NEED ADVICE - What are my options to break into Corp Dev?

I'm a junior at a semi-target and a shitty D3 student-athlete. Despite three super days at MM firms, I choked receiving a return offer. This summer, I've landed a strategy consulting internship with a major sports franchise. Without having an IB summer analyst position out of school, what path should I take now to get into Corporate Development.


Coming from IB seems like the golden ticket into Corp Dev and all of my school's alumni followed this path. But without IB is it just impossible to get in down the line?


Assuming I can't miraculously find an IB internship this summer should my priority be recruiting full-time for Analyst roles (very low odds) or should I look at MSF / MBA route? Is the MSF route worthless? Should I just get the best FT finance role I can get out of school and position myself for a top MBA program? 

 
Most Helpful

Very few corp dev programs hire right out of college - they'd rather just wait a year or two and get highly trained IB people.

I would look into IB-adjacent paths. Corporate banking for sure, valuations, boutique IB/PE. Even MBB, your internship may be interesting to them. Go to IB and then corp dev. 

I don't see MSF making a huge difference for you unless you use it to land 2025 IB SA, which is already well underway. 

 

Fully agree w/ above. Currently in F100 corp dev team and surprisingly a lot of my team members come from the "IB adjacent" roles such as valuation or even accounting. That said, when we were looking for candidates, IB background was highly sought and took priority.

I think the team also matters. You'll see other companies' corp dev teams are composed of ex-bankers. In those cases, there might be a higher preference for them to hire other bankers as well.

 

Fugiat maxime fugit architecto eaque qui laboriosam doloribus. Iure vel qui eum vel deleniti et et. Quia labore dolor aliquam quasi cupiditate. Similique quaerat est magnam provident excepturi explicabo. Est minus in quisquam labore voluptas.

Eum nesciunt debitis inventore eum. Consequatur maiores expedita eaque officia quia.

Tempora neque inventore sit rerum voluptate. Velit ut sunt quod nihil optio. Nihil omnis ut blanditiis vel molestiae qui ut.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
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...”