Last chance for Investment Banking?
Need some advice on my path moving forward. Recruiting this year was much more brutal than my sophomore year. Obviously, I feel its really make or break for a future in banking based on my upcoming summer experience. I already have made it to two superdays this season and have been burned on both; Citi & SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. I still have some opportunities on the table, but nothing that I'd shake a stick at; KeyBanc Capital Markets, Local Boutique #1 (Specializes in M&A), Local Boutique #2, Local PE firm ($300mil).
Now I do have options, but I feel like I'm choosing between which cousin I want to take to my Alabama hs prom. Currently I'm a Junior, I don't come from a target, have a 3.6 GPA, but I have had an internship in finance the past two summers, one wealth management, one in equity research. I've taken the initiative to learn modeling from a third party. I'm not necessarily shooting for BB, I enjoy the small group comradery and culture of EBs and reputable MMs, but I would definitely take an opportunity to test the waters at a BB.
Do I still have a potential future in IB if I play my cards right? Also, I have opportunities as a financial analyst in both Home Depot and Delta Airlines HQs, at what point should I consider those over a banking boutique in a very middle market southern town? Thanks for the advice you filthy animals.
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I would be open to it, I haven't had much exposure to the O&G sector, but think it's very interesting. Also, I love the idea of living in Texas.
"Do I still have a potential future in IB if I play my cards right?"
Maybe, but step 1 is to get rid of your sense of entitlement. You may feel like you're choosing between which cousin you want to ask to prom but guess what? 1) all the "hot girls" (to continue the metaphor) already turned you down, and 2) it's not clear any of your "cousins" want to go to prom with you anyway. Do your best to get offers first, then evaluate which one is the best fit later.
Sorry if any of this is blunt. It just rubs me the wrong way when college students think they're too good for a firm in an industry in which they have zero experience.
Completely agreed - this sense of entitlement might be why you're getting burned in interviews.
Thank you for the insight, re-reading what I wrote does make me sound very entitled. By no means do I think I deserve a position in the industry, it was a poor attempt at a joke. I was just very excited and also humbled by my experience with STRH because it's exactly where I wanted to be. Getting rejected by them was partially the reason I looked down at my remaining options when I shouldn't. I understand the barriers to entry in my position and will reconsider my thought process.
Sounds like you have a decent head on your shoulders. Just take it one step at a time and focus on doing your best in interviews. Know that sometimes you can do everything right and still not get the result you want for reasons out of your control (happens all the time in recruiting). That's OK as long as you are consistently putting forth all your effort. Good luck in recruiting.
I can relate. I felt the same after not getting an offer from Lazard superday, and I had other great offers on the table.
Turned out though getting rejected by them was the best thing that ever happened to me. Just keep grinding that axe and doing the next right thing and you will get where you want to go.
If you have an offer with the local PE firm, i'd suggest you take that offer assuming they do direct investments and that you'd have an active role. Reason being is with that experience, you can always go to banking and even to a better shop than the boutiques you're looking at, but not the other way around, and I've seen that done before.
I've had a full time return offer for a $1Bn PE fund, but I turned it down to pursue the banking route. Jury's still out on whether or not that was the right move for me.
What was the thought process regarding declining the return PE offer and pursuing banking? I was in a similar situation this August and after talking to some on my contacts in PE and IB I personally decided to go with the PE offer. Curious to hear your perspective.
The fund wasn’t any sort of well known fund so didn’t feel the allure of say a KKR or Blackstone.
As a junior who only had small PE fund / operator experiences, I wanted to get the sophistication and exposure that a banking program provides. Broaden my understanding of the capital markets and learn what the heck and investment bank actually does.
Now that I got that, was it worth it now knowing what an investment bank does? For my personal career situation, going from a tiny finance shop to BB Bank was worth it and a moonshot occurrence against the odds. Now on to the next thing.
IMO, going to Key or a local boutique won't preclude you from trying to move up during full-time recruiting.
Do you have any feedback from your superday with Citi? Sounds like at STRH you just weren't really given a chance to go for IB.
Keep your relationships warm so that you can reach out to them towards the end of your summer internship, and I bet at least a few of them would be willing to interview you again for full-time.
Also, it's great that you think you want to be a banker long-term, but statistics tells you that's just probably not going to happen given the number of analysts and the number who eventually become senior bankers. What I mean is that think of how an opportunity will set you up for the next 2-5 years, not the next 20.
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