Making case for F500 vs banking
I assume every here wants to make as much money as possible. Everyone wants to go into IB then PE. This is obviously a lucrative path and probably the most competitive job market in the world but only a select few make the cut.
On the other hand, If you look at Fortune 500 executive salaries, most C levels are pulling in 8M+ with SVPs and VPs clearing $1-2M base salary all in(VP in f500 world much different than Banking VP)
Why is that more people do not look toward corporate finance? It is a longer progression with lower starting salary, but work life balance is much better and ceiling is still extremely high.. Is there a reason corporate finance isn't pursed more often? Is it because it isnt as prestigious? Just wanting to get some opinions on the subject
Prolly BC it takes much longer to get there incorporate finance
I think the personality types in each tend to be different. Lots of people in corporate finance who either settle into sr. analyst and manager roles or get stuck at those levels. I know I'm generalizing by saying this, but these types do not appeal as colleagues to the uber overachiever banking/PE folks.
Corp Dev @ F500 is better than MM or boutique IB? (Originally Posted: 03/15/2012)
Hello,
I'm a junior at non-target who ended up with no offer for this summer. I'm still pursuing a career in IB and currently searching for a SA position for the summer.
I just talked to one of my contacts who worked at multiple BB banks, and he suggested that I should look into corp dev instead of MM or boutique banks.
His reasoning behind that was if I can find a position in one of the F500 companies, I will be able to network with ex-bankers there.
Also from his experience, he saw that a lot of bankers at BB firms look down on students with small mm or boutique internship (b/c a lot of qualified applicants will have BB internship).
He thinks I'll have a better shot with BB and prestigious MM and boutique banks next year when I'm applying for a full-time position if I go through F500 corp dev internship- also that way I'll have better "story" than telling them I didn't get an offer so I worked for a nameless bank.
I've always thought if I wanted to pursue a career in banking, investment banking internship is more important than anything else- regardless of the size of the bank.
What do you guys think? Any advice, criticism, clever jokes, and opinion will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys.
P.S. I actually had a SA internship with a small local boutique last summer as a sophomore.
take what you can and run with it.
That's a great advice, especially in this job market. But what would be more beneficial to me if my goal is to land a FT offer from a reputable bank?
yes, get a job at a F500 and then you'll probably meet and work with outside bankers that are pitching to the company or working on deals with them. I think it would be a better than working at a small boutique. Btw, I work in corp dev at a F250...and no we are not hiring, sorry.
Hmm okay blackcleo thanks! Is that the case for most of F250 / 500 firms? Am I just really late for everything at this point?
Not sure about timing, but you don't need to SA to land FT IB. F500 is great. Remember, F500 are the clients... If you develop a great professional relationship with Corp Dev guys, when they refer you to a bank, it weighs even more than OCR.
Every M&A has to be approved by the Corp Dev M&A guys so they certainly don't want to piss them off.
Wait companies have undergrads in corp devs as interns? Thought they were mostly mba hires.
^stop smoking crack
I think that if you got an offer at a well-respected boutique or MM firm, and killed it there/got a FT offer, you'd be in better shape than coming out of a corporate development program, given that your goal is IB.
Are you really going to be able to network with lots of bankers at a F500 over the summer? Seems like a great idea in theory, but one that might be really difficult to execute in practice.
If you're worried about your story during FT recruiting, you could probably just say you were attracted to the boutique for its people/culture, or that you wanted the experience of working in a smaller firm. Might be easier than explaining the switch from F500 to banking, and it would also show that you're committed to banking, and have been. Just my opinion, though.
are you thinking about b-school at all? if so, i'd take f500 corp dev.
i don't know of a lot of f500 firms that take in undergraduate interns in their corp dev/m&a function... my company does not. good luck.
I would have normally thought that an IB internship > other internships as you would have more practical experience in the area when applying for FT positions or future SA positions. But that is an excellent point about networking, not to mention you've already done SA at a small bank, best of luck with your search.
Since you already worked at a boutique, and want to do banking FT, wouldn't it be awkward trying to explain why you want to switch again during FT recruiting? You'll have to explain why you worked for a bank, and then didn't want to this summer, and then want to again.
A big thanks to all of you for your valuable inputs. I will definitely consider corp dev as well. It's crunch time for summer internships and like what Whiskey5 said, I'll take what I can and run with it- with a goal of breaking into IB industry. I don't think I have the luxury to weigh my options at this point haha.
would love some further advice on this as well! I'm currently facing a similar situation.
If your end goal is banking, and you have a MM offer (ie keybank, RJ, SunTrust) then for sure go the banking route over the F500 Corp Dev as you will be working on decent deals and will have a very easy time lateraling. At some point, boutiques, especially 30 bankers are just not worth it. and IMO will make it look like you struck out with FT recruiting. ( I know I did)
Instead of taking the boutique/lower MM offers I had, I took one in corp dev at a firm slightly outside F500. in the 1 year I was there I had a chance to work on several billion dollar deals, including one that was announced. Our primary bankers are GS, CS, and BAML, so I had the opportunity to work alongside the BB banks, instead of creating pitch book for a $20mm lug nut manufacturer in Oklahoma.
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