Reneging a BB offer
Hi everyone, I was was fortunate enough to land an offer at a BB think (Citi/Credit Suisse). I accepted the offer a month ago but recently I received an offer from another BB but this time think (GS/JPM). This is at one of their top groups in NY. I looked at the contract and it says that they have the right to cancel my employment at any time and I also have the right to do so. Would it be a wise move to go with GS/JPM?
This definitely sounds ungrateful of me. I understand. But my original dream was to work at GS/JPM/MS.
Why would you start recruiting again a month after accepting an offer...and in this case no I absolutely wouldn’t reneg for such a miniscule differenc in “prestige”
This is such a bad idea especially from BB to BB... everyone at these big banks is close and this could get your GS/JPM offer pulled if anyone C/CS emails them about it.
At will employment means you can quit, not renege. Lateral in a year if you still have your prestige dream to work at Goldman, odds are you won't.
I can't find it now, but I remember a post here on WSO from a couple of months ago where the OP (hiring manager in that case) had a guy who reneged his offer to move to a better bank (if I remember correctly it was for an internship). He called a friend at the other bank and he made him pull the offer. I am pretty sure there's someone at the bank you signed who knows somebody else at the other bank. Honestly, I wouldn't risk it. If the want to, they are going to find out where you went and they may (or may not, it's a risk/reward calculation you have to make) ask them to pull your offer,
I think reneging is never an attractive option, but it is quite common among applicants. Don’t think you should renege for a marginal increase in prestige.
With that being said, I think the risks of reneging are always overplayed. There is no way for them to know which company you reneged them for unless you tell them. Plus analyst classes start in like 8 months.
If it really is your dream, fuck it. But if it’s merely a prestige move, why burn bridges so early on?
This isn't just a meaningless step up in prestige like some of the folks here are making it sound if it's truly one of the top groups for JPM/GS vs Citi/CS. Did you continue recruiting after accepting the first offer (exploding?) or was it another process you had already started and just got the result back later? Did the JPM/GS team know you had been given the offer by the other bank?
If this mismatch in timelines is due to a slower/later response but still transparentprocess with JPM/GS and they knew the other bank was in the picture, I think reneging to go to a top group with either of those banks would be a smart career move. Especially if your focus is on having better buy side recruitment. Fuck the misplaced idea of loyalty in that regard.
However, if you continued recruiting and started a process AFTER accepting Citi/CS I would say that was dishonest on your part and could be a bit dicey. Banks do talk and there's risk in that. Then again, the impact of reneging offers so far in advance of the start date I think is being overblown. If the focus is on maximizing exit opportunities and working in a group you're genuinleymore interested in, I would still personally take the risk but ultimately that's your call. You could very well end up with no job under these circumstances and that would suck wouldn't it?
I'm a big believer in going for broke and like taking risks, but I don't know if you're a gambler as well. CS/Citi is still a solid bank and you'll have great opportunities, but there's no denying those opportunities will likely be better from a top group at JP/GS simply by looking at the alumni network. You could do your first year at the current offer, maintain your relationships and try to lateral for year 2 as a much less risky path. My thought is that no one is going to remember the analyst they interviewed who reneged an offer 2-3 years after the fact, and if they do they're either taking it too personally or you're so amazing they kept dreaming of you long after you're gone. Life's short, might as well take risks to maximize your opportunities and do the best you can during it.
People are suggesting that it’s a marginal step up in prestige because your bank/group isn’t 100% what makes or breaks you in buy side recruiting. If he’s from a strong target, has a good GPA/SAT scores, etc. then he’s fine regardless of whether he chooses Citi/CS or JPM/GS. Reneging is essentially more risk than the reward is worth.
I understand that the differences are marginal compared to say a MM vs a BB, but even small margins can make a huge difference depending on what your end goal is. I made a point in highlighting that there's still risk here. OP could very well end up jobless depending on the circumstances of how they went through this process which is why I asked for details. But if the group at GS/JPM is say a specific coverage or product group that he's interested in vs what he's currently got from CS/Citi, why wouldn't you want to try and start out in the area you know you're going to have more genuine interest in?
I don't believe it's a good idea to just jump because "ooo GS is SOOOOO much better than Citi", but lets say for example he's got an offer from GS TMT or JPM M&A and his end goal is to recruit for MF PE. Would it not make sense to move to one of the best reputed teams in the world to try and ideally position to make that jump? If it's a group like that, an opportunity for a lateral may never come up if they decide to remain loyal to the first bank for their first analyst year.
In my opinion, if it's their dream to work at JPM/GS and they've got an offer from one of those groups I say live dangerously and go for it. Assuming they went through the process honestly, the bank knows they received an offer from the other bank (grey area that he accepted) and they're willing to risk it all, why not try to optimize the start of a career in one of the most lucrative industries in the world? Isn't that why students are coming to this forum in the first place?
tl;dr Go big or go home, but know the risk in the choices you make and your own risk tolerance
Since you're almost a year away from starting full time I would go with the GS/JPM offer. Give them some bs excuse that you had another process going on in parallel that was going incredibly slow, but that you felt that the fit was better.
Needless to say; do not post anything on LinkedIn about being an "upcoming analyst" in GS/JPM. If I were you I would wait until after summer before posting anything.
Thanks for the input everyone. Just to make a few clarifications: 1) I heard back from GS/JPM about 2 weeks after accepting my CS/Citi offer. 2) This is for an internship and not a fulltime position.
Oh this isn't FT? Ok even less serious now, yeah def reneg and take the GS/JPM offer. Just be sure to take QuiltEmerson's advice, don't go posting on LinkedIn. Keep it to yourself till after the summer has either already started or is over completely.
Renege. Not as huge of a deal as people make it out to be, in your current situation at least.
Pornhub just called for fucking yourself so hard
Inform JPM / GS that you've accepted this other offer, want to reneg, and make sure you get their blessing (I'm willing to bet that you will).
Then reneg. The difference in buyside recruiting is tremendous. You'd be lucky to get a look at Citi / CS at some of the UMMs / Megafunds. Can't speak for other funds but bank / group is a bar that you have to meet for us to look at your resume - otherwise there'd be too many people to review.