Transition from f500 corp fin to front/mid/back office

I've been working for one of the f500 corp fin leadership programs (Gen Mills) straight out of college. Now that I've wrapped up my 2nd yr, I'm wondering how difficult would it be to switch into front/mid/back office at a bb or mm bank?

Ideally I'd like to pursue IBD in the future, but I wouldn't be opposed to doing something less glamorous and trying to lateral down the road (i.e. after having a couple years of ops experience). Which route would be the most realistic?

(I come from a semi-target with a 3.7 if this is still relevant)

Thanks

 
Best Response

You DO NOT want to move into a mid office (MO) or back office (BO) role if your future goal is IBD. It will paint an inconsistent picture on your resume to future interviewers ("why did this kid move from a corp fin (a potentially 'front office like' role to MO/BO and is now trying to move to FO again?"). It is very difficult to lateral to IBD from MO/BO.

You're much better off trying to go directly into IBD. Try to target some middle market boutiques. Look up alumni from your semi-target currently in banking and network your way in.

 

My gut feeling would be you have a shot. I'm not an expert but I have a friend who worked in corporate finance at nestle and then got a banking job at a solid bank afterwords... he did go to dartmouth though, which is probably better than "semi-target"

 

Move directly to IBD at a boutique shop or something to get experience then move to MM or BB. DO NOT go into mid-office/back office operations.

I came from operations, it's mindless! You would rather stay at your current role right now. It took me 1.5 years to crawl out of it and move into boutique investment bank as first year analyst. So don't do anyhting irrational just because you want to get a BB name on to your resume.

 

I would say that typically people move from IB into F500, not the other way around. As other posters above have commented, you may have a shot at moving from your current role into a boutique bank somewhere. Also, I don't know how senior you are in your current role, but you may have to take cut in terms of seniority if you try to go the IB route.

 

thanks to everyone for the replies

More about myself - I'm just wrapping up the f500 fldp program (2 yrs), have a 3.7 from a semi-target (think top 15ish), decent technical skillset, but lacking in exposure/experience to IBD.

If you couldn't already tell, I'm still a novice at this. Would you recommend the stickied post on "regional boutiques" as a good starting point? Does anyone have personal experience making the jump from f500 to boutique or boutique to mm/bb?

Let me know otherwise, but I think an area I'll try to look into is any banks with a consumer goods group since I'll likely be able to leverage my industry experience in f500 food production?

Thanks again

 

Also very interested in this as i'm sitting on an offer of a corporate finance grad scheme while applying to banks.

I've thought about the MBA route if this round of applications doesn't go to plan. is that a possibility for you?

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
BrandonGekko:
What is your career goal? Many people do banking first and then after 2 years either get their MBA or move to corporate finance, PE, hedge funds, etc. etc.

Ideally I'd like to do a few yrs in IBD to leverage my way into a top MBA program. Post-MBA I'd like to work in PE or perhaps back into banking as an associate (depending on what path I take to get there). I'm more interested in the transactional/cap mkts side of the business than working from within the corp fin side (ie making my way up the ladder within f500 corp fin)

How would IBD at a regional boutique look for mba apps? Would it be advisable to try to leap to a bb before applying?

Thanks again for the responses.

 

bump for any personal experiences or other insights.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

How about you try and get into General Mills treasury department. That has a lot of capital market similarities. Do they do any hedging? That might be an option.

I think the fact that you were in a development program carries more weight than just the Corp Finance role. I think the transition is doable.

 

OP back again to update this old thread..

I've since worked my way into our corporate treasury side, where my work is along the lines of working with the commodities guys (assisting with swaps, cash management, risk, etc). I think this exp parallels typical mid-office banking roles. Because of this, I'm thinking a logical transition for me would be along the lines of equity research or risk management at bb or mm? I'd be happy pursuing these areas as a career now that I'm more familiar with the roles.. Does this story make sense?

The biggest challenge I've found so far is actually finding banking groups that do consumer goods deals.. (Greenhill?) Anyone able to point me to a starting point on how to begin this process? It's been a while since I've been in the recruiting scene.

Thanks again

 

It sounds like that role might translate well into transaction services or risk management, moreso than equity research. Either field pays well and has decent hours. Transaction services at my bank may be considered more front office but they make less money, at least at the analyst level.

I'm in risk, and as a person who values having at least some time for himself, I would say it's a career worth exploring. At my bank, it's fairly easy to transition into our distressed debt group and that has solid exit ops if you are dead set on trying to make retarded money. But directors/MDs in risk at BBs make between 300 and 500k and work under 60 hrs a week. It's a damned good balance if you ask me. I also find that we do more actual financial analysis and less marketing bullshit than some of the more coveted front office positions.

Just one option but I can tell you from experience that it's generally interesting and pays well. Hours are manageable.

 
kmzz:
RiskyBizness:
text
you should make a thread about risk; what you actually do, competitiveness, comp, how to break in etc. lifestyle seems very chill vs. ib. and you'll prob get a lot of SBs too lol

Second this - would be informative for people looking at risk management type areas. Not personally interested in that areas, but it's always interesting to hear about different job roles from people actually working in them.

Hi, Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you.
 

sounds like you might be leaning away from IB, but for what it's worth, you definitely have a legitimate shot of lateraling into an IB position, and not just at a tiny boutique either (although perhaps not in the most selective banks/groups).

the key is to demonstrate why you're interested in IB now, when you weren't in the past, and to demonstrate how your past experience will benefit you as an IB analyst. you've developed a solid understanding of how a company operates, what drives its results, what impacts it going forward etc - all can be seen as valuable skills for an analyst, and all will set you apart from kids coming straight out of school.

as has already been mentioned above, you might do particularly well in a retail/consumer group.

don't shortchange yourself by not shooting for IB if its what you really want to do - it's definitely within reach if you're willing to do the legwork/networking to get there

 

I don't believe the risk MDs at my BB make the same comp you're listing there, but I could very well be wrong. I'm inclined to guess more along $200k range. Salary starts to stagnate once you hit VP, then making your way up from VP is a difficult process.

If I were you, I'd avoid MO/BO. Definitely avoid BO. With friends that have MO/BO experience on their resume, they are already branded into that type of role when applying for jobs and cold calling - it's a sad pigeon hole effect that I'm sure a lot of IT folk get as well. For them a top bschool is the next best option after a few years. You already have a great FO type position, leverage that to your advantage.

Try alumni, cold calling, the works. Never know until you try.

 

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