Hi All - I'm currently a 3rd-year analyst at a BB based in NYC. Feel free to ask me anything. I'm pretty involved in school recruiting (widely considered a semi-target on this site), but can speak to any experiences that would be most helpful to current junior bankers / prospective ones
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Hi, thanks for doing this. A couple questions for you:
did you consider / are you considering PE? Why or why not?
What are your medium term career goals? (stay on as associate, b-school, pe/hf, etc.)
Hey, answers as follows: 1) I am considering PE. However, a lot of the larger funds have a similar work / life balance to banking as an analyst / associate, so am still weighing whether I want to go to a smaller shop potentially outside of NYC (southeastern funds are supposed to be better, generally speaking). 2) Long-term goal is to find a career in either investing or advising and climb the ladder, would rather not pay $100k+ for MBA to learn similar stuff from what I learned in undergrad / banking, but would consider school if I decided to make a big career change. I've also heard the additional network is quite helpful esp if you get into a top program. Hope this helps
Incoming analyst at a BB on the west coast. if I were to leave after a year for an EB in NY would the senior bankers not serve as a reference/get mad?
People at the bank you will work at will generally not like it when / if you go to another firm, people at the top understand that you may need to move to get certain exposures to products / industries / promotions, but I wouldn't go into your FT gig with the goal of moving simply to move. Exits are similar from BB and EB and it's really about how polished you come across
it’s a lower tier BB and I want to be in NY. If I absolutely kill it for my first year, would it help?
What do you look for in lateral hires?
How much does undergrad matter in lateral hiring? (prestige, gpa, etc.)
Good question. I actually lateraled internally from more of an asset management-type role so completed this myself
Look mainly for interest, proven work ethic, ideally banking experience, unless you're willing to start over as a first-year analyst. The benchmark you're competing against is a returning summer intern, where we've been able to test drive their ability to do the job. Prestige and don't matter that much, as long as you've got generally got good grades and can do the math / stats needed for the job as a junior banker, my bank / group don't focus on that
Thoughts on Coverage vs M&A? Especially if the office you are working with has an in house M&A group that covers your industry (Ex: Tech M&A Group). Does where you want to exit affect what you should focus on (VC/Growth vs Buyout LBO)?
I'd say M&A is the best for pure modeling experience. However, a lot of the M&A guys that I work with at my firm have no idea what's going on with the business (partly because they're all over the place working on stuff in industrials, consumer, tech, etc and hard to focus on one space / business day in and day out)
Having an M&A team will mean that you in coverage are doing less M&A modeling, however, if you can prove you're strong technically, deal teams will sometimes leave M&A out of certain pieces of a transaction / pitch (speaking as a junior banker of course)
Coverage and M&A groups lend themselves to very strong exits for all private capital roles (buyout / growth / VC) - modeling most important in BO since the job is mainly modeling and valuing / thinking about businesses with a large track record
what were your hours like year 1 and what are they like now as a 3rd year?
Hours as AN1 were 80-100 every week (my group is viewed as particularly brutal though). Would say they've gotten a lot better as I start to play an analyst / associate hybrid role on a lot of my deals (70-80 per week with an occasional slower week
What's your comp? You going A2A? Thanks!
Would rather not get into my specific comp number, but was on the low-end for the market for an Analyst 2. Bank did not perform well, bonus pool was down YoY, despite a mid / high ranking within the IB. Feel free to message me for specific questions
Would you consider changing banks when getting promote to associate due to bonuses?
Does your BB have a protected Saturday or weekend policy? Is it actually enforced if no deals are live?
What are your typical hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays on an average week?
Thanks for the AMA!
Yes to protected weekend policy, no it is not enforced. Hours are better on Friday, I'm usually out of the office by 9pm. Saturday and Sunday vary a lot, but tend to work more on Sunday and Sunday nights I'm almost always working to prevent Monday from being a work overload situation
If a school wasn’t widely considered a target/semi-target and there is a lack of on campus recruiting, what would you suggest for a prospective?
Use LinkedIn / email people at firms and network that way. If you have some connections at firms, leverage their networks (assuming they like you / think you would be a successful new joiner)
thanks for this. do you know any biglaw lawyers who transitioned? I have 4 years exp and make 350k with bonus. just wondering if i would have to take a pay cut and how much? also what kind of teams would you suggest.
