Advice ASAP: Boutique Offer, waiting on BB

Yesterday (Friday), I received an offer from a boutique investment bank that leads in its space. Meanwhile, I've been interviewing with a bulge bracket. Both are associate positions. I finished final rounds with the bulge bracket a week and a half ago. Early this week, they contacted my references. Three business days have passed since the reference check, and I haven't heard anything since. I tried e-mailing the banker running the process on Friday morning, but have received no response.

Any idea how to read the BB's position on me? When they did the reference check, I thought that meant they were on the cusp of an offer. Now I wonder if I was just short-listed. Or maybe the wait and silence following the reference check are normal for such a large organization before an offer?

Any advice would be great--thanks.

11 Comments
 

Really not that complicated. How long do you have before you have to respond to the boutique? If the BB is your first choice, just call HR at the BB and say "you guys are my first choice but I have an exploding offer that im going to take if i dont hear from you before X time. Am I in or out?" Don't be a dick but make the situation known.

 
elephantastic

Thanks--I know the play I should make, vis-a-vis leveraging the boutique offer.

I guess I'm more interested in what can be interpreted from the BB's silence following the reference check. I am reasonably confident the check went well. Is the silence and delay typical for a BB prior to an offer, or does it suggest I'm not their top choice?

Nothing can be interpreted. BBs are enormous corporations and HR might just have to go through a bunch of goofy corporate processes before sending out the offers.

 
elephantastic

Assuming that an offer is in the works and there is just HR bureaucracy to clear, would it make sense for the business-side contact running the process to go silent and not respond to a request for updates?

It's not a great fact pattern but it doesn't mean anything for sure. Most likely they just don't give a shit about you and are tired of getting your e-mails.

 

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