VP with MD Goal
As a junior VP, would you move to a sweatshop for stronger deal experience and better upward mobility, or stay in a (it’s still banking) relaxed group with limited advancement and almost no ability to build your own book due to low repeatable deal flow? At the VP level, are you past the worst of it — meaning that moving into a sweatshop isn’t as risky if the deal flow is strong?
In other words, stay 1–3 more years in a relatively chill group where the music may eventually stop, or move to a really busy team with a chance to gain much stronger experience and actually build a book? Feels like it only gets harder to move once you hit Director.
Why is moving to a "sweatshop" the only option? In my experience sweatshops are often the result of poor senior leadership rather than insane deal flow (unless you are moving to a truly top group at like GS or something - even then having worked across from and co-advising with them I think they do a bunch of extra BS stuff too).
If your goal is MD than the specific group / seat you pick at this point is the most important. There's lots of ways to do it but IMO I'd pick working under a strong senior banker that has ~5-8 years left in their career (maybe they are early 50's or something). That way you'll get good deal experience (because you picked a senior banker who actually gets results), be the logical handoff for a lot of these relationships in the future, and you'll have that time period to meet all the folks that work under those CEO relationships who will eventually be your contacts.
Just make sure there isn't some Director or junior MD in your way looking for all those same things otherwise it gets muddy. But ruining your life at this point in your career just to chase deal announcements is not that beneficial and you can be a lot more strategic.
Don’t you think if you get a many M&A reps you naturally gain relationships at those clients and sponsors? I agree that someone who will hand the relationships off is the best, but hard to find that seat.
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