Germany Big 4 FDD recruiting already pushed to 2027? Soft rejection or real market signal?
Quick sanity check for anyone following Germany / DACH deal advisory recruiting:
I recently got an internal referral into a German Big 4 FDD team. Feedback was basically: my resume is fine, but their 2026 intake is already full, and they asked whether 2027 would be okay.
What makes this confusing is that this was not a cold online application. This came through an internal contact who was actually trying to help. I've also heard similar comments from another deals contact in Germany that near-term spots were already filled and later intake (2026 Q3) might be more realistic.
So I'm trying to figure out how to read this:
1. Is this just a polite soft rejection?
2. Or is the German deal advisory/FDD market actually that tight right now?
3. For people recruiting for Germany/DACH, is it now common that internship/junior hiring pipelines are effectively spoken for that far in advance?
Am especially curious whether this is:
- a Big 4 Germany-specific thing,
- a broader Germany / Frankfurt issue,
- or just the current state of the deals market there.
Would appreciate any real datapoints from people recruiting for Germany / DACH right now.
At my bank (T2 in Frankfurt), it has been common practice for quite some time to hire interns a year in advance and new analysts approximately a year in advance as well. I think this is standard practice at many banks.
Even at the Big4 for the last 2-3 years. Big4 M&A is currently also recruiting for Q1/ 27 since a month or so.
& let me guess... BNP Paribas? You guys are the worst anyways opening over a year before start. :D
Not just the worst for opening application but also senseless pitching without executions coming out of it
Think about it this way, Q2 intake is about to start. Meaning two more intakes this year and firms want to plan their staff.
Now you look at Q1/2 2027, having a personal contact does not change anything about them being full. You can hope that someone cancels their internship and step in but would not count on it.
bump
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