IB Analyst Lateral Move Period

Hi WSO Community,

Typical question but just wanted some advice about how long of a period should one stay at a boutique IB firm before trying to move laterally to a BB, especially if you are looking to try and move into another industry group. A bit about myself; I graduated last year (high GPA) and had a internship at a big MM global IB bank for 6 months at the end of last year in their infra team. They couldn't take me on as they had already filled their grad class with the interns from the previous year so I decided to move to a global boutique IB firm that had just set up shop in Australia (not a big boutique - about 60 employees worldwide). There is good deal flow, modelling and CIM creation exposure but my end goal is to be at a PE megafund and I therefore realise that to be competitive in PE recruitment I need some experience at a BB, plus I am in their financial services team which I have been lead to believe doesn't offer the best exit opps to PE. I therefore am going to gain experience at the boutique but also try and move to a BB industry group that better aligns with PE groups (consumer/retail, infra, tech etc.)

I was wondering therefore if anyone has suggestions on:

1) How long should I stay before going to recruiters and asking for opportunities, I don't want to be considered a joke

2) Any general suggestions with regards to my situation and any particular suggestions for industry groups to try and navigate to with my background

10 Comments
 

Interviewed all over (but only for a specific sector - the same one I was already working in) and was 95% behavioral / deal experience. Nothing I had worked on was public so it was all very high level. The technicals were a joke. Stuff like can you have a negative market cap. But my friends had very different experiences. I think it all depends on the interviewer

 

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