Lincoln MM Lateral Opportunities?

I'm currently recruiting for SA23 positions and received an offer from Lincoln International for Chicago SA2023. It seems that Lincoln isn't the best for real modeling experience and exit opportunities. So, I was wondering what the process for lateraling to a bigger/better bank (EB/BB) or Restructuring (LAZ/HL/PJT) (which I recruited this year and made solid connections in, but didn't get an offer) would be. Would I be able to re-recruit next spring, would I have to wait until after the internship and start recruiting for different FT offers, or would I have to complete a stint as a 1st-year analyst on the job before moving? 

I can't shake the feeling of disappointment with only getting Lincoln as an offer because while it may pay street, it doesn't fulfill my need for self-actualization. I just don't want to get stuck at a place where I feel forced to commit to being a career banker and have limited upside, so I'd love some advice on lateraling and how I could go about doing it. Thank you.

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  • Analyst 2 in IB - Cov
1y 

I'll give my 2 cents. I worked there for about a year before lateraling elsewhere and now accepted a MM PE job. In my time there, the deal flow was great and I spent most of time executing on sellside deals. The pitches I did work we usually won. Most of the time we went into the pitch basically with the deal in the bag as it was usually with a sponsor we had a really good relationship with. The deal work I did was definitely heavy on process and teaser / CIP / MP writing. Most of the time the associate takes the model work. The experience was not technical heavy as an analyst, take that as you want. I will say, of all 3 banks I worked at, Lincoln I thought had the best culture and people. I worked hard (nothing excessive but normal banking hours) and people were generally down to earth, respectful and nice. I probably would have stayed longer if it wasn't for other factors, I actually really enjoyed the people I worked with from associates to MD. Hell I worked with an MD that would turn sponsor comments on the CIP in the ppt. Other places I worked you would have thought the associates had uninstalled ppt and excel let alone someone at the VP or MD level. I don't have any advice on when you would be to recruit for another role but I don't see why you wouldn't be competitive to lateral to another bank with Lincoln on your resume since it's a very legitimate shop. Whether that's after your internship, after a year on the desk full time idk. Also, you're going to get the same amount of technical experience as any other intern in banking, which is basically none. Align logos, shell out pages, do things like redact documents and other stuff analysts don't want to do so not like you will be behind the ball on anything. Lincoln is a good firm and I wouldn't be so hard on yourself but I think sometimes being on this site can warp your brain to think if you're not in some crazy prestigious group then it's a failure / let down. So celebrate the offer!

1y 
ye.monk, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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