Want to be a Career Banker
Joining an EB full-time on a generalist program following internship. Realised I am more of a sales person and like running processes rather than being an investor - so not really keen on PE although I might consider opportunities that come through. How do I structure my next 10 years or so to be the best career banker I could be (given I dont get fired or burn out)? i.e., building a reputation, client book, etc. What should I be doing now to set myself up in this changing world? Not sure on particular industries at the moment. Any tips from career bankers here would be much appreciated. I want to be the best banker in some industry/vertical some time 15-20 years down the line.
Bump. Interested as well as I've just started up.
Some ideas, and this isn't at all exhaustive but these came to my head:
(1) Learn as much as possible - that souds obvious but I'm surprised at the lack of curiosity of some of my junior bankers. In deal processes there are absolutely concepts and terms they aren't born into the world knowing (and some I don't know), and presumably can't look up easily online, and yet they don't ask (e.g. how should I read an SPA? Like ass you knew what a disclosure schedule was on day 1). You're surrounded by experienced and talented (hopefully) people in an industry you want to be in long term. Use them. Importantly, you need this in order to lead in the future. Your juniors (rightfully in my opinion) will not respect you if you aren't able to help them in the trenches (and will for sure not like you if you choose not to).
(2) Just be really good and have a great attitude. You'll be forgiven more when you screw up (which you will) and you'll be given the best opportunities to gain insights others won't have (e.g. attending the big client meetings) and as a result learn more.
(3) Make sure you're in a team with a mentor or a culture that helps promote your internal development. I would much rather be in a team that promotes your personal and professional development at a "Tier 2" bank than some BB / EB team which treats you like a cog and the seniors don't know your name. All banks have awful people and most banks have brilliant people - you need to be specific when you ask about culture at a potential new bank. This ties in with (6) below.
(4) Develop a really thick skin. And don't take things too personally. This industry is all about rejection (starting at the application stage). You will work on sale processes that don't find bidders. You will work on buysides where your bidder drops out without even submitting a bid. You will be told to get lost (politely or impolitely) at conferences where you try to network. You will lose RFPs through no fault of your own - I'm sorry buddy, your pitch was the best in the bake-off, but daddy needs to throw some fees Rothschild's way because they've been helpful lately and we haven't paid them in a couple of years.
(5) Network. This doesn't need to be (and shouldn't be) with CEOs on day 1. By the time you're asked to generate fees they'll probably be retired. Network with your analyst class (Christ I wish I had done this) - they're probably pretty smart to be where they are, whatever you might think. You never know who will become a Partner at that fund your group does a lot of business with, or whether the quiet geeky one will come out of her shell and become a leading MD at the bank running the sellside on the deal your bank needs to get a role on, and where her intel can help you win a mandate. This goes for clients obviously too. If you do a deal, ask to go for a drink with the PE Associate after it's signed.
(6) Try not to jump bank too often. There are definitely good reasons to leave a bank for somewhere new. "Prestige" is usually not one of them - I'm not saying that you shouldn't take an offer to move from [Alantra / Daiwa / Stifel] to [JPM / MS], but if it's a move from Citi to GS, then, just be aware that the move has costs. You lose your internal network, you need to work like a bitch for 6 months to establish your internal reputation at the new place, you'll likely get a lower bonus for a year or two, it puts you at risk while you're on probation, you lose all your models and templates, it makes your CV messy, etc.
(7) Specialise. I'm in a coverage team so I say it from that background, but at some point (usually the mid-AS / VP level), you should start to develop a detailed knowledge of a vertical. That doesn't mean "Consumer", that means "Retail", or if you're in a big group, maybe it means "Grocery Retail", it depends on the bank. And perhaps you pick up a couple of verticals (there is such a thing as being too specialised, especially if you get fired). But being the source of knowledge / content for your clients about why multiples are what they are, what kind of leverage one should expect for this kind of asset, who the trade buyers are, what are some bolt-on opportunities, etc., make you valuable. Just being a salesperson by itself does not. You need to bring content in this industry.
wow. thanks alot!
had a couple follow ups.
would it be better to shift a top BB to build a client base compared to EB? I have heard it is easier to get clients and have a brand at the top BBs which is transferable when you switch back to EBs.
At what level does it become a game of politics rather than pure performance when it comes to the promotion? what does the politics look like with your peers?
Do you need to be super social (out there, drinking with clients all the time) to win business? and be a member of the clubs / do stuff they like to do? how does that look like at that level?
Good questions.
(1) It depends on the two banks, and I certainly wouldn't make this a big reason (see my previous reason (6)) to move. But it's a nice-to-have. It can be easier to get clients at top BBs (but it really depends on which EB and which BB, and which sector / vertical), and it is often easier for a client to justify working with a specific bank internally because of the brand itself - nobody will fire you for having hired GS. But that works ways. It makes it easier to win deals at a BB, but also harder for them to justify when you move to your new place. For me, this depends on so many things that it's unreliable to use as a reason to move by itself. And it plays into the whole question of "How do you win mandates?" that I can't rely on it. Having clients is useless unless you can use it to win mandates.
