Most demanded level in IB
What is the level in banking that is most demanded for hiring. Analyst 1 to Director - What’s your pick?
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Based on previous WSO threads, the most demanded level in investment banking for hiring is the Analyst level. Here are some key points:
Analyst Level: There is a high demand for hiring analysts due to the large supply of qualified graduates who want to make it onto the buy side and use banking as a springboard for their careers. Banks make interviews more difficult because many applicants are "good enough," and they want to ensure they hire the best candidates.
VP Level: There is also a significant demand for VPs, especially given the current market conditions where analysts are quitting at alarming rates, and banks are looking to bulk up their classes. VPs are crucial as they manage deals and act as quality control.
Director Level: Directors are expected to bring in revenue and build a network to source deals. While there is demand, the role is more complex and involves significant responsibilities in sourcing and managing client relationships.
In summary, while all levels from Analyst to Director are important, the Analyst level is particularly in high demand due to the large influx of qualified candidates and the foundational skills they bring to the table.
Sources: Questions about VP/D/MD levels at investment banks, Brief Introduction to Banking Recruiting at the MBA Level, Recently hired IB analyst - why was this hard to break into?, Finance Career Path & List, Investment banking: hours at each level
Honestly, the top ranks D, MD, and SMD are completely overcrowded, so many of these guys need fired and forced out. There is also an endless stream of analysts. The issue every bank faces is finding solid associates and VPs. I honestly think they need to pull a McKinsey and allow the top analyst to do 1 year as a senior analyst where they are basically an associate and then promote to VP. There's a reason banks keep recruiting from lower and lower ranked MBAs because they are trying to find the gems in the rough.
Banks are recruiting from lower and lower ranked MBAs because nobody wants to do banking anymore.
One of my old college professors was a retired banker. Pre-GFC, banking associates were clearing well over $300k, not uncommonly over half a mil. That's in pre-GFC dollars, not 2024 dollars.
And that was before tech exploded, offering fresh MBAs gigs that pay 80% as well for 50% of the hours.
Actually that's a good point for the lower tier MBAs but the rest of my thesis still stands. Solid mid levels are extremely hard to find.
Definitely sucks to read some of the old salaries in the 80s and 90s. You quickly realize how much the pay has degraded with inflation and lack of increases.
You’re not wrong on this unfortunately. Seems like later top 20 schools are breaking in pretty frequently. Good for them but it just shows how shitty the industry is right now.
Not sure what qualifies as low ranked, but I'm pretty involved in MBA recruiting at Columbia, Booth and Wharton and every year we have 3x the number of qualified candidates as spots.
If we take people from USC, Cornell, UT, etc., it's because we like them or they bring something unique to the table. Not because we couldn't take 3 more people from Booth instead.
For Harvard/Stanford would tend to agree - there's not a lot of interest.
It goes analyst, associate, revenue producing MD, VP ,D
Definitely the mid levels. Analysts are an endless stream of talent that the bank churns and burns for 2 years. Directors and MDs are expensive and those levels are very overcrowded. There aren’t enough good senior associates and VPs.
This isn’t unique to banking, by the way. Every corporate job has very poor talent in the middle, from my experience.
^ second this comment. Not just a banking issue thats how most companies and fields are. The middle is often overlooked for hiring and leads to poor associates and VPs which can make an entire process hell. Have a VP at my firm that is amazing to work for and you always to want to be staffed with him but also have an associate who is awful and will make your life hell with useless comments and is never available. Night and day difference between working for the two of them and how easy/hard mid level management makes a live deal
Maybe like Sr. analyst - VP.
As far as D-MD, that is completely overcrowded with total losers who generate no business. Somehow banks are more lenient with these people losing weekly bake-offs and fumbling execution work on the little they do have than they are with Anl / Aso footnote typo
The middle level is crowded by DEI A&A (females) most of which are incompetent for the large part especially at woke US banks and most Canadian banks.
One of my favourite things about WSO is that no matter the thread DEI will be brought up at some point. I'm not even being sarcastic, it's sort of cathartic to see DEI hires face unrelenting criticism.
Let’s be precise, it’s mainly female A&A. The black / lgbtq A&A are few and far between.
It’s true tho
Junior VPs / senior associates with execution reps.
There will be a lot of demand for VPs that can execute soon when market comes back, especially at firms like BofA where the majority of current VPs will leave if they get railed on comp again. Got three inbounds for VP roles in the last week alone, much more than a year ago
Market is turning / rates are falling… I am seeing a demand storm brewing for mid level talent as the market gets back in a normal rhythm. This year has already been better than last.
If you’re somewhere like William Blair or BofA where you get screwed on comp… look to lateral in ‘25.
This is the correct answer in this thread.
Ignore the title, I change it every so often. I have always thought an Analyst 2/3/junior associate that knows the workstreams down and can operate rather autonomously are a dime a dozen. Aside from that, a VP who can help unjam MD iterations, and roll up their sleeves to help every once in a while is a blessing.
Exactly. Banks don’t need more senior analysts / junior associates that work hard and merely process things. Those people have value for sure, but they’re relatively common.
The real difference makers are the good senior associate/VP types that can operate independently, eliminate iterations, and give the MDs leverage. Most of these people (especially at the low paying banks) leave before getting to this point (either to higher paying banks or out of the industry altogether). So the “less desirable” banks have terrible mid level talent and continue snowballing the bank’s mediocre performance. Doomed to repeat the endless cycle.
+ forgetting the number of spots which need to be reserved for female A&A in promotions (~50%) due to DEI meaning half of the associates are incompetent regardless.
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