EB IB Recruiting Insights
Hey everyone,
A little confused about about FT hiring at EBs (PJT RSSG, LAZ, EVR, etc.) so decided to post on here. Do they hire a lot externally for FT, or is it mostly return offers? What about the return to external hiring ratios compared to BBs / RX consultancies etc? If they do hire externally, what backgrounds are most competitive? Also, any insight on hiring trends for 2025/2026 (increase / decrease / stagnant)? I'm mostly focused on the restructuring groups.
Would appreciate any and all insights. TIA !
Bump
Bump - Also Interested
bump interested as well
Went through FT recruiting
Where would RX consulting fall in the hierachy?
No idea, but I dont think anyone from that background lateraled to any EB Rx in L5Y (or even L10Y)
Believe it’s relatively sparse, for RX the FT slots open up when an SA doesn’t come back as return rates are almost 100%. Believe RSSG and EVR RX always return all SA. For non-RX, likely more spots.
Interesting...I was led to believe that RX tends to have more FT recruiting because of the specialized skillset it requires.
They do have more FT recruiting....... because they all get poached by MFPE to join their analyst program
Not always 100%.
All EBs to my knowledge have the capacity to return all of their SAs. Unless the quality of the SAs are really bad, like what seemed to have happened at Moe LA this summer, the return rate should be pretty high. Based on previous threads, seems like summer internship at a top BB or competing EB is realistically a prerequisite.
Went through the FT recruiting process at this past fall after doing SA at a MM boutique and am heading to a EVR/PJT/PWP/MOE type bank.
What's most important is getting a return offer from your SA stint. If you don't, it becomes exponentially harder to go upmarket. Being able to talk about your summer and what you did in depth is also extremely important.
As for getting to interviews, try and build long-term relationships. I'm not saying you should hit up random people cold a year out from your SA stint. But, find opportunities to stay in touch with contacts (coffee when you're in their city, recruiting events when they come to your campus, etc...) that you found during SA recruiting. These people will likely go to bat for you in the FT recruiting process if you're able to maintain solid relationships.
Over the course of the summer, apart from focusing on getting a return offer, make sure to network with the banks / groups you want to join. I'd suggest being selective here, as this is arduous and deep connections with fewer groups will likely yield more value than cursory ones with a ton of banks.
Once fall comes around, it becomes a free-for-all. In my experience, the EBs move more quickly than others, and it's really the end of the summer that is most important.
Why does it become harder if you don't get a return offer? Like if you are a SA at MM/boutique bank XYZ or at a rx consultancy and are trying to secure FT at an EB, what purpose does a return offer at XYZ serve aside from being able to say that you got one if/when you get an interview at the EB? Sorry, just a bit confused
No one wants spoiled goods
If you didn’t get a return offer it’s almost certainly because you weren’t a good intern. There are some special situations like an entire group ceasing to exist, but generally, interns who don’t get returns were not up to par.
Why would anyone want to hire someone who has proven to not do well in the job
Your internship is the best opportunity to show your quality. Interviews are screens, but actually being on the job is a different thing entirely. It's just about your work product, but also your attitude, professionalism, and work-ethic. The people that I saw not get returns faltered in one of those areas. Also, if you're consistently outputting bad work product, that is obviously another clear red flag. Given that these are the reasons you don't get a return offer, any bank looking at you for full time would assume that you lacked the requisite skills in one of these areas, and would have no desire to hire you.
when do you think is a good time to reach out to ppl for 26 FT recruiting? was thinking mid-end of march after SA 2026 recruiting wraps up, didnt network much during SA recruiting
No reason to reach out before fourth of July. They will have a much better understanding of hiring needs then. Also it's pretty sus if you reach out before you even start you internship
Did you reject your return offer before you had the new offer in hand? How was this timeline?
No, I got lucky in that I was in full-time processes while I still had time left on my return offer. In all of my interviews, I was asked if I had a deadline, to which I responded. Firms generally were pretty respectful of my deadline, and it seemed that they did their best to give me feedback before my return offer exploded. Ended up getting the call from the firm I ended up joining 4 days before my return offer expired, but didn't communicate that I wasn't coming back until all the paperwork was signed.
Recruited FT and got multiple offers from firms like PJT / EVR / MOE / CVP / Q / PWP (some restructuring). Spent a decent bit of time prepping, planned it out before my summer, and spoke with alum who did it successfully. Some info that might be helpful:
Did you reject your FT offer from your internship? What gave you the confidence to do this?
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