(2) I work at a 5-level bank (e.g. AN -> AS -> VP -> D - MD or something similar). It's in the D-> MD phase. And frankly it's not even performance below that, unless you're truly a poor performer. To reach the MD level you need a record of deals (usually 5 / 6 or more where you can really say you originated or were instrumental in making a deal come about), and "supporters" (existing MDs who will say "yep, I can vouch for Tony). It depends what you call "politics" though. If "politics" means "this guy is a consistent asshole" then yes, politics affects you from day 1. I try to be likeable and fair, and have found this a good approach. "Fair" is a key word. At my bank, there's some politics but more at the MD level itself (e.g. jockeying for fee share, that kind of thing). Honestly I wouldn't worry about that below MD level.
(3) No, absolutely not. You can and should network and be social. But I can't subscribe to the phrase "drinking with clients" in your sentence. Yes, you should be social (why? because knowing which PEs are hot on an asset, being connected to party X who was introduced to you through party Y can be key to winning a deal, having had a chat with someone 2 years ago might be important to being able to even remember their name now, etc.). Notice what I'm saying. You need to be social to create content. And you need content to generate fees. Nobody will hire you because they like going for drinks with you (or at least, they shouldn't). You will be hired because you bring content (an interesting deal idea, knowing process dynamics, etc.). You will create content in ways which aren't purely "social" (by which I mean, going for drinks). Reading broker reports. Having professional meetings where you discuss the pipeline. Etc. I hope I've phrased this paragraph correctly but I don't think I have. In short, you don't need to be drinking, talking about sports, and doing dinners with different PEs every night, but you do need to speak with people (most of the time it's in a professional meeting) to generate content. But it's not exclusively about interacting with people. You need to read and know stuff, too. Oh, and yes it helps if people like you of course, but life is too short to be socialising all the time with people you yourself don't like.
Thanks for this. How would you think about potentially moving to PE if you're not sure what you want to do long term?
Don't. Figure out what you want to do long term and direct yourself towards that.
If you don't want to do PE long term, don't. It's the most long term career there is, and once you've been there 5 years or so it becomes very costly to leave.
As you get more senior it becomes increasingly difficult to transition between careers. With that in mind, be aware that if you think there's a good chance that you'd like to do PE, understand that the ability to do so will get harder as your approach senior AS level.
I'm putting words into your mouth, but if your question was "I might like IB long term or I might like PE long term and I really don't know", then find out more about each. Speak to people. See what fits your personality. It is possible to move between these, but not easy except at the AN / AS level (sometimes you see MDs move across to PE but it's uncommon).
Bump
Agree with everything CountWaccula said but a few things from my side.
1. Find the most respected Associate / VP in your team and emulate their approach / work habits - whenever my A1s ask for advice I point them to one associate and one VP in my team (who are very different personalities)
2. Don’t burn yourself out - The top performers are not the ones who pull the longest hours (in fact pulling the longest hours often has a negative correlation with ranking), they are the ones who learn to do their work efficiently, observe the 80/20 rule and are able to ascertain what ls really important, and are intellectually curious enough to start to add value. I had to have a conversation this year with an A1 who wasn’t too bucket and complained that they worked the hardest in the team and explain that someone who objectively pulled less hours but was more efficient and prioritized better was more value add.
3. Learn Your Niche - it’s faster to become an industry expert (if you’re in an industry group) or a product expert than it is to build relationships, so this is the quickest way to distinguish yourself. Every industry has some emerging subvertical or product has some trend. Geek out about it and become the expert in your team.
4. Communicate and Manage - whenever I have end of year conversations, communication and managing upwards (and eventually downwards) is where otherwise good people get dinged. Bad communication is also a reason for burnout. Let people know what you are doing, communicate reasonable deadlines, identify problems early, don’t overpromise and if you don’t know, ask questions.
5. Behave like an adult from day 1 - Clothes, haircut, grooming, oral and verbal communication. Look and act like someone you can put in front of clients and investors from the day you walk in the office
Not trying to hate, but is this a joke. 3 months experience talking about what? Talk about career banking 2 years in and even then it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Break it down by level, what are the expectations, how do you exceed them. If you’re at EB, you book is being built… the people around you college, work, etc. will be hiring bankers down the road, act in way now that will make them hire you then. Also, what? You want to be the best banker in eg tmt? That’s kind of pathetic and I’m sure you can come up with a better idea than that.
Everyone nowadays dreams of being a partner at a MF. why not encourage the kid who is interested in pursuing a career path not many people care about nowadays?
Cuz making slide decks and servicing clients on M&A your whole life is pathetic and not to mention he’s still in college talking about 15 MD track yet hasn’t finished a single analyst year. Aspiring to be a partner at a mega fund would also be equally ironic, instead just say you aspire to want to bruise your knees everyday for money.
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