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Associate market is still very hot, a lot of banks have been struggling to fill spots for months now. Have a couple of friends/colleagues that have switched banks at the Aso level in the past couple of months. Some moves have been within the same group (Coverage A - Coverage A), others have switched (Coverage A - Coverage B, Coverage A - M&A). All interviewed at multiple banks and received multiple offers.
The process varies widely by bank but generally 1 intro phone interview, 1 abridged superday where you meet with a few members of the group (not like it was with Analyst recruiting). Some will have multiple rounds, some groups have modelling tests, others don't. If you were an A2A it's going to be more on your deal experience, fit with the group, and why you want to switch/what you want to do long-term. Not sure how by the book it will be if you are an MBA without deal experience.
Definitely expect more of a technical process with associate recruiting. Modeling tests will usually be given, especially for boutique firms. The beginning rounds may tend to be a blend of behavioral/non-guide technical questions, throwing in technicals based off deal experience. From there, expect a modeling test (usually LBO + accretion dilution), and then expect some superday/final rounds where they are more fit based
I’m a “assoc 1” level candidate but I targeted analyst 3 recruiting. I interviewed with a BB for an analyst position and they told me I was better suited to an assoc 1 role. I told them I would rather analyst 3 to hone/refine my skill set before stepping up. They had no issues with that.
I’ve taken the A3 role to give myself more time to get up to speed and get familiar with everything before going to assoc 1.
Very underrated thing to do, but did the same recently. Just started last week after lateraling and am extremely glad I made the call to start as an AN3 over AS1…
Did you come from another industry?
Do they give you a blank excel for LBO and merger model or the template is given and you just need to fill in the numbers?
Nope. They emailed me and said this is the company, build a 3 way,DCF and LBO. I started from a clean excel workbook and went from there
How did you prepare for that? I mean even at work I never started from a clean sheet, there are always some templates to start with.
Post MBA ASO, lateraled from low BB to tier 1 BB last year after just over a year on the desk. No modeling test. Superday interviews spread over a few days. Spoke to my deal experience (I didn’t have much), minimal to no technical q’s, more focused on fit and how I thought about the sector and what I would do in different scenarios (building books, running basic m&a math). Don’t be intimidated, don’t overthink it. If you’re trying to move, then just aggressively put your name out there and inbounds will fly in. Everyone is hiring and barriers to entry for top tier shops aren’t particularly high right now. I have 0 regrets lateraling, after a 1.5 months I was up to speed on firm processes and how to get stuff done. Good luck!
The difference between this and the madman above timing his from-scratch models is where my confusion lies…
Did you have to pay back sign on bonus that requires you to pay back if you leave prior to September or October?
And why the move? I assume lower BB would have better lifestyle with same pay as the top 3. The top 3 might have $30/40k more in bonus at year end but the endless nights are just less desirable imo.
I'm a post-MBA Aso and lateraled from a BB to a boutique. I interviewed with several boutiques and only Evercore gave a modeling test. Some interviews had technicals, some didn't. A lot of questions focused on the projects on my resume (in-depth questions, so I recommend having a fact sheet ready with pertinent details about your projects and your contributions to the teams) and motivations for lateraling.
What do I do if I was offered A2A and want to lateral before I jump to Aso at my current shop? Would firms hire me as an ASO?
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