Hi, first post on here.
When applying to a firm, if you choose a specific location (LA, San Francisco, NY, etc), are you only competing with people that also applied to that same city? In addition, do applicants ever get considered for a location other than the one that they applied to? Or is this firm-specific?
| +323 | UBS Tech MD hires Son (from no-name college) as an Intern | 54 | 9h |
| +89 | [Official] 2026 IB Analyst Bonus Megathread (with 2025 Consolidated Pay and Perks/Benefits) | 12 | 1d |
| +53 | Is DCM actually underrated ? | 20 | 7h |
| +50 | Evercore Intern Seizure | 9 | 2h |
| +46 | Are all Tech / TMT groups sweaty? | 33 | 1h |
| +41 | UBS Groups Ranked by Future Outlook | 20 | 5d |
| +41 | JPM M&A is Gone??? Purely Coverage Banking??? | 20 | 14h |
| +37 | Am I behind? 31 Year Old Analyst | 9 | 19h |
| +32 | UVA McIntire vs Cornell Dyson for IB | 19 | 3d |
| +32 | Losing my personality in Banking | 5 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
NYC BB here.
0 interaction with other offices when it comes to recruiting, west coast runs itself but YMMV
Damn, I had no idea.
So, I guess it just comes down to asking the office itself, huh? If we assume that office's don't interact with each other, then would it be reasonable to assume that you have better chances at landing a SA position by applying to the less sought-after cities? I'm assuming NYC has the largest applicant pool, and maybe LA has a smaller pool applying to that location, generally?
The California recruiting teams typically look for ties to the area. If you don't go to college on the west coast/grew up in California, it's hard to land a job there. There's a smaller pool of applicants, but also way fewer spots. Same goes for Chicago and Houston I'd imagine.
Spot on, regional offices know people will try to avoid competition and you'll get a lot of scrutiny if you don't go to school in or aren't from the area. I'm interning in a bank's non-main office and most of my interviewers asked why I wanted to be in that city.
So, I'm from Washington. What you're saying is that offices on the West coast wouldn't raise an eyebrow, but offices in NY or Chicago would ask a question unless I had a contact in the office? Can't offices in NY assume that everyone is flocking there?
I'd like to put this all in the context of a summer intern position.
Depends where you go to school, but yes. Most of the junior staff interviewing you will be 1. from California colleges (most common), 2. California born and raised but went to college elsewhere, or 3. No specific LA/SF connections but target school and really pushed for California for whatever reason (least common). I went to a California school briefly, and 90% of analysts were one of those three.
NYC doesn't care as most don't have previous ties there anyway. Much larger groups in NY and more diversity of schools than regional offices
NY is an exception since it's obvious why anyone interested in finance would want to be there.
In the example of Chicago though, if you don't go to school in the Midwest the first thing you'll be asked is why you want to be there.
I appreciate the help man. Thank you
Illum quia nulla occaecati fugiat cumque sit vel aut. Molestiae earum pariatur veritatis fugit qui.
Quia neque numquam labore qui et optio ea. Fuga amet ab doloribus tempora praesentium vel qui. Eos inventore voluptatem et saepe quidem nam.
Cupiditate fugit suscipit molestiae atque. Fugiat est provident voluptas expedita aperiam aut corrupti. Quia ex quia enim in. Nobis necessitatibus est ratione nisi saepe. Quos ex repellendus ut nam dignissimos. Temporibus error placeat est recusandae esse.
Facilis repellendus quas eos voluptates ab. Quis consequatur atque odit maxime. Reprehenderit hic inventore incidunt vero quia explicabo accusamus. Repellat et corrupti nihil deleniti est architecto nam nostrum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...