Leaving current BB gig for better gig at better BB - flight risk?
I'm an analyst in capital markets at a bulge bracket bank - can tell you it's roughly middle of the bunch. I've been there ~1.5 years. I got into graduate school this year and am planning to attend after deferring for a year (would enroll fall 2020 after doing 3 years of finance). After graduate school, I hope to do something at the intersection of the field I'm interested in + finance. Think corporate/fintech.
I was going to ride out those three years at my current bank, but one of GS/MS/JPM is currently pursuing me pretty aggressively for the same role I'm currently in. They are aware that I would leave after ~1 year to go to school, are supportive, and are also offering me the chance to do interdisciplinary work on the desk relating to the area in which I'm going to graduate school, as they have the infrastructure for it and my current bank doesn't. GS/MS/JPM also has a better track record of getting their alumni into the field I'm interested in. All good things, I've met some of the team and liked them, etc. I am really worried about burning bridges at my current bank but have accepted that if I leave, that will happen.
My other main concern is being viewed as a flight risk. I'd be leaving current bank 1.5 years in to do more or less the same job at GS/MS/JPM, again for ~1.5 years, before going to graduate school for a couple of years and then going back into the workforce. Is that bad? If asked, I think I have good reasons for switching from current bank to GS/MS/JPM and can articulate my narrative if asked, but am also worried about how it looks on paper.
A lot of setup, sorry - appreciate any thoughts!
There is absolutely no flight risk. You left after 1.5 years, to an employer that has a better reputation in your field and is offering you the chance to learn about the field that you want to study in graduate school.
Be more selfish, the firm would fire you in a second if they had P/L problems. When giving your notice to your boss, say that you were grateful etc and that you were thinking about switching into fintech one day and the new firm is willing to have you work on that desk, alongside your day to day responsibilities. I would emphasize that point in your discussion, bc some MDs might take it personally.. But at the end of the day, fuck-em.. If CITI/DUETSCHE is offering them 2x their current bonus, they'll leave in a heartbeat.
Ok let me get this straight. You have a company offering you the exact kind of work you’re interested in, they are cool with you getting your MBA soon, and they are practically begging you to join them?
I’d say see if you can get them to pay for your MBA, given you pledge 2 years post-MBA, but even if they don’t do that how is this even a question? You shouldn’t be afraid of recruiters thinking you’re a flight risk because 1) 1.5 years for a first job is a pretty standard run for a lot of high performers and 2) you won’t need to leave quickly from this new job because you’ve described it very favourably and its a group that seems to really believe in your talent.
Unless they are paying you less or requiring you to take a cut in seniority it seems like a no-brainer as an outsider, though I can imagine it’s harder to see the forest or the trees when you’re in the driver’s seat, or maybe I’m missing something else here.
Early on in your career is exactly the time to be making these types of switches. You laid out pretty compelling reasons for why you'd be jumping - as long as the story is there, there shouldn't be any flight risk concerns.
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