Non-conventional exits from ER
I’m considering some non-conventional exits from ER and wanted to see if anyone has heard stories about these types of transitions in the past. What did it take to get there? Were you/they able to make the transition directly?
My primary considerations have been sales and business development roles. Tech/fintech sales gets all the hype but I think broader sales could still work, especially in the industry that you cover. Another related consideration would be buyside IR. Last but not least, you have product roles that could start as product finance/strategy but move closer to the product management path.
I feel like the primary exits are decently well-covered but are somewhat limited out of ER. If you’re not sticking in public markets (buyside or IR), then I don’t think ER associates are the best-positioned in broader corporate finance. For corp strategy, consultants are the best candidates. For corp dev, IB makes the best candidates (deal exposure). For FP&A, I could argue accountants/auditing experience would be most beneficial. Don’t get me wrong, ER is able to land roles at most of these. But in every case, there is something missing from the ER candidate. And quite frankly, most of these roles are not compensated well in enough to capitalize on the demanding hours and skills that ER associates have had to learn.
My thought process is if you’re not going to apply the skillset directly and you’re not going to be compensated very highly, then why not consider a big switch altogether where the ceiling is higher.
I was in ER at a top shop, went buyside, and am now in buyside IR (at the same shop). I had zero luck recruiting externally. Pretty happy with the move... i build up good internal capital here and just raised my hand when there was an opening. I honestly find most ER heads to be awkward asf, so I kinda get why it's not an easy switch to make. If you're still on the sellside, I'd move internally to the sales team and then you can recruit for most sales roles
You didn’t specify where on the buyside but I’m guessing a HF. When someone says buyside IR, I usually think of PE and fundraising. I guess there’s a fundraising component to HF as well, but how different is that than like distribution/sales roles at public investment managers? You’re likely still selling to a similar set of clients, right?
Product roles are underrated as a transition. If you’ve got solid Excel/financial modeling chops and can translate business logic into product decisions, that can be a great fit. I’ve met PMs in fintech who started in ER, the challenge is convincing hiring managers you can think beyond financials
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