Delaying FT start date?
Was wondering if after being given a SA return offer, if it's possible to delay your FT start date by half a year (starting FT in January) or even a full year to join with the next class? Perhaps for personal, mental health, family emergency related reasons.
Given the recent layoffs and overall downtick in deals, perhaps some banks would be more willing to accommodate this similar to how MBB has been delaying start dates? Would love to hear thoughts
Bump
So, I am an incoming analyst at a well-known EB/MM who has done exactly what you are looking into. I had a health scare and a family emergency occur at the same time towards the end of 2022. I did not have much choice but to delay my start date so that I could deal with these issues as I felt I would be wholly unprepared for the FT banking lifestyle if I went into the company in the mental state I was in. Thankfully, my company was extremely accommodating and allowed me to delay my start date (I will join off-cycle in Jan or Feb - unsure of exact logistics as of now).
I would suspect that your firm would be more receptive to this now more than ever due to the exact macroeconomic reasons you mentioned above. It is completely valid to send HR an inquiry asking about this. However, I would err on the side of caution in the initial conversation, meaning not overshare any information that you would not want your firm or even analyst class to know. I personally just sent a very broad and generic medical doctors' note (HIPPAA disallows full disclosure on medical notes anyways unless you provide written consent). So, a way to start the conversation could be to just send HR an email asking about the possibility, and emphasizing how this was an unforeseeable event but taking the leave would allow you to come on to the firm with the wheels rolling. I think they'd be more receptive to this now than ever before, as I mentioned earlier. But, you will likely need to do training w/ a 3rd party provider alongside your normal class.
Happy to chat more but hope this was helpful.
thank you very much - exactly what I was hoping to hear
Another data point - I was also able to delay my start date by half a year for a variety reasons. Just confirm the start date delay is actually possible before sharing more information with HR about motivations behind the move. For me, the timeline between seeing whether a move was possible to confirming it was relatively quick, around 1 to 2 weeks.
You're welcome. Please do update this thread with your own experience if you do take this to HR's attention. I had very few posts to refer to when I was panicking over whether my career was over before it started. Hopefully someone in the future benefits from our experiences and does not find themselves in a dark place.
I delayed my start by a year
Great to hear you were able to do it, do you have any advice on how to handle the situation?
Should I wait until I get the return offer to tell my staffer, or do it now?
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