I was very curious what some of the big differences were between FT and SA recruiting. I am pretty sure that FT is much harder (assuming) and it is much more of a smaller pool of applicants that get interviews for FT. Am I right? What are the other differences?
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it's not that it's much harder, it's that these day entry-level FT IB/S&T recruiting is practically non-existent
This is true. The few BB/EB FT spots available almost always go to SAs lateraling from similar-caliber banks. Your first priority should be to get a return offer.
There are generally far fewer FT openings than for SA for the reasons mentioned above. The FT recruiting environment also varies greatly from one year to the next - in some years there are a number of openings at good groups, while in other years (this past FT cycle, for example), spots are extremely limited due to the banks over-hiring during SA recruiting.
Ultimately, to make the switch for FT, you need to (i) land a return offer (this is crucial as every one of your interviewers will ask whether you received a return offer), and (ii) network extensively with your target banks to try to get yourself in "accelerated" processes, which usually occur in mid- to late-August. You need to be proactive since the BBs/EBs will usually scramble to fill their FT class in August, with very little (to no) full-time recruiting taking place thereafter.
As far as the interviews, they tend to be fairly similar to SA, maybe a bit more technical. They also focus a lot on your summer experience, so you need to be able to speak intelligently about all of the deals you've worked on.
when/how do you reccomend to start networking with other banks? I'll be at a BB in NYC this summer, not sure if I'll like the group so I am considering lateraling after the summer but not sure the best way to go about it. That being said I realize I have to work hard this summer to land the return offer and I also might end up liking the group.
So, if it starts in August, when is a good time to start networking, sending resumes/cover letters, coffee chats etc?
If you thought networking was important for SA recruiting, FT recruiting is a different beast entirely. Given the small amount of openings, most places won't run a formal recruitment process/job application and will fill spots specifically through employee referrals. A lot of times it will be immediately after summer intern return offers are handed out - a group will realize they are short by one analyst and will interview a handful of students based off referrals (handful being like 5 or so).
And given that FT referrals have a much higher hit rate than just having some connections to get you one of 30 OCR interviews, you'll need much stronger connections to the professionals. A simple phone call/coffee chat doesn't do the trick anymore; the person other side needs to really believe you have the personality and ability to step in right away. That usually means having a personal connection (schools, clubs, etc.) that you can leverage and maybe a strong referral from someone at your current firm that 1) isn't super loyal to the current firm (usually analyst/early associate) and 2) has connections to put in a good word for you at another bank.
ok thanks for the help. I guess it's just a delicate issue trying to network while being an SA
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