Hello fellow monkeys!
I'm a longtime reader and occasional contributor on WSO so first off, let me start by thanking everyone on the site for the great advice I've received over the years.
I'm currently a BB IBD analyst at a/the top group in the bank known for great recruiting across the street. However, my interests lie in public markets investing. I'm planning on going through the buyside recruiting process next year.
As much as I love NYC, I'm looking to leave New York for the next few years and experience life in other cities. Luckily, there's no easier time to do this than when exiting an IB analyst gig.
I've had my eye set on London for a couple years now. What attracts me is not only how cosmopolitan it is but also its proximity to Europe and its similarity to NYC (both finance-centric, "Alpha++" cities, etc.)
I've voiced this interest to a few people and was told that getting a job in London was more difficult than I was anticipating (EU Work Permits, etc.)
What do y'all think? Do I stand a chance? Is this just a pipe dream? How would you suggest that I could better position myself over the next year to recruit in London?
If I can't recruit in London right out of the banking program would you suggest aiming to move to a public markets investing position at a reputable global investment firm where I can transfer internally? Has anyone on the forums done this?
Thanks in advance guys.
BUMP
If you're finding it impossible to directly recruit try to get a job in NYC at a firm that has a presence in London and is of sufficient size to go through the work permit and Visa sponsorship process for you (i.e. they already have it in place and do it often) and just let it be known that you're interesting in moving to London. I moved to London nearly a dozen years ago at this point (makes you feel really old when you say that type of stuff because I wasn't that young when I moved...) and it was much easier pre-recession to move there because during/after the recession the government severely cut down the numbers of work permits and visas in the name of UK jobs for UK citizens (sounds familiar). Even pre-recession though most of the Americans I knew there came with a big company that they had previously worked for in the States, and that spanned the realm: finance (every single IB/PE/HF/AM of any size and just about every function-not sure about back office though), insurance (AIG and Lloyds of London brokers and nearly everyone else), medical fields where their licenses could transfer, CPG companies, tech, etc., and those companies sponsored them to come but they had already worked for that company in the US (or abroad). I had one friend who did a work permit and Visa that was something like a "highly skilled Visa" that was a points system where you tallied up points for things like education, years of work experience, industry (she was in advertising so nothing special), income, etc. I'm pretty sure this work permit doesn't really exist any longer unless you're in a field that has a definite shortage of workers, and that isn't finance (or advertising, if I had to I'd bet it's limited pretty much to medical fields where there are shortages, and there are all over the NHS).
I'm not even quite sure how easy it is to get in with a big company with today's restrictions or if they let up a little since the economy improved so maybe someone who's done it more recently can comment on that. A couple of years ago I talked to a pretty high level friend and mentioned I'd move back to London at some point and he said if I didn't get my permanent residency card (whatever it's called) it would be a tough haul unless I got a job with JPM or a company along those lines.
But I'd highly recommend living abroad and you can make it happen if you want. It's a great life experience and London is an awesome city.
Thank you for the response. Great advice that I'll begin working towards now.
And totally agree about living abroad. I just turned 24 and I've been in New York for 6 years. While that may not sound like a lot, it means that I've been here for a 1/4th of my life. I'm thinking that it might be time to switch things up.
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