Would likely take a 50-100k pay cut to become a 1st year associate after earning an MBA (if you join a BB) - not sure what comp looks like at the EB associate 1 level
I am a bit confused. do you mean i need to pursue an mba?
As an incoming post-MBA associate, how can I best learn from someone like you and come up to speed while still leading/serving in an associate capacity?
For about the first year as an MBA associate, I've found the best way to succeed with working with senior analysts is to act like you are the same rank as them (being analyst, analyst) on a deal team rather than more senior. You'll learn more and will train you better to become a stronger associate and long-term banker. Analysts generally don't like getting bossed around by someone who has never done the job that they've been doing for 80 hours a week for 2-3 years
What was your prior career field?
Mine? Management consultant somewhere between strategy and tech.
Do you think it’s possible to move from a non-prestigious boutique shop to a BB?
Yes, it's all about networking and coming across as polished. Do your homework on the firm / group and express interest / be persistent
Hi! Can you tell me a little about the lateral hiring processes at IBs? I was recently asked by HR about my expected compensation and previous payslips (although I'm a fresh grad), can you give me some points to keep in mind at this pre offer stage?
Lateral hiring happens on an as-needed basis. Stay in touch with firms and groups you're interested in and spots will open up over time (especially around bonus / summer time when analysts leave for buyside)
Thanks for doing this, curious about how BBs see people lateraling from MM banks after their first year. Is it a possibility? What are the stats/skills they're looking at?
They'll hire on an as needed basis. If you've done banking somewhere reputable in the MM, you should get looks from larger firms - the work is more or less the same anywhere as an analyst from my understanding
So if I just started within one group of my credit risk division but I want to switch to wholesale credit or preferably LevFin how feasible would it be to do this after 1 year? For context, I work at a BB
Start networking with people in the LF team at your bank and let them know about your interest. Realistically would probably take closer to 2 years, need to show the bank you're good at your current role to have a shot at a lateral like that
Hi- I am a looking to make a career change. Currently I am 25 working as a financial advisor at a full service regional BD (think RJ, Baird, Stifel). I went to a non-target Midwest school in the MAC, NCAA D1 scholarship student-athlete... 3.2 GPA. Would like your opinion on what path I need to take to best have a shot a breaking into IB. B school? (if so which ones) go to schools recruiting events?
I'll be blunt prospects are not great for you. But if this is what you really want you can probably get there. But you have to really want it.
First Take the GMAT and ace the GMAT. If you can get within 710-720+ you might have a decent shot at some of the better programs. Apply to programs within the top 25 that have decent placement on the street. Think YSOM, Fuqua, Darden, Stern, and Ross.
I definitively know people who have gotten into the HBS & GSB with less than a 3.2 GPA, but they were super stars in other areas and had 760+ GMAT scores (99 percentile).
When you are in B-school talk to your career offices/advisory and see if they can get you some introductions with some veteran bankers. Continue to build and leverage your network into a FT position.
My goal is to shoot for 700-720 on GMAT. Gain admission into a Ross, Fuqua, Darden. my BD also has IB department... worth trying to make a lateral move in with networking and leveraging? Thanks for the insight.
How did you manage the internal lateral into IB? I am currently in S&T (1.5 yrs in) and want to switch over to IB within the same bank...just unsure how to approach this (did you start by bringing it up with your manager at the time, etc.)
I believe your options are the following:
1) network internally and see if any groups of interest have openings (may need to contact HR here given the S&T and IB wall) 2) get an offer elsewhere and leverage it if you'd like to stay at the same firm
you may need to start over as a junior analyst just given the skillsets are different, would just be aware of that
.
I’d rather prospective interns / analysts just seem prepared, ask good and genuine questions and keep things concise. it’s helpful to have genuine overlapping interests, but if it’s clear you can do the job and are normal, I have no problem passing you through to the next round, etc
Shouldn’t you know by now if you’re promoted as an A2A...
No, my firm gives third year analyst offers and then with good performance you are promoted to associate
Yea but Associate offers are normally made in Jan-march for the summer cycle analysts
Hey, thanks for doing this.
I was previously in a very well known FLDP program (3 years) and very recently joined a LMM IB (think Brown Gibbons Lang/Needham/Capstone Headwaters) as a first year analyst. Semi-target school with 3.4 GPA. What are my chances to lateral to a BB IB?
Wait so they pulled you back three years and didn't give you any credit for your FLDP years? Did you argue to not be pulled back?
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