I come from a non target for both undergrad and grad school. A few months ago I managed to land a Corp Dev role at a highly acquisitive firm owned by very respected PE firms. My Corp Dev role is less strategy based and more pure M&A sourcing and execution (Nothing crazy but very respectable deal sizes). My department is very small so I am heavily involved with every aspect of the deal. I really do enjoy my job but my goal was always to break into IB. Was planning on staying for a year or more and then trying to switch. How difficult will this be for me to pivot given the experience I have been getting? I've been pretty good at networking also with people on the sell side I've came in contact with and some of the advisory firms we work with.
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Is your goal actually IB or it is IB->PE? Seems like you’re in a good spot assuming decent comp relative to hours worked. Grass isn’t always greener. Really consider the move. That said, I’ll leave it to the others to provide actual advice on transitioning.
My goal long term is IB to PE I don't really see a formative path in my current role to PE. Could be wrong though but I would definitely have to stay a lot longer than one year.
The realistic answer to your question is not exactly. With a larger body of work, your college becomes less relevant, but at this point the kid that went to Harvard and spent the last year doing percs at his parent's beach house is still probably a more desirable profile. Maybe a bit hyperbolic but I constantly observe the longer leash afforded to Ivy grads. Can't dwell on that though, it is what it is!
That said, I came from a very similar background to you. Non-target, started in a corp-dev esque role and turned that into an IB associate hire. I did stay in my first role for almost 4 years and had a history of promotion, but still not the exact profile for banking. I took the exact same approach as you and focused on networking with those I came across on the job. I treated every interaction with those I worked across as an opportunity to prove I was legit. Ultimately, if you develop some level of deal expertise within your industry, it is very possible to get a seat on a IB team that covers that industry, particularly if you come from an acquisitive firm that is often involved in the sell-side processes run by the bank. Whether you can prove that with 1 or 1 year of experience is TBD but there is certainly a path. Best of luck, mate.
Thank you. Really appreciate the response. That is what I kind of assumed that I'd be fighting an uphill battle. I would say about 85% of our deals involve sell side bankers. We worked with a lot of the typical MM players and some very respected boutiques. I think if I could actually get interviews I would be able to prove myself and leverage my experience but I agree with you its more the issue of actually getting there and overcoming the "stigma" you could say.
What about networking with the PE guys that own his firm? Bad look? I would think it might make sense to see how he can get his shot with them. They would have insight into his work, I’d assume. Thoughts?
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