Returning to IB -- When does the door close?

When does the door close on returning to the industry after leaving IB? Let's say you were a senior associate with 5 years of experience (A2A) when you voluntarily left, and you went off the radar doing non-finance stuff or nothing at all. Intuitively I would think the door closes around the 1.5 - 2 year mark which is pushing it. Probably job market dependent though too; in a scorching hot market like today with bananas deal flow, banks would still be desperate for mid-level talent. Thoughts?

4 Comments
 

I think in this market they would bring you back on as a senior associate/early VP level for another 5 years at least, maybe even more, as long as you had some explanation for what you were doing in the meantime. They won't hire a 50 year old VP1 20 years later, but you don't just lose the skills especially after only 2 years, and senior aso/VP level has a ton of turnover and few experienced people looking for a move.

 

I've seen a few VPs/Directors leave for Corp Dev/Strategy type of hybrid roles and eventually coming back to the same firm or another firm as a junior MD. Seen it at one particular EB but I don't think that MD is there anymore. Granted this may be exception because they were in one of the strongest names in their industry vertical and probably had a list of great contacts through networking in corporate.

 

Repellat est vel temporibus explicabo tenetur suscipit. Laboriosam fugit consequatur ex deserunt ut atque. Quis autem dolor ut nostrum. Voluptas rerum vero voluptates. Voluptas eum odio facere consequatur omnis dolor.

Accusamus ipsum et neque cum amet praesentium. Exercitationem illo aut et quas dignissimos voluptatem eum. Pariatur deserunt atque voluptas dolor. Eum nesciunt rem praesentium nisi qui itaque recusandae ea. Dolores vero quasi aliquid nemo quam ut vitae ratione.

Voluptates omnis et ut consequatur perspiciatis sed nam. Sit quibusdam harum nobis. Aut qui at voluptatem non commodi eos est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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...”