Breaking into an EB vs BB
AMA about breaking into an EB vs a BB, having been successful in both. Happy to talk about work / life balance, job scope, and most importantly the interview process.
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Did you lateral in from MM/Big 4 or enter through the grad recruiting programme (spring --> summer -- FT offer)?
I joined a BB through the summer internship, and successfully converted it into a full-time offer. I had other summer internship offers from some top asset managers and banks as well, and decided to go down the IB route purely because of the learning opportunities. I am currently moving laterally from a BB to an EB.
I actually didn't get any spring offers, so can speak to how much that affects recruitment as well if helpful.
Oh God, which EB in London?
If you stumbled on the Lzd speech, RIP to your career
Hours might be better tough
How did you find the contrast in hours between the two, and (if I may) how come you moved?
Haven't officially moved yet so can't speak to the contrast in hours. What I can say with confidence though is the work will be more interesting as in an EB you tend to cover smaller clients and more growth companies compared to a BB, so you tend to work with clients throughout their life cycle each step of the way, as opposed to just on the big fee events.
I personally moved to gain more ownership in my work - I had this with a few deals at the BB, and wanted that to be the status quo. I realised I would be more inclined to work long hours and put in the effort if I was interested in what I was doing and if I was able to speak to clients, hold the pen on the model etc.
Any advice on landing first-round interviews? Realized that networking doesn't help much here in the UK... I do go to a semi-target/target school & my CV is decent (Search fund, 1st Place Case Comp, exec of prestigious consulting society & analyst @ top finance society at my Uni) but I've only received rejections without being able to interview at any BBs or EBs except 1 (got that one through networking). FYI I'm an international student too for context.
Hi, I am more than happy to discuss your experience in detail if you want to go to my profile and book a mentorship session, but here are my immediate thoughts. I was also an international student, in a similar position to yourself, wondering why I wasn't getting any interviews or offers, and I realised the following:
- Getting a job in investment banking, consulting, PE etc. is a numbers game. I personally applied to about 70+ companies for a summer internship, got interviews at 3 places and converted all 3 into an internship. I subsequently converted the summer internship into the job I have now. My advice here would be to apply to everything under the sun, even if it is a company you may not want to work for in the short term or a role you don't want to do in the short term, just to get your foot in the door
- Tailor your CV as well, not just your cover letter. Try to look up the key phrases the company uses in the job description or website and use them as much as possible in your CV. Many companies use AI / tech to screen CVs and cover letters, so you want to use words that the machine is trained to pick up
- Networking is important only insofar as you meet people at the company and can speak to the company's culture, brand identity etc. I rarely used networking as a way to get referred into a job, because I realised many people are apprehensive on referring someone they just met. So instead, I used networking to learn more about the company I was applying to and just mentioned what I learnt in my cover letter to stand out
- Lastly, don't give up. It is not an easy journey into IB or any similar industry, but if it is what you are passionate about then you need to keep chipping away at it until something lands. You need to put your best effort for each application, no matter how time consuming it may be. Trust me, I have been there
Again, I am happy to speak in more detail about each of these points, and a lot more feedback and advice I have about breaking into the industry through a mentorship session / over a call, even if you want me to just review your CV, cover letter, or share some of my own.
Hi, thanks for your insight. How exactly do I visit your profile? Looks like you posted anonymously.
Out of interest, which bank did you interview for through networking? CVP?
Nah Moelis
Hi, could I get your thoughts on DC Advisory in London? Possible to lateral to EB / BB at the junior level from there? Thanks!
Hi, apologies for the delay - I was waiting to hear back from a former colleague who now works with DC Advisory. Here is what I have learnt in terms of compensation, exit opportunities, deal volume and culture:
- Comp: there are three main teams at DC which have their own comp structure. There is Infrastructure, M&A, and Capital Advisory which each have their own respective base salaries and bonus structures for analysts. That being said, the work-life-balance to compensation ratio is great here (meaning generally less work compared to a BB or EB, while still having strong total compensation)
- Exit opportunities: this does take a small hit relative to BB and EB firms purely because of brand name, and perhaps not working on the biggest deals in the market. You can get interviews at EBs and BBs if you are a top performer within DC, and if you have the right motivations. From a capital advisory perspective, you can exit to private credit, distressed debt shops or EBs
- Deal volume: highly sector dependent. There are about 6-10 deals a year which is enough to make the budget, but if you want to cover the largest transactions and have more steady deal flow, your best bet is moving to an EB or BB after 1-2 years
- Culture: amazing culture and very friendly teams. Tight-knit community of analysts and associates where everyone knows each other, and senior bankers truly support your career development. Office itself needs improvement
If you want to know more, I can DM you to set up a quick mentor session to chat with me and the person I received the above information from. Let me know!
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