How to quit to join another bank

I am about to quit my m&a IB analyst role at the end of October. Now, this will be a very delicate process and I hope ya'll can offer some advice?

I started in early July and was in training until early August. I plan to leave my current bank which is small and has low deal flow to join a bigger bank with a much better reputation from an investment banking perspective. The lateral move is also going to allow me to switch from being a generalist in m&a and transition into a TMT coverage role. 

I understand that this will fuck up my team big time as I am one of the only new analysts. When I leave, I would have only been on the desk for about 2-3 months.

  • Do I have to give a 2 week notice? Is giving notice a thing if you're joining a competitor? Will they make me work notice?
  • How do I tell my manager? I am guessing they will be furious so what is the best way to handle this?

Banking is a small world so I am slightly afraid of burning bridges and would like to avoid intense awkwardness too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

1 Comments
 

Minima qui et consequatur nulla consequatur est modi. Illum incidunt repudiandae enim distinctio. Aut laboriosam provident aut non et eius ipsam. Dolores sed temporibus quis magni dolores eligendi doloremque. Impedit ipsa pariatur quod fugiat aperiam ad soluta enim. Corrupti modi mollitia sed.

Ex perspiciatis consequuntur eum. Id quae omnis sequi hic. Et ut cupiditate vero similique. Enim fuga aliquid voluptas animi quasi ducimus.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”