AN3 no promotion but team still wants to keep you. Should I leave?

Considering leaving the firm. Been here for two years. Started as AN3 with promise to be promoted next year. Not happening but firm and team still wants to keep me around. Should I jump to another firm to get As1?

24 Comments
 

Was told everyone has been rated downward, senior bankers down to juniors and that people are being promoted simply because their timeline believes it be the case. First pass up for promotion. Also excuse is BS. Really good at everything but we’d like you to be more crisped on RFP’s - so why not discuss in mid-year reviews, if that were a concern. No feedback till year end is BS

 

Think you answered your own question here. I’ve seen it a ton actually, people hate delivering bad news and will basically fuck employees over by dragging them along and hoping they get the hint. Not a single person in my group in IB ever received true constructive feedback. Low bonuses, promos are the only truths you’ll get out of them sometimes.

 

I'll make this simple for you. As you seem to have inferred, by passing you over for the associate promotion, they do not really want to keep you. They want to have their cake and eat it to by keeping you around. Given the macro environment, no one would blame you if you stayed, but I would start looking. In today's world, it is asinine to not given an analyst 3 the associate promote yet try to milk more work out of them.

 

I’m going to take the contrarian view here and say your group doesn’t not want to keep you, they just don’t want to promote you. If you want to be promoted, then go somewhere else. They clearly don’t see you as associate material but if they didn’t want to keep you they would just fire you.

 

I would start recruiting now. Pay wise, analyst to associate is pretty big jump, so for them to not promote you hurts you financially. Educationally, maybe they honestly think you need more work to be at the analyst level, but that’s something you can decide if it’s true or not.

It frankly and unfortunately seems that they would want you around but don’t think they need you. I would recruit and see what options you have.

Either way, good luck!

 

Are you a lateral? Have seen people kind of get screwed with lateral and promote, doing 3 or 3.5 years is unfortunately not that uncommon. Have you been passed over once or twice? Anyone at higher levels getting promoted?

I think it's all moot and would probably start recruiting, but easier said than done in this market. ASO1 is a tough spot to lateral into because most places draw from MBA or their own pool.

 

I was hired as an AN3 March 2021 after working on the client side of the business. Never worked in banking. Manager was willing to bat for AS1 last year - year end was S,O,O. I elected to stay in that position cause the learning curve was steep with WFH, learning on the fly, no training, while other juniors were also existing, putting more strain on the broader team. No complaints, worked my ass off and was commended and promised next year it’s happening. So to my surprise, when my manager came out, hesitant to tell me, expressed disappointment by higher ups decision and started by saying “I don’t want you to leave but understand if you choose too.” Year-end review was OOO. So I’ve been stunned ever since the conversation. I sense a lot of dishonesty and I don’t like it.

 

They sent atleast three senior bankers to talk with me and reiterated wanting to keep me and indicating though I was hired at an A3, not coming from another IB or FA shop, made it so that I could do the full 3 year Analyst program. They seem sincere but I don't trust any firm. I've had preliminary conversations with other banks. Just waiting for these recession fears and macroeconomic environment to improve before I leave but I don't plan on being around next year for sure

 
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