Hey guys,
I spent a year and half in IB, before losing my job in 2023. I have tried other gigs, but didn’t like it and wanted to return to IB. Do you think if I do a master, I would be eligible to recruit as an SA again? This is for London. Age-wise I would be a similar age to the EU guys.
Region: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇪🇺 All Europe
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Sorry to hear about losing your job in 2023. Given you have 1.5 years experience in IB as well as some other experience following that, I think recruiters could be fairly receptive to looking at your profile for Analyst 2 / 3 positions at MM banks in London. Unless you want to specifically go to a US BB or EB right away, where hiring has been thin and will be more competitive, I see no reason why you couldn't get back into IB at a smaller shop without having to go through a Masters degree. To answer your questions specifically, if you go to a target Masters, I do think you would be eligible for SA programme's and your prior IB experience will be valued
Thanks for the reply, any advice on how to best explain the gap? Or the story?
I echo one of the other responses on this thread re recruiters. In the UK market at least (not sure if there are parallels to other markets), the recruiters can typically do a good job of pitching your story as long as you give them enough rope to do so. For example, if it is the case, you could tell them that you were part of the mass layoff rounds in 2023, which was common across the street, attempted to try another career path (+why), and have decided to return to IB for a long-term career because in your other endeavour your realised "this is your passion".
I imagine they will tell you certain BB/EBs wouldn't look at your profile, but some other boutiques / MMs would. Once you reach the interviews, key to A) Be honest about the gap, since the recruiter would have been transparent when pitching your profile; B) Really sell why you tried an alternative path AND want to return to focus on IB for "the rest of your career"; C) Nail the rest of the process to remove any doubts re performance. Definitely seen people go IB > Another path (eg PE, Corporate, etc) > IB at a different bank.
I would also like to stress that in your position, unfortunately, you will likely need to be proactive with the recruiters rather than vice-versa. The IB recruiters in London can be a pain in the ass and are prestige driven for quick fees, so you will need to make intros, chase and chase again. But if you do this well and get on their "A-list", they'll happily open many doors for you
Thanks for your thorough answer. Unfortunately, I don’t have much luck with these recruiters except for Edgworth who was very good. Some of them are just there to collect information only. I have reached out to most of them in the middle of the 2024 when there was barely any role available so now some of them just ignore me to be honest. My problem with them as you mentioned is that they are looking for a quick fee. Like I did medicine before I entered IB, straight after uni in a HC group, and they do not seem to want to put me towards any other role except HC IB. This obvs massively reduce my reach, as the downturn in HC is more pronounced. I also want to remove that label, though I do not mind doing HC IB, if it makes things easier.
I can't speak fully for your situation, but I remember seeing DB have a policy where they make you do a Yes/No answer to a statement like "I have below 12 months experience" for intern/grad roles. But yes, like the other comment says, with your experience you should be good to just focus on switching to another IB without a Masters.
This would be my favourite option, but interviews are very few atm. BBs have a policy of not hiring laid-off people. MMs sometimes think deal experience is not transferable and have a lot more choice these days. Like for most of MMs have not even proceeded into a full first round after introductory call with HR, and I am pretty sure I cannot be that bad, if GS at lest gave me an interview. Add to that HSBC bankers coming into the picture and the whole hiring is a mess/ will remain a mess for a long time unless substantial increase in deal flow. While I will keep trying, I just need to have more options. I also guess if I do a master and IBs are not receptive, I could easily recruit for consulting
PS: for DB, it is true, but I have not seen that at other banks, and hope EBs should be a lot receptive.
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