Need advice before signing a contract!

Hey guys.

I'm still in undergrad (last year of uni, top target, shit GPA, lots of work experience). I'm currently working in a corporate advisory firm part-time that mainly deals with IPOs and M&A advisory. It's pretty simple work and not too intense or difficult (MD I work under loves me to bits so he looks after me and gives me interesting work to help him). Pay isn't anything to write home about but I'm not complaining. Something is better than nothing.

I've received an offer to spend the summer at a Big 4 corporate finance division (TS to be exact). I honestly didn't think I'd get it but I was really happy when I received a call yesterday. Its for 6 weeks and I think I might have a decent shot at getting a FT offer afterwards, which as you can imagine for a final year student, is crucial.

So before I sign the offer, which is better to work in? Should I take the TS offer or continue working at the boutique? I'd ideally like to break into IB down the track, and then VC wayyyy down the track (obviously my mind might change, but I always saw myself along this path. I've interned at a VC firm before).

The way I see it (and please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), is that the brand name of the Big 4 CF will help me later on, but the experience I'll pick up in TS won't be as valuable as what I'm already getting. As a caveat though, the corporate advisory firm deals with small deals and companies ($100m) so I can't write about massive deals on my CV, only small ones.

So should I continue to work at my current firm until late this year (November) until the summer program starts, or just continue working there until graduation next year?

Any advice I get is highly regarded, so please feel free to share your thoughts before I sign any contract.

6 Comments
 

Thanks for the reply! I graduate mid next year in June. I'm heavily leaning towards signing the Big 4 contract because if I do well, I have a shot at a FT offer, whereas the corporate advisory firm I currently work at wont take me on as a FT hire (because the firm is made up of senior directors). However they did tell me they're well connected in the industry and would be happy to recommend me to other firms when I graduate.

Thoughts?

 

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