd get credit for time served...
Trying another bump for any more opinions.
Yes. Do you have friends in banking? Alumni networks? Call and cultivate. Have your story down pat. Keep pushing all the time. Are you close with other people in your space? Placement agents gps etc? Get to know them. They can help as well. If you are at an fof and meeting all these people as you should be turn it is absolutely possible.
Good luck
I've actually landed two interviews to date: one at a very small regional boutique bank and a lower-MM GP. Got very good feedback from both but they went with more experienced/"better" experienced candidates.
I've also been hearing a lot of what SSits posted, unfortunately.
Believe me, if this is what you want, then don't stop. Get your network to help you build a better network and keep building contacts and keeping up with them. All it takes is one group, or person to say yes. People will come up with all kinds of excuses to say no to you. Some of it is reality, lots of it is just laziness (which is ever present in finance, believe me). Keep hustling away. Lots of people have lateraled into investment banking - it just happens to be a tough time right now and has been for years. Have you talked to recruiters or headhunters at all? If not, do so. That friend who is a VP did you ask them if they knew anyone else, that you could talk to, just for "advice" even MDs? It's not asking too much for a 10 minute meeting and you can promise them that "you won't ask that person for a job".. and when you meet with said person - don't. State your case, ask if they have any advice or anyone you can talk to... this should be after you get to hear about THEIR story and how THEY got there before introducing yourself.
I would also look to reach out to GPs and agents. On your own time. You have the potential for a huge network. If you are in NYC or some city with a lot of these people, and you have interacted with them a bunch, just ask them out to a coffee, to "put a name to a face" or whatever. Build a relationship, ask how they got there and what they want to do etc etc. Then when its your turn... You have to gauge it though. Sometimes you can declare what you want to do in the first meeting other times it takes a few meetings.
you're a 2nd year analyst... like 24 years old. Not a big deal. Keep fighting.
Good Luck
good luck dave man
Resetting The Clock: Pros/Cons of Being a 1st Year IBD Again (Originally Posted: 12/10/2013)
Had a question for all the PE guys here. I'm a 2nd year Capital Markets Banker at a 2nd Tier BB with an offer to stay on for a third year. If my goal is to go to PE, and I wanted to lateral to a Tier 1 bank in a top M&A / TMT / Industrials / Healthcare group to give myself the best chance of success, could I somehow make a better case for an offer if I agreed to 'reset the clock' on my career and be a 1st year again in the new group?
I'm not even sure how I would allude to this in a conversation, or if it's even advisable. It would mean giving up my third year salary and my 2nd year bonus, but I would be willing to sacrifice that opportunity cost if it gives me the best chance to move to top-tier megafund / middle-market PE. Also, I'm not sure how it would reflect on my reputation to the PE firms that would be interviewing me. Would hate them to think I'm a bad analyst just because I wanted a different experience away from capital markets.
Let me know if you guys have ever heard of this being successfully done before, and if so, how I can go about it.
Thanks
Bump.
Thanks
Seems pretty straightforward to me:
I'd say go for IB, and try to have them start you as a second year analyst. If they're insistent on starting you as a first year, well, that doesn't really matter if your goal is to get into PE anyway.
The other thing to take note is timing - if you lateral to IB now, in the middle of your second year, you give up your bonus, and you'll also likely miss out on this upcoming spring cycle of PE recruiting since you'll have ~3-4ish months under your belt, vs someone who started in the summer, who will have ~9-10 months under their belts in IB. Maybe it's best to wait until summer, take your bonus, and then make moves, but on the other hand, then you're missing out on valuable experience over the first half of next year.
There's no right or wrong answer to your question, but if you're dead set on PE, you should try to get into a role that has exposure to M&A.
As someone who had to reset the clock in a similar fashion (I wasn't in capital markets but one of those other "niche" IBD groups where you're essentially stuck), I can honestly say its worth it. Yeah, it sucks to start your career again, but atleast you know you're on track for something you may want to pursue. CHitizen above has the right answer for you.
Thanks guys, much appreciated.
Starting over as 1st yr analyst at diff. firm? (Originally Posted: 06/04/2010)
Would it be possible at the end of a second year at a BB overseas to start over as a 1st year analyst at a top boutique in the U.S.?
I understand the IB business is different depending on your location because of the complexities of the deal and the types of deals you work on so I don't believe it will be that easy to simply lateral to a different geographic location. I think starting all over again (as a fresh analyst) would allow me get a better chance to recruit for PE or VC instead of becoming an associate or 3rd year where opportunities are limited. I'm young and willing to take the pay cut and suck up all the opportunity costs.
Would top boutiques be willing to hire an experienced analyst as a new hire? If not, what are the typical entry points, an experienced 1st year?
What I'm looking for in a first year banker is largely (a) demonstrated smarts/ability and (b) mental plasticity/openness of mind so I can mold those smarts/ability to work well in my team.
The problem you'll have as someone who has been working for a few years in an office is that people will think you've lost (b). Reprogramming you is a lot of effort that doesn't need to be spent on a fresh grad. That's a significant handicap.
In PE there are more opportunities after the Associate level. Go to any PE web site where they list employees, the majority that I've seen are VPs and MDs.
@mas I've actually heard the opposite...I'd also note that PE firms often don't list associates. Also very few of the VPs/MDs you are talking about have been with those firms for a while or at least in industry for a while and probably started as associates or senior assocaites...
Your analysis seems a bit off.
You could very well be right, I've just looked at a bunch of PE group sites and they might name 5 or so Associates, then 10-20 VPs, 10-20 MDs, and 5-10 Partners
I figure if I do an MBA, it's better to do PE before hand rather than waste an MBA going back to banking and then PE.
mas1987 - the OP is saying that he doesn't want to go to the associate level in banking b/c it's harder to make the switch to PE once you're an associate in banking than an analyst. most PE firms either hire analysts from banking or MDs from banking, very few of the levels in between (they are hired out of BS or promoted internally).
OP - this is probably very unlikely. I worked at a "top boutique" and the question I (and everyone else) would ask when interviewing you is why you would be willing to essentially be demoted two years. The recruiters will assume that if you are good at your current job, that you could jump to PE or move to a different office in your firm. Because you are not doing either of those, the assumption they will come to is that you are not a top performer in your current role, and that will be reason enough to ding you. If you really want to change firms and geographies, aim for a 3rd year analyst role, or just get a PE job directly.
Ah gotcha felip, ty
Go back to 1st year analyst? Are you insane?
willing to put in the hard work
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