Leaving IB for a “placeholder” job?
Hi all – I’m an IB analyst with two years of experience. I’ve been desperately searching for a strategic finance role at a growth stage / pre-IPO company, or a corp dev role at a large tech company – but haven’t had any luck after multiple processes through the last 7 months.
I finally got my first offer today, but it’s a FP&A role at a public tech company. The pay is actually above market (130k) but I don’t think I see myself staying there for the long haul because I am less interested in the budgeting / reporting side of things. The team also is full of FP&A folks and not ex-bankers – just feels like a big step backwards in my career. However, I have been ITCHING to leave banking ever (original goal was to leave after my bonus in June) and the pay is actually bigger than my current base salary.
How bad would it be for my career if I were to accept this FP&A role and then continue recruiting for strategic finance / corp dev? What if I lied in the interviews and said I quit IB and don’t even mention my current FP&A role? Would employers find out? I’d imagine that would look better than recruiting 1 month into a job.
The other option is to quit IB, decline the offer and wait until I find a role I TRULY want, but there’s the possibility of being unemployed for several months.
Seems short-sighted. FP&A has limited exit ops, and people get very anchored on your current role even if you do have strong previous experience. What's your plan if you get stuck in that job for 1-2 years?
Re: not putting it on your resume. Recruiting with no job is much harder than when you have a job + the current job will show up on a background check anyway, so don't think that would help much.
Look at it this way - you've had no luck after 7 months, you're not likely to have any more luck with a worse job or with no job. I would either adjust expectations/goals for what you can realistically land from your current seat in a reasonable timeframe, or if you've just gotten unlucky with a process or two, then keep recruiting for those roles with your current job. But I don't think that type of role will materialize if you leave IB. I would just phone it in a bit more until you land a job you're willing to leave for.
Qui beatae tempore fugit sed. Ipsa dignissimos omnis inventore perspiciatis.
Est suscipit sunt vel quia. Consequuntur aliquam quia rerum et quidem numquam. Vitae harum voluptas vitae minima placeat quia. Dolor dolor omnis quas modi modi. Laboriosam et unde voluptatem nihil.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...