What are my odds of lateraling in under a year

I realize I’m in a fortunate situation but want to move to NY for family. At a top mm in SF but trying to lateral to a BB/EB in NYC within 6-9 months. What should my expectations be in this environment? Does anyone see things getting better early next year? Anything helps!

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I’d say it’s more likely you move after 1 year. Unless deal flow picks up meaningfully (which I don’t expect it to, but that’s my view), banks will be less likely to go into a hiring frenzy.

Before the huge IB Analyst lateraling spree in 2021, most people lateraled after a full year and a bonus. A year of experience, and a round of good reviews, gives a bank more reassurance that they aren’t hiring a dud who they’ll need to train like a first year. At 6-9 months in, it’s very unlikely you’ve seen a deal through as the sole analyst, running everything from the model to diligence.

Not impossible, and you should send applications in if/when roles come available, but if I were in your shoes, I would get comfortable with staying for 1 year, working hard to get good reviews, and then hit the market closer to the 1 year mark.

 
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It can definitely be done - this was 5 years ago (so different hiring environment), but I lateralled to a comparably sized bank in a different city after my first ~9-10 months as an analyst. The best thing you can do is keep an open mind and be flexible - don't limit yourself to specific firms, groups, etc. if your top priority is to get to NY. Each firm/group will have been impacted by macro conditions differently and therefore have different hiring needs. Opportunities pop up all the time, especially in the beginning of the calendar year and right after July bonus season.

Also, a lot WSO likes to joke about how bad some of the IB-focused recruiting firms can be, but they can also be legitimately helpful in funneling opportunities to you (even if 75% aren't very interesting). You may want to consider chatting with one of those firms about exactly what you're looking for, and it eases the burden on you to constantly keep track of available NY analyst postings.

 

Pretty hard to do in this market.. even in a great market, 6-9 months is *just* when it starts to become a possibility. Banks are no longer desperately hiring, unless deal flow goes crazy they won't bother backfilling people who leave. Realistically I'd forget about upgrading to BB/EB. Think other MMs or regional boutiques. You may have to "downgrade" to get to NY.

You should still apply and network at BB/EB, but they have hundreds of applicants from NYC BB/EB people, potentially with a full year more experience than you, it's just pretty unlikely to be able to move and upgrade banks that quickly. A year, a year and a half you maybe can start doing that but I still wouldn't turn down MM offers. Once you're in NY you can be choosier with your next role.

 

As others have said, will be very difficult in this market. Most banks would still consider themselves over staffed for amount of activity and traditional channels (summer classes) will fill bulk of junior talent.

Individuals with more experience will be able to fit a specific need that a specific group may have (I.e. need a medical devices VP in our NY team). Tough to be that person with 1 year

Also a move to a similar MM model would be easier

 

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