F50 Financial Analyst vs F500 FLDP
Hey WSO!
I've been looking for related discussions on this but nothing has answered my question so here goes. Obviously some FLDP's are better than others, with the well-known F50 programs (J&J, GE, Dell, etc.) being more desirable than the lesser known programs. However, through my internship recruiting, I have seen F50 companies recruiting at my school for analyst programs (not FLDP).
Some F50 FLDP's recruit at my school, but for most of them, my school is a non-target (T40 west coast public, think UCI/UCSB/UCSD). So a regional office recruiting for financial analyst is more likely.
So let's assume I had offers from a well-known F50 as a financial analyst, and an unknown F500 for their FLDP, all else the same (location, pay, industry, etc.). Which would be the better choice for 1) general career progression and 2) M7 / T15 MBA applications down the line?
Thanks!
In the exact same situation and pretty torn honestly. Although a good problem to have.
Good for you! I'm a junior, so still going for a summer internship as of now.
Thanks, congrats to you too. I'm a sophomore so I'm in the same situation. I'll dm you.
How well known is the F500? Is it a common household name, top in its industry, etc? How do FLDP graduates in that company end up doing after 5 years? What does their career progression look like? Are the F50 and FLDP in different industries? Do you like one of those industries more than the other? What pedigree to people have in the F50 finance group vs the avg FLDP participant pedigree? Is there a large gap in compensation?
All excellent and important questions as the answers could sway the decision.
That said, if it was really a "tie" - hard to imagine with the above factors - I would go with F50 for the following reasons:
1. Name brand matters. It is a proxy for you with future employers. It's essentially saying a top company with a competitive recruiting process (because they all are) who had thousands to choose from, chose you! It's also saying you went through their training, learned about and was a good corp citizen within their culture, developed some skills in a certain area, etc.
2. Network developed
3. Actual skills learned within a specific area.
Yeah this makes sense. Obviously once I get real offers I’ll have to compare them on a case-by-case basis, but on a level playing field, it is hard to imagine an unheard of FLDP being perceived as better than working for a household F50 company. Thank you!
Once I narrow down the recruiting process these are all great questions I’ll definitely ask myself. Thanks!
In this case I think it would be worth taking a well known F50 analyst job over an unknown F500 FLDP. But I don't think you should just be looking at places who recruit on campus. It definitely makes it easier but you should still look for F50/F100 FLDP jobs that aren't necessarily targeting your campus.
I'm joining one of most well known companies in the US in their FLDP from a total nontarget. I am the first person from my university in the program. You shouldn't limit yourself just to campus recruiting because it leaves out a large segment of the jobs.
Yeah the consensus seems to be to go for the F50 job, and I do agree. Also, something I have noticed is, in terms of F500, the only ones that recruit at my campus are doing so because of location rather than school reputation, as some are well-known F50's and some are lower ranked, and all have offices near my school (I go to a T40 west coast public, think UCI/UCSB/UCSD). If you don't mind, did you get a summer internship at your company before getting hired or did you go through full-time recruiting? Also how much previous experience did you have when interviewing?
I would PM you but you posted anonymously so if you want you can PM me
Generally speaking from my knowledge most corporate FLDP's tend to recruit regional schools with the occasional target that isn't in the area. The one's I've ran into that don't seem to follow that are some of the tech companies, like Microsoft, and some other large companies. Definitely harder to get into those jobs that don't actively recruit your school, but its definitely attainable. You could also potentially start the pipeline between the two.
If your end goal is a top MBA, I would go name brand every single time. It's easier to convey the quality of your experience and its definitely better looking than a decent/mid-level FLDP. Not saying the experience isn't comparable or better but admissions will definitely take it into account. I also think it depends on where your end goals are beyond MBA, I personally think that if you end up wanting to go back into corporate finance the F50/F500 debate isn't as important and it should come down more to a company/industry you're interested in and somewhere you can see yourself developing a career.
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