Escaping Terrible Corp Dev Role
Hey guys - quick details on my experience and situation below:
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2 years of buyout PE experience
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8 months of IB M&A
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1 year of corp dev and strategy
I spent ~2 years in finance before I was affected by back-to-back layoffs. After losing my banking job, the only role I could find was an associate dev/strategy position at a middle market company.
After about 6 months in the dev role, I realized that M&A was not really part of my responsibilities, which were originally described to me as M&A, strategy, and a small amount of IR support. Instead, I've actually spent about 2/3 to 3/4 of my time working on IR and reporting related work, and probably less than 10% on one acquisition that was killed pre-IOI - the rest of my time is spent on business cases for product initiatives.
Obviously this is terrible experience for someone interested in M&A, so I've been applying constantly and trying to find a new job for about 6 months now. However, I've only received 2 interviews and headhunters aren't taking my calls.
When I was in IB and PE, people were always willing to loop me into processes and get the conversation started. I can't even get a first round interview now. I'm beginning to lose hope and I don't know how to get myself out of this dead end job.
In terms of viable career options, does business school or a top ranked MSF make sense here? Or is it possible to jump from a shitty corp dev role to a stronger, f500 type program without BB IB experience? Ultimately I'd like to find a better corp dev role, but from LinkedIn searches it seems like those roles are filled by people coming straight from the IB pipeline.
Any advice for job searching for someone in my shoes would be appreciated.
Hey OP, sorry to hear about the bait and switch on the Corp Dev role. If it is any consolation, this is probably the biggest issue with Corp Dev roles, the opaqueness of the work the role actually entails. Many folks with a similar background to you have signed up for what is highlighted as a "pure M&A role" or a "M&A-focused opportunity with some Corporate Strategy (read market sizing and assessment) work included", only to end up in what is ultimately an FP&A or IR dominated role. I.E., don't beat yourself up for falling victim into this trap, but next time you diligence a role, talk to a prior employee who held that same role and ask candidly what their experience was like and what their day to day entailed.
On to how to move forward: first and foremost, you are absolutely qualified to work at F500 Corp Dev roles, should that be where you want to focus your time and energy. The upside is your PE experience, IB experience (even if it was brief), and exposure to Corp Dev make you more suited for a "real" Corp Dev role than you might think.
I made a similar transition to the one you are eluding to want to make, from a shop that had no M&A playbook with limited knowledge on how to execute deals to a well structured, sizeable enterprise with a very strong M&A capability. I can try and sum up what worked for me, and how I got there:
1. Patience: truly good Corp Dev roles are hard to find, because the teams are pretty sticky. Usually people stay in Corp Dev for extended periods of time at good shops, and as soon as a new role opens, someone is promoted into it, and if it is at the more junior level, the role may be filled internally. Therefore, you need to be extremely patient.
2. Diligence: As opportunities arise, you need to be asking the right questions to vet the opportunity critically. As previously stated, you should (if possible) reach out to former employees for the inside scoop on what their experience was truly like. Additionally, during interviews, asking questions about day to day responsibilities, % of time allocated to M&A vs. Strategy vs. Ad hoc requests from finance should help you get a sense for how your time is divided, assuming you trust the interviewee to answer candidly.
3. Preparation: The job market is ice cold right now, particularly as it relates to Corp Dev. Therefore, you need to be as prepared as possible. Aside from the obvious (standard interview questions, typical IBD / Corp Dev technicals, coming off polished and confident), try to find your edge. As with all interviews, this could be strong interviewee connections, above and beyond technical knowledge, or industry expertise that helps you stand out. Do they have a venture arm? Have you ever looked at VC investing? What advantage does your PE background bring to Corp Dev? I would wager you know 10x more about sponsor return thresholds, bid strategies, and certain risk appetites than I do. Use that to your advantage. Lastly, I dont know what your PE / IBD experience entailed, but knowing how take private models work, how to calculate things like FDSO, and how to build LBOs may play a part in how you stand out.
Look, the market sucks right now, but your experience seems pretty solid, so network and prepare as best you can, and I have no doubt you will find yourself in a materially strong Corp Dev role within the next year.
Hey man - thank you for the thoughtful response. It's helpful to know that you were able to navigate your way out of a similar situation.
Completely agree that calling a former employee would have allowed me to avoid this role. Unfortunately, the group was relatively new, so the only ex employee was the former group head, who likely would have been challenging to reach over LinkedIn.
Definitely think I can spin some things in the current role, but it hasn't been easy. By far the most frustrating thing is feeling like my skillset is atrophying as a result of doing completely unrelated work for 90% of my waking hours. Like yes, I am getting paid and I have a "corporate development" title, but I'm not getting any modeling or diligence reps, and I know that's the type of experience that matters to my interviewers. It's also tough feeling like I need to put on a smile when I'm giving status updates to the team on complete bull shit work, all the while knowing that everything I'm saying is completely outside of my job description. Overall, it has been an incredibly demoralizing, exhausting experience, and I hope people on this forum can avoid this type of a role by reading these cautionary stories.
One follow-up question for you based on your response: any suggestions for getting a first round interview for these desirable roles? I've been watching LinkedIn like a hawk, and a few interesting roles have popped up with strong tech companies. My approach has been to apply and then immediately message someone on the team (manager, director, etc.) asking for a quick intro call, but haven't had much luck with that approach so far.
With that in mind, how did you end up getting your foot in the door for the new job? Did you utilize headhunters at all or was it personal network / cold outreach / something else that helped you find and secure the opportunity?
Very understandable on the no former employees you could realistically contact, I fell victim to the same problem, which is how we ended up in a very similar place :)
I'm really sorry to hear about how brutal your role is, that was meaningfully worse than mine as I was at least still focused almost exclusively on M&A / inorganic growth strategies.
Regarding how to get the first rounds, I would say keep networking and reaching out to various Corp Dev teams with open roles, or even those without. Some Corp Dev teams don't have anyone below the Manager / Director level, and reaching out to them may be worthwhile. I was able to transition when the job market was more fruitful, and a recruiter actually reached out. With that said, I have worked pretty hard to build a Corp dev network before I landed the offer, so I would also just recommend reaching out to any company large enough to have a Corp Dev team that operates within your vertical. Headhunters can be of help but hiring is largely either done by internal teams or the C-tier recruiting agencies (i.e., Selby Jennings). It is probably worth reaching out to a few of the folks at Selby Jennings / Pinpoint to see if they have anything that fits your description. Most importantly, try and do your best to remain patient and optimistic. It will almost undoubtedly take time to find a good team with an opening where you are also a good fit, so managing your own expectations will be critical. If you need out, like today today, you may need to cast a much wider net before finding that perfect Corp Dev role. There just simply arent that many openings right now, and any publicly posted opportunity is going to get >30 qualified candidates, or so I would assume.
The hardest part is getting a lead or an interview process kicked off for Corp Dev. The other hurdle will be explaining why your current role isnt the right fit without completely bashing the opportunity. Luckily, given your time in IB and PE, you should be able to say that despite what the original JD stated, the role didnt focus enough on M&A and was much more project management / FP&A / whatever.
Lastly, I dont know if you're open to it, but if you really want out, consider Corp Strategy. We just hired an ex-IB/PE guy on our strategy team so despite the notion that those roles are typically filled by ex-consultants, bankers and PE guys can bring a very strong skillset that is actually usually not as common within Corp Strategy. For context, our new hire has already been labeled a high performer, and did far better than our last hire, who came from a top consulting firm.
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