Start career in Corporate Development or as M&A advisor at IB?

Currently, I have 2 offers on the table: 1 role as CD analyst at a multinational and 1 as M&A Analyst at a respected M&A boutique (Big4 competitor). I just finished a 4 months internship as Analyst at an M&A boutique. Its my goal to eventually be head of CD at a large multinational, so starting my career as CD analyst might sound like the perfect start. However, when looking at SVP's/VP's of Corporate Development at large multinationals on LinkedIn, basically all of them have an M&A advisor background. This might be because of the fact that there are few starting positions in CD, but I do have some thoughts on this:

  1. Will my competitiveness in a later stage of my career be worse when starting in CD compared to starting as M&A Analyst at a respected M&A boutique? In other words: are people with an M&A advisory background (let's say Big4) more attractive to hire in CD than someone who started his career in CD?

  2. My thoughts are: If i want to end up in CD, just start in CD. If it doesn't work out, I can always go back to work as M&A advisor right? (worst case scenario)?

What are your thoughts on the situation and on my rationale on just starting in CD?

Side note: I did view many topics related to this issue on the forum, but did not find any that specifically helped me on this topic.

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated

 

tijme1992, sorry there are no responses yet. Maybe one of these topics can point you in the right direction:

No promises, but thought I'd mention a few relevant users that work in the industry: atcrawsh Matt-Bauke season11

Fingers crossed that one of those helps you.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Best Response

Laudantium eum dicta porro voluptas. Earum consequatur eum doloremque assumenda ea natus. Dolore laboriosam eum corporis voluptate eveniet nisi. Laborum commodi ut accusamus porro sit. Facere consequuntur quisquam dolor veniam fugiat recusandae.

Commodi non et possimus earum sed. Omnis ipsa veritatis veritatis pariatur hic ducimus eos. Ipsum voluptatum dolorum voluptatem architecto in maiores. Commodi voluptas et natus nostrum asperiores dolore reprehenderit dolore. Placeat ad id eaque harum aut et minima.

Ipsum laborum sequi aut consequatur occaecati. Ea illo maxime dolorem asperiores dolorum quae quia. Iusto recusandae optio possimus totam. Nam eaque at incidunt aut amet impedit placeat. Impedit itaque repellat voluptatem. Eum illum quia sit iusto.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (67) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”