1-2 yr hiatus from IB, can I get back in?
Hi guys I’m curious to hear if you’ve seen or heard of people leaving IB for 1-2 years after spending 2-3 years as an analyst out of school and being able to come back. Last year when covid hit I collected my bonus and quit to regain footing with myself health and habit wise. Spent the last year working out, building up stale friendships, traveling in the states where I could, a couple months working on a niche dropshipping biz that’s now netting an extra $1k a month, etc. I picked up a few odd consulting gigs on the side too helping small bizzes in my home state organize their books and data for their lenders for cheap.
I’m ready to jump back into IB for at least a few more years before maybe finally settling into a corporate banking or more chill role once my wife finishes her med program and we decide where to move to stay.
I’ll of course get the best feel for the job market once I throw my resume out into the water but curious if anyone has stories of friends or colleagues making it back after 1-2 year hiatuses. Would also be cool to instead skip a rock back into MM PE but that seems unlikely given the gap.
I know a kid who had a year long gap after getting canned at MM PE firm. He made it back to UMM PE. His year long gap was involuntary and the only way he made it back was by creating tons off fully fleshed out LBO models with accompanying pitches and decks. Seems like you have a decent story to tell and could easily spin those "consulting" opportunities into a job. Just say you were a freelance consultant the whole time and list the projects. You really just need to get past the HR screen and the real bankers will understand and be interested by your story. Also, how did you leave things with your firm? Any chance of going back?
I was highly ranked during my time there and left things on a positive note. Only "odd" thing in my leaving was staffer and group head giving me a cocked eye given that I was leaving just as the lockdown was beginning so they thought it was crazy I would enter such a time jobless but no one was upset or thought I was treacherous for leaving when and how I did. Old group has lost a ton of bodies since I left also due to WFH working conditions so they're definitely on my list to reach out to soon but not dead set on going back to the same place given a meaningful portion of my friends there have since moved on.
Think you will be extremely competitive coming in as a second or third year analyst. The lateral market is extremely constrained right now and this might be an easier play than normal. Just start applying and networking.
That said, taking a year off you will get plenty of questions as to why you quit and why you want back into IB and you need to have a solid story for both of those. The big concern is that you'll quit again. If you can spin the dropshipping thing to sound like a legitimate startup you were putting time into, even better.
Thank you. I was thinking along the same lines of the lateral market being hotter than usual. My hope is to end up as a third year analyst at a bank the same size as my last (BB) or even try to swing for an associate chair at a MM or well-performing boutique if the money and team is right.
And yeah haha shouldn't be too difficult to spin the dropshipping side gig into the main focus. I started sparingly working on that only a month after I left so it's been riding along beside me during my entire time off.
Appreciate you commenting.
100%. Banks need bodies right now.
Someone who has experience and was ranked well should do just fine.
Thanks, appreciate you posting. Definitely hoping to play to that desperation.
No problem. Happens more often than you think. Just come up with a better story e.g. taking care of a dying grandparent who raised you since you were little etc. Don't say anything about your own health problems.
That's so shitty bro
I'm all for justifying means to an end but hope my story of working on my own biz idea while doing consulting on the side for SMBs are enough on their own without having to lie about caring for a sick family member. I definitely am not planning to mention anything about personal/health reasons for why I quit since that signals poor stamina.
Of course. You could take another two years off, and you'd still be better at anything IB-related than your counterpart who is just now finishing his/her MBA.
Interesting... Kind of toying with whether I should begin looking sooner than later or if I can continue coasting how I have been until 2022 or at least after the summer. Would be nice to enjoy this more full summer with things reopening/vaccines coming out before going back to the grindstone.
Also nice to see you back on the forum bro. Haven't seen you post in a while. Hope you're doing well.
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