How to Sandbag / Prep to Leave Banking

Will be leaving my banking gig soon, as I’m in a few processes and will take whichever comes through. Any advice on how to sandbag my couple months? Easier said than done for me as it’s hard to intentionally not try my best, and it’s difficult to just ignore responsibilities of the deals I’m on. At the same time I’m working too many hours to have time to prep for these interviews which are more important for me ultimately

4 Comments
 

Why are you so sure that everything will work out for you? I would not take the approach of doing too much less at my existing job until I had a bona fide alternative offer lined up. Even then, you should strive to maintain a good relationship with your existing company. Depending on how much less you mean when you say "sandbag," you may or may not accomplish goodwill with your existing employer. You should prepare well for the interviews, but I don't know how much I would let up off the gas pedal until I had something.

 
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I strive to give good advice, and my track record on that is reflected.

I think people often sandbag too hard and burn bridges, so I’ve provided some counterpoints on that approach. One doesn’t always have to take an OP’s question at face value and agree with the underlying premise. The ideal is to work really hard, keep up with responsibilities, and do well with interviews simultaneously. OP acknowledged that this is the ideal and called it “really hard.”

Any additional advice beyond that would likely require more in-depth knowledge of OP’s group. Cheers.

PS: the harsh reality is that everyone who exits picks their spot on a spectrum between ignoring work and doing paper LBOs all day and being a grinder at work to the extent of being wholly unprepared for roles. Balance is the key.

I strive to give good advice, and my track record on that is reflected.

I think people often sandbag too hard and burn bridges, so I’ve provided some counterpoints on that approach. One doesn’t always have to take an OP’s question at face value and agree with the underlying premise. The ideal is to work really hard, keep up with responsibilities, and do well with interviews simultaneously. OP acknowledged that this is the ideal and called it “really hard.”

Any additional advice beyond that would likely require more in-depth knowledge of OP’s group. Cheers.

PS: the harsh reality is that everyone who exits picks their spot on a spectrum between ignoring work and doing paper LBOs all day and being a grinder at work to the extent of being wholly unprepared for roles. Balance is the key.

 

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