Please help! Renegging on an offer and boss threatening to cancel me
I ended up continuing to recruit after accepting since they gave me an insanely quick deadline and got an offer back that's 2.5x what firm A offered. Firm A found out I was still applying to things because one of the companies I had applied to reached out to the head of trading (trading is such a small industry I've realized now) and he had no idea I was still applying. Firm A now wants an opportunity to match or beat firm B but kept saying how unprofessional I was, how questionable my ethics are, but how he wants to be my friend and we all make mistakes.
The team is incredibly smart, full of ambitious and brilliant people, and I loved everyone at Firm A, it's only business and if they didn't want me searching around when I knew that other firms were offering significantly more then they shouldn't have offered below market price for talent right? He's saying things like "Yeah if anyone else was in my seat I'd immediately reach out to all my friends and tell them not to hire you - our industry is a small one and I could end your career before it even starts", and hearing things like that just makes me not want to work here at all even if they could match comp. What do I do here? If he handed it differently then I would definitely still consider firm B but just hearing how he floats the idea of ruining some random new graduates career over something that's just a business decision that makes sense really jarred me. I'm just an incoming analyst and there are already hundreds who have applied to their summer analyst program why do they want me so bad. Please help.
You're reading the situation correctly - super, super manipulative/unprofessional behavior.
Should not go anywhere near this firm with a 10 foot pole. Just imagine what the next two years could look like working under him if he's willing to pull this shit on Day 1, when he's supposed to be on his best behavior.
Why don’t you just accept firm B’s offer and resign?
Yeah that's what I did, I accepted firm B and I want to cut ties with firm A but they're threatening to ruin my career before it even starts and they want an opportunity to match firm B. I don't want to work there after hearing the threats and know that my career is going to be heavily subdued if I work there - especially if they match the comp from firm B because I know no other Junior Talent will have an offer even close to that. He kept saying things like he's my friend and he's going to fight to get firm A to match but dude would a friend really question your ethics and professionalism multiple times before adding in the fact he had the opportunity to ruin my career? The guy is brilliant and the desk is talented - he was a great person to work for in the Summer but hearing all of this makes me scared to work on that desk. I only want the best for myself and he has to understand it isn't personal.
Ok here is what you do.
I think the key points are to make your new team aware of the threats firm A has been making so they are aware in the event firm A trashes you and also to let firm A know your new offer is way above what they can pay you.
If for some crazy reason firm A matches over a 100k difference, let us know.
.
This is all way too much…
Just thank firm A for their time and let them know you’re going in a different direction then ghost them. You don’t owe them anything.
Yeah don't overthink it man. I know it's a stressful situation, but they are all empty threats. Once you go with Firm B, the director frankly has better things to do than reach out to his entire network just to talk trash about a 22 year old haha
OP, unless Firm A Boss is Kenneth Griffin, there are very few people with enough power to "blackball" you from wall street.
People really overestimate these things.
I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard someone say to the effect of "he will never work on the street again" only for them to get a job at a competing firm.
I have heard several senior bankers threaten to "make sure" a junior banker never works in a certain vertical again.
IT NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENS!
Hell, I cannot even remember the name of someone who quits the firm 2 weeks later - let alone remember them enough to call my network and blackball them. And very very very few people have enough influence to convince an entire career industry to not hire someone.
I would:
1. Accept firm B offer
2. Email firm A and say "Thank you for the opportunity, but for personal reasons this offer will no longer work. I appreciated the process getting to know everyone. Best of luck in the future."
Do not engage with this pathetic firm at all afterwards. Do not answer their calls or emails.
3. Enjoy your 2.5x higher pay
OP, you need to do the right thing for the sake of our industry:
Accept both offers and only show up at Firm B on day 1.
When HR at firm A asks where you are, tell the entire story to get the MD fired.
You got this.