Hey all,
Looking to apply to William Blair for their full time IB analyst program, but I am not sure which offices to apply to? I was thinking San Francisco and Chicago because I have heard they have good groups, especially in Healthcare/Tech. Are there any other offices I should look into?
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are they still hiring?
Bump
Yes for laterals. For next year's Analyst 1 class I believe there is some space left.
Do you know when they're conducting FT recruiting for CHI for next year analyst class? I don't know if I just got cut or it already happened. Had MD referral but have heard nothing
Did anyone hear back for FT in their CHI office? Not sure if their process kicked off or I got cut. Or they decided they didn't need anybody
They also run HC/Tech out of Boston. Atlanta is mostly FinTech. Charlotte is a bit consumer, tech, and aerospace/defense. NY will only take laterals into HC/Tech coverage groups, or their smaller Corp Advisory (pubco advisory) team. Would prioritize Chicago/Boston/Atlanta over SF tbh.
Why avoid SF?
Blair SF has the most open spots for FT recruiting out of all the offices (and is arguably the strongest office given the tech group is Blair's strongest group and while the group is spread out over several offices with cross-staffing, SF is arguably Blair tech's de-facto hub). They just started first rounds this week though, so if you want to get involved there, network in ASAP (Source: SF tech banker and roommate is at Blair SF).
Any suggestions on how to get in contact with them? Haven’t had any luck via LinkedIn
WB strongest tech offices are Chicago, Boston, Atlanta. SF is suffering from the same long- and short-term ailments many banks with SF offices are experiencing -- poor retention. SF is not their Tech hub, that is CHI.
This is just false. Tech heads sit in SF and Boston and MDs are spread evenly throughout offices - some of the top producing MDs are in Atl, Charlotte, etc and it’s not like most things are running through Chicago. The most juniors are in Chicago but that doesn’t mean anything, would honestly say any tech office is equal (doesn’t even really matter for staffing)
bump also interested in FT as AN1 - only got email saying NY is PCA but no communication after that. Was wondering if they’re done or still reviewing
Chicago, Boston, and New York are William Blair’s strongest offices from a tech perspective. This isn’t up for debate.
This is also false - agree on SF and Boston but NY? Don’t think a single tech MD even sits in NY, just a handful of juniors and no one else
Most of the San Fran office has relocated elsewhere as a result of COVID. There is critical mass from a junior standpoint in NYC, and many of those junior bankers are some of the group's strongest. Throw all of the monkey shit.
Chiraq
Isn’t Blair’s tech cross-staffing? They work on the same deal anyways. Pick whichever location you like the best. chiraq, sf, atl, bos, nyc?, I think those are all solid
Worked on the tech team.
For tech:
SF has 1 of the two group heads, the other is in Boston. On a headcount basis, the most MD’s were located in SF at one point. However, that’s shifted in the remote world a little where it now is less significant. Some decent numbers for the tech group stand-alone, that likely is low now, but was decently close when I counted a year or so ago:
CHI: 25 analysts, 15 associates, 8 VP’s, 3 directors, 4 MD
Boston & NY: 9 analysts, 9 associates, 3 VPs, 3 MDs
SF: 15 analysts, 5 associates, 4 VP’s, 3 directors, 6 MD’s
Atlanta: 4 analysts, 4 associates, 2 directors, 3 MD’s
Now as others mentioned, Blair cross staffs across offices. So it isn’t uncommon for a deal to have 1 analyst from Boston, an associate from chi, an md from SF, VP from Boston. That said, generally they try to keep you on transactions in your relative geography so your sleep isn’t completely screwed. My take, choose the following:
1) CHI (head quarters, largest headcount, most amount of middle managers and analysts with a close second in MDs)
2) Boston (very close to many growth/ PE firms you will be a layup to exit to)
3) SF (not stellar culture, bad retention. Being close to MD’s also doesn’t really matter.)
4) Atlanta (harsh office and fintech focused. If you want to be a fintech guy though, this place would be really good)
Could you expand on what you mean by 'not stellar culture'? I am familiar with people's comments regarding retention and wfh prevalence. However, they all seemed to like if not enjoy the experience to the extent banking allows for and exited because of other reasons. Some context given timing or changes post COVID might be helpful.
Sorry for the late reply, hopefully it's not too much of an inconvenience
Numerous early departures and people not staying on is a bad sign. It was known while I was working there that the office had worse managers and more sharp elbowed analysts. I think there’s self election that occurs where those that choose SF as a city are just less agreeable and the managers are bitter because many of their friends/ neighbors are startup founders or tech individuals who have better quality of life and potentially are paid more. It’s hard to really articulate what bad culture is, but it looks like analysts not being happy and feeling pitted against each other, FaceTime culture, managers who are unempathetic etc.
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