Pretty much what the title says. Any real shot of breaking into west coast IB if not at top target or a west coast school? Any feedback is greatly appreciated
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Yes, exact same as networking from any nontarget but the offices are obviously smaller. Would have a very strong why LA/SF answer. They care a lot about that from my personal experience.
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What are the best answers that distinguish candidates for the “why LA/SF” question from what you’ve seen that aren’t super generic such as having friends and family there?
Was in your exact position: from an east-coast target, grew up my whole life on the east coast, even my SA was in NYC. I completely switched gears and recruited FT only for Tech IB in SF. The key is to network your ass off and do not get discouraged by a low "hit" rate. There were very few alums in the SF tech groups so I had to be extremely persistent to build connections and keep them updated throughout my junior year (I recruited for FT in SF and had multiple superdays + an offer).
Have a very strong why SF/LA (insert city), especially if you have no ties to that area (grew up there, went to school there, etc). The most convincing answer is that you have family ties there and want to make a "long-term move" (whether or not that's true does not matter, you just have to sound convincing). Also, you need to demonstrate that you have a passion in the industries that west coast IBs focus on. Most of your interviews will be group-based, since the majority of firms mostly have tech or healthcare groups on the west coast (speaking for SF, I know LA has certain sponsor groups and m&a/rx). For my tech IB interviews, I had to demonstrate a strong passion for tech by talking about sub-verticals I was interested in, sub-vertical trends, the major players, the market, etc.
This is helpful - what specifically about certain sub-verticals appealed to you the most, and why was west coast the best place? Had always been under the impression that many east coast firms also covered tech extensively
West coast not necessarily "better" than NYC tech IB (definitely is bank dependent- for my bank SF > NYC for tech). The major factor was that I didn't like NYC and wanted to be on the west coast. I talked about semiconductors which is a sub-vertical that interests me. Just know the major players, the trends, your opinion on the sub-vertical market-- doesn't matter which sub-vertical it is.
Yes, it's an uphill battle, but its not impossible. I went to a state school in the east coast, grew up in Asia, and was able to get into a BB in LA. Completely doable, all you need is one contact at any firm who's willing to take that extra step for you.
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