How do you avoid getting stuck at VP in an investment banking career? It's the most common level to get stuck at, and getting stuck is a problem due to the up-or-out environment of IB. What tips do you have for progressing into the upper levels of investment banking?
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OP based on your post history I’d worry about getting an internship offer first before worrying about this
The sooner you recognize that its a sales/relationship job, the better positioned you are for a long term career. I've seen a lot of stuck VPs and its often because they want to think their job is all about analysis and process management. Those skills cap out at associate, the bank doesn't need to pay a VP 500k to check models and check boxes. Need to be good at interacting with clients and helping the MDs win pitches.
From what I've seen, good VPs recognize that at some point they need to start transitioning from a pure execution role into a relationship / sales role - they start sourcing more and thinking more big picture in terms of new verticals the group can transition into, developing their own network more (and having something to show for it), etc.
Caveating the below with these are all based on personal / anecdotal experience:
Associates: To some extent, you can kind of tell which associates are being "groomed" for a career role vs. somebody who is being promoted just because they're good in an execution role. Maybe this is less true at BBs where there are a lot more layers in between MDs and junior bankers, but at MMs (and I assume EBs) where deal teams are much leaner, good associates often take the role of a VP anyways and are already doing a lot of work beyond what their title would entail. If I were an associate, I wouldn't worry too much about this though to be honest - it's more a cherry on top kind of thing, and shouldn't take away from core associate responsibilities.
Analysts: No, you're only being evaluated on your ability to execute and most people know the majority of analysts aren't sticking around for the long run anyways. Even looking towards the A2A promote it's more about pure execution at that point. There's a reason the term "managing analyst" is used in a disparaging manner - nobody likes an analyst who acts like they're more important than they are / think they know more than they do.
Summer analysts: Same thing as analysts but even more extreme.