Is Internal Lateraling from BB BO to IB Possible?

I am doing my junior summer internship in BB BO in the Corp Fin Leadership Development Program. Do you all think it is possible for me to network internally with the IB division and lateral into IB? I would think that I'm at an advantage since I already work at the company.

Thank you!

10 Comments
 

You can try, but most of the time they want candidates to have stickiness and stick to their original program.

Factors that may help you move: You know (relative or close friend) someone that is VP or higher that can fight hr on your behalf You're a fallen angel (great school, okay grades, great work experience - some event happened and you're now in the program) A bunch of IB candidates fell through, and the IB division is understaffed and your division is overstaffed Russians hack the hr system and allow the move

26 Broadway where's your sense of humor?
 
Best Response

There are a few threads on this already so definitely check those out for a more in-depth discussion. But from people I know closely....

I know two friends who did BB BO and made the jump to FO roles. Each of them lateralled externally and both left within six months. In my conversations with them, they felt there was no value in doing a 1-2 year stint in BO and started recruiting almost immediately post graduation. Additionally, they received no support from internal hiring managers which drove the decision to look externally. In their conversations with external folks, they had to 'prove' that they didn't belong in BO. Both had taken, and passed, CFA L1, were leaders in business organizations in college and had a legitimate interest in markets/finance. Unfortunately, both these individuals slacked off their first semester and while they crushed it thereafter, the damage was done.

In short, it's possible but a difficult road and there are many trying to make the jump with you.

Lesson to the younger guys who are rising freshman and sophomores: realize a cumulative GPA is working against you from day one. Rock the freshman 4.0 (or close to), it only gets harder. Don't be the guy who dicks arounds his/her first semester and gets a trash GPA.

 

It's hard to get in to BB FO for FT mostly because they tend to only hire SAs or lateral hires. For example, my friend who just started at a BB is part of a class of 140. 130 are returning SAs and 10 are lateral hires with SA experience at other BBs. This week I spoke with an alum who is an Associate at a BB and he said that this year's class there is similar in composition.

This isn't to discourage you. It's only to say that breaking in given the fact that you did relatively little in terms of job relevance and under a time constraint will make it tougher to get across. What Trainer says seems to be a much more realistic scenario and I know people who have done the same. I had a BB BO internship last summer as well and am at a boutique now and hope to lateral to a BB. But it will realistically happen after I get an MBA from a top-10/20 school. It's hyper competitive these days, especially in a fast-growing job market.

My advice would be to get some boutique experience during your senior year if you can and apply to EBs and below for next summer once you have locked down something. This is the route I've taken from a non-target and I hope it works out lol. Best of luck.

 

corporate finance is really a different world altogether, it's not really BO MO or FO. but yes you can network your way into IBD, you just have to network aggressively and maybe go to a top 15 business school. a lot of I-bankers go from IBD into Corp Fin so it's weird for you to go the other way but again it is possible

let's see Paul Allen's card
 

Velit illum repellat eos hic debitis provident. Numquam ut eos quasi fugit laborum. Necessitatibus ut quas recusandae sint molestiae commodi. Et repudiandae quod sit. Quidem qui quas veniam in veritatis. Numquam consequatur ullam id cupiditate consequatur.

Qui consequatur recusandae accusamus sed qui impedit. Sit ratione voluptas vel dolorum quam non hic deleniti. Dignissimos id rerum in aliquid reiciendis repellendus ab. Voluptatibus exercitationem dolor eos corrupti consequatur velit ut dicta.

Quaerat praesentium qui aliquam cupiditate velit maiores sed. Provident voluptas repellat accusantium at dolorum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”