3 FT offers: Which one would you choose?
Hi Monkeys. I am an international student from a target on the west coast (UCLA/USC/Berkeley). Long story short, I summered at a BB in NY, didn't get a return due to Covid downsizing, grinded like crazy, and now have 3 FT offers to choose from:
1. Top BB outside the US (India/Indonesia/China)
2. Small boutique that's the strongest in its niche (NY)
3. MM in a mid-sized city (Houston/Boston)
Short-term, I would love to get work experience in the US, but long-term, I plan to return to my home country. If you were in my shoes, which role would you choose and why? Thanks in advance.
EDIT: I chose the MM in Houston/Boston. Thanks for all your responses in the thread!
Small boutique for sure
Thanks for replying! I'd love to hear your rationale too
I would also vote for either the small boutique or the MM. You will gain valuable experience for a couple of years and then you can exit back to your home country.
Thanks for your input!
Second the small boutique. You can lateral to a NYC BB pretty easily after a year or two, and move to your home country from there.
Non US/European BB experience is discounted a lot - if you have strong US work experience it will help you down the line
Will point out that if the BB experience in China is in HK, that may still be useful
Thanks for the input!
And you're right about the non-US/Europe discount factor, which I've definitely observed among my peers.
also international, can you PM me?
As a fellow international student, I would suggest the MM in Houston/Boston. I think lateraling as an international student is more difficult than normal and so I think there might be a reasonable possibility that you have to spend a longer time there and if you don’t get H1B sponsorship then the MM has a big network where you can be transferred to say London or something easily. Plus for lateraling, you can do that from the MM too. I am going to venture a guess here and say the MM is Jefferies?
It’s the only MM that I know that sponsors that also has groups in Houston and Boston. If it in fact is Jefferies, go off anon for a second and I can DM you with more info.
Thanks for the input! The MM is along the lines of the Jefferies/Baird/Blair. Houston/Boston is a placeholder to protect my identity lol.
I mean I also know Baird and Blair doesn’t sponsor and Jefferies is the only MM that does sponsor so...
Looking at this in a nutshell I would honestly say: Boutique > BB > MM. Now, with a bit more information, things can change:
1. Opportunity is not in HK. More like CS/UBS/BAML and has the highest deal flow in the country. Focus is on capital markets, not so much on M&A.
2. The average monkey probably has not heard of it but it's the top industrials-focused boutique and has worked with most of its subsector's clients. M&A focused. Deal flow was strong in 2020 and is expected to grow
3. More along the lines of Jefferies/Blair/Baird.
Most WSO people have pretty good knowledge of the IB space. If the average monkey hasn't heard of them, then the average BB MD or PE recruiter may not have either. I would do 3 > 2 > 1.
I’m of the opinion that the MM should be strongly considered here assuming you are looking to stay in the US. People on WSO think working/living outside NYC is equivalent to death, while in all honesty it’s a good way to save some money and cities like Houston/Boston or similar sized cities still have plenty to do and see. Between the two offers you have in the US, the MM sounds like it has the most well known brand. In the event you want to lateral to a more well known shop, that brand name of the place you work at is often what’s going to get your resume taken seriously. If it’s a jefferies/Blair I would take it, but that’s just me. Also both of those shops get PE looks if you’re inclined to go to the buyside, idk enough about the boutique to say the same.
How niche are we talking here? If you’re going to Ziegler’s financing group that’s #1 for senior living, I don’t really care that it’s number one at that point, I wouldn’t want to be there. I personally would favor the middle market bank depending on the firm. Maybe Boston or Houston aren’t your #1 choice, but if you have the opportunity to work for like a William Blair or Baird (not sure if they have offices in both just spitting off names) then I would surely entertain them. Personally, I don’t think I would look very favorably at the BBS because those definitely aren’t the most desirable non-US locations.
I ended up choosing the MM. Agreed - I'm actually quite excited to work/live in a different city. Also, while I don't plan to recruit for PE, the MM will still give me more optionality later on.
Why is everyone taking no-name boutique? If it’s a top MM, go for that. You can easily lateral to a BB in NY if you wanted to improve brand name even further. If people in America might not be familiar with the boutique, nobody in your home country will be.
OP here. Thanks so much for your input - all great points. I ended up choosing the MM :)
You can exit to a BB at emerging markets with either option 1 or 2.
Take the NYC boutique one if they sponsor.
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