How early is to early?
Started full-time this summer and have been live on the desk for roughly 3 months now. Need a reality check on timing for lateral recruiting or an internal mobility move.
Bottom line: the group dynamic is miserable. Constant fire drills on low-probability pitches, zero respect for protected time or basic boundaries, and a culture where facetime and unnecessary churn are treated as badges of honor. I knew banking would be a grind going in, but the sweat-to-deal-execution ratio here is completely out of whack, and the seniors are toxic to work under. On top of that, the sector focus isn't clicking for me at all—I realized early on that this isn't the space I want to build a career in or exit from long term.
A few questions for those who have navigated this early on:
- Internal Transfer: What’s the standard playbook and realistic timeline for moving to another coverage/product group in-house? Trying to avoid blowing up my spot if staffer/HR loop in my group head immediately. Do internal transfers only realistically happen post-stub bonus / at the 6-month or 1-year mark?
- External Lateral Timing: How early is too early to start quietly putting feelers out for an off-cycle analyst opening at a peer bank? Does reaching out to headhunters or networking with analysts at other shops at ~3 months look like an immediate red flag on the resume, or do people understand early-tenure mismatches?
- Optics & Story: If I start conversations now for an off-cycle lateral spot, what’s the cleanest way to spin the narrative without coming across as someone who just couldn't handle the workload or bad-mouthing my current team?
Appreciate any honest perspective, especially from anyone who successfully moved groups or jumped shops before the 1-year mark.
There’s a difference between earliest ability to lateral and be taken seriously vs what you should actually do. The former would suggest 6 months, while the latter would suggest 1-1.5 years. While you may not like it, waiting at least a year in the same group maximizes the option value of receiving any of the following: 1) great staffing given you’ve built in the political / sweat equity component of being analyst, which may ameliorate your view of the place, 2) in-house lateral transfer because some analyst in another group quit, 3) building up the learning curve so that the job becomes easier and you’re less burdened by the bullshit that analysts are required to do, 4) legitimacy of your resume given you’ve credentialed yourself by staying 1-1.5 years at the same place.
Your complaints aren’t uncommon for analysts, but not reasons to quit / make an irrational move on the chess board. It’s very easy to get disgruntled given you’re new to the job and everything is hard - you need to give it time.
I totally agree with what you said. As a senior associate, if his resume came across my desk and he told me it was a toxic team and seniors were disrespectful of his time, I’d think he just hadn’t gotten up the curve yet.
On the other hand, I did lateral 5 months in and left a “toxic” team and went from an international balance sheet bank to a BB. However, I spun it quite well and backed it up with facts. The punchline was: it’s a small team and I’m staffed on 3 deals. The senior analyst, associate, and vp have all quit since I joined to do banking at other firms. I’m really like the space and banking but there’s no juniors left to train me and I’m eager to learn and grind. Managed to find a spot where the first year had raged quit and I’ve been here ever since.
S tier response
hey could you PM me?
Too early*
Is this DB?
Bump - in a similar boat in terms of wanting to lateral out but for different reason. My coverage and team is ok but absolutely do not want to stay in the location that I'm currently at. Wondering if I should wait it out or try to lateral after 6 months
bump. in similar spot and want to hear any thoughts
EB or BB? Very curious
Quia iure debitis suscipit corrupti dolores ratione rerum. Saepe iusto qui eos possimus modi possimus.
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...