Why Won’t Some People Tell Where They’re Going when Changing Jobs?

Just had an analyst quit and he was being very cagey about his next opportunity.  That’s his right of course and I didn’t press too hard but I guess I’m just curious what the reasoning is?  What are people afraid of if they’ve already signed the contract?  

12 Comments
 

He's protecting himself. Don't take it personally. There are vindictive people in the world. Less likely that a firm/PM would try to sabotage a junior analyst, but it happens quite frequently at senior levels. 

My prior firm would bad mouth all departing PM / spinouts to its LPs. Attribute negative performance to the departing PM and spin narrative so that it seems like the firm took corrective action, or deemphasize their contributions entirely to make it seem like they were a back office support staff that assumed no risk. 

Also if your notice period is, idk, ~6months, a lot can happen during garden so its better to keep to yourself.

 

One of my old jobs was a lot like this. These days there is no reason to tell anyone except close friends or update linkedin unless a noncompete contract requires it. Both the existing firm and new firm can create trouble for you.

 

Whenever I poach an analyst, I recommend that they avoid sharing the destination with their current employer as long as possible. 

We've found the "vindictive PM" archetype will typically reach out to all of their contacts at our firm in an attempt to figure out what their former analyst will be doing. In addition to being highly disruptive, this usually leads to our employees (often accidentally) leaking confidential information that they should not. As a general rule of thumb, the less your competition knows the better, and your former analyst's incentives are now aligned with the new opportunity, not the old one. 

Usually this kind of PM stops caring a few months after resignation anyways, and moves on, so even a little bit of cool off time is plenty to prevent this from happening. 

 

Ullam voluptatum tempore voluptatem ex eaque earum minus ut. Ut sed quae voluptas blanditiis est veniam. Illo quia omnis sunt suscipit perspiciatis voluptas.

Qui assumenda dolorem culpa iure fugiat laudantium. Architecto ipsum voluptatem iusto.

Est totam aliquid non sint sint aut possimus et. At natus odit ut quas quae est omnis. Rerum doloribus dicta sint magni beatae nesciunt voluptatem. Eius quisquam molestias blanditiis laudantium et sed sed. Dolorem ut quis debitis laudantium quo. Adipisci culpa alias vel ex.

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 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 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 (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”