I currently face a dilemma that I’m certain plenty of other folks on here could relate to. I’ve accepted an offer for this summer with a BB as a Sophomore. For myself, the ultimate goal is to receive a return offer with this firm and to return for next summer. The problem arrises when realizing how early recruiting has begun already this year. For those in a similar position, what approach are you taking? Are you actively recruiting with other firms? If you were to receive an exploding offer for 2019 with another firm prior to completing this summer’s gig/knowing whether or not youll be offered a return do you plan on accepting? I know a lot of this is circumstantial but I’d like to see how other Sophomores are approaching this process. Personally, I have been giving minimal effort to the recruiting process but received one BB offer thus far for 2019 that I will be probably be forced to decline since it explodes in 2 weeks well before I know how this summer will pan out.
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Hey there,
Congrats on the summer offer! and on the kablooey offer!
I'm currently a Sophomore too. I've accepted an offer at a large AM for this summer. I literally signed two weeks ago and I see my friends applying for 2019 SA positions. It's insane how the recruiting schedule accelerated. I'm from a small semi-target that primarily feeds into AM, PE, and accounting so the BB IB buzz hasn't hit my campus. My friends at Ivies, on the other hand, have already had campus recruiting and applications thrown at them last month.
The recruiting timeline for everyone is incredibly sped up. I know a few sophomores who are signed for SA & FT, conditional on early graduation and summer performance (extreme edge cases).
I do know that I won't be returning to the AM in 2019. The MD made it clear that I'll need my MBA or CFA before they can extend a FT position; the plan is that I get to know the firm and the people for a few months, get some experience somewhere else for a few years, get MBA/CFA, and possibly come back.
My strategy this year is to keep my ear to the ground. I went crazy the past recruiting season, applied for basically everything, and ended up with nothing; probably just a freshmen fluke, but recruiting is bloody awful. I've maintained a solid network of mentors and alumni from college and high school, and that's been the avenue that's worked best for me. If my friends mention that xyz has something open, I'll probably look into it and apply. I have a short-list of AM and PE firms that I do keep tabs on, but I'm not actively recruiting.
If I were in your shoes, I would decline the exploding offer. You seem to want to continue at the same firm, so why lock yourself up? However, if you don't get the extension offer, it can be this weird recruiting double-edged sword. I have a friend who did JP AM LATAM sophomore year and didn't get the extension and his experiences were mixed during recruiting: "he's proven to be good enough, but why didn't they take him back?"; he made it out fine though.
I'm really curious as to why recruiting keeps on coming earlier and using crazier and crazier tactics. Is this a historical trend or just a strange time to be alive?
Again, congrats and cheers to our summers!
Hey, so I'm in the exact same situation as you. Joining a top BB this summer in the division that I want to be in as a sophomore SA. With recruiting so early, I'm afraid that if I don't, God forbid, get a return offer this summer, I'll be screwed for 2019. Honestly, like you, I've done minimal recruiting because I also don't want my firm/team hearing that I've been shopping around before I've even started on the desk. I honestly feel like its not even worth applying elsewhere because they're just going to force us to decided before we even start at our firm.
My plan is, target 2-3 firms that I would be happy to work at also, and concentrate my efforts. We're in a position where we don't have to apply to 100 banks/funds. Just choose another firm as a back-up and if timing doesn't work out, then you can't control that. Just try and string them along as long as possible.
Some of the other sophomores that I know at BB's this summer are just going to recruting events and applying anyways and seeing what happens. I have heard, not sure how true, that one BB may give sophomores until Sept. to respond. Really doubt thats true, but would be a perfect situation.
Lastly, unique to my situation, I know that I want to stay at my BB. So I'm networking within the firm, talking to other groups, and just trusting the process that I'm good enough to get a return offer. We're in early as sophomores for a reason, so trust that we're good enough to go back. Just don't royally do anything stupid lol. Also remember, that like 95% of sophomores return. I've spoken to a very senior person at a BB who runs a sophomore recruiting process and he mentioned that "only way a sophomore doesn't return is if they do something very stupid, (one kid fell a sleep in a meeting, and one kid didn't show up one day, both got no return offers) or have a very bad cultural fit/figure out finance isn't for them. But really, I think we'll be fine if we work hard. Push come to shove, the BB name and experience will open other doors for us if need be.
Best of luck
Well said. Glad to see that we’re in the same boat and thinking the same thing.
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