19 Comments
 

How different will the deals be? Will they look that different on your resume?

How long is the SA stint for? What are you going to do until it starts in the summer?

 
ballmouseHow different will the deals be? Will they look that different on your resume?

How long is the SA stint for? What are you going to do until it starts in the summer?

maybe I should clarify, the internship would probably start in the fall (tbd), so it's not like there is a big gap in between. Otherwise, it would be a no-brainer. Also, doing the internship would probably allow me to go through the FT hiring cycle in the fall with other banks (just in case the internship does not work out). I'm positive I can get some final-rounds in with my experience, but hearing about all these hiring freezes makes me a bit nervous.

Deals will differ in size and reputation mostly, I guess.

 
deal_mkrso let me get this straight....your plan is to take an internship over a full time offer to position yourself well for full time recruitment?

take the FT offer. you are out of school time to get paid

I want to take an internship at a top 3 place over a full-time position at a top 15 place to either get the full-time position at the top 3 place (which is definitely doable) or get another top 5/10 place (a BB in general) or an elite boutique. I'm not worried about the money since pay will mostly be the same except no sign on bonus at the internship. I just feel like I would learn more at a top 3 place because dealflow is usually better, specifically if we hit a rough patch now, and I feel like the people are more driven/smarter (at least that's the impression I got at my old place).

 

Don't be an idiot take the FT job. No one who actually works in banking gives a shit about Goldman vs. BNP Paribas. Anyone who thinks that crap matters is not to be trusted.

 
NYCbandarDon't be an idiot take the FT job. No one who actually works in banking gives a shit about Goldman vs. BNP Paribas. Anyone who thinks that crap matters is not to be trusted.

I somewhat disagree. A lot of people from my old place told me that it's really difficult to get into another top place unless you come from a top place already. I know I don't want to stay in banking forever, so exit opps do matter to me. I know of quite a few people from my old place who left for top PE firms, the same kind of people who will recruit bankers 3 years down the road. I'm not a prestige whore (I could honestly care less whether a girl is more interested in me because I work at Goldman vs. BNP Paribas), but I do care about my learning experience and my exit opps (job security as well, as my MD once told me that lower-tier places will always be interested in taking top-tier people even if they didn't get an offer there). I don't know whether I necessarily want to join a KKR/Blackstone/Carlyle type place, but at least I want to have that option available and I feel like it's a lot easier to do so from a top 3 place.

In terms of why I didn't get an offer, there was simply no headcount in my team (I got along just fine with everyone and my reviews were good). Unfortunately, our FT offer rate wasn't that high this year, so that I couldn't even really try to get an offer from another team.

 

tbpickens -- I agree with the way you're thinking about it. Take the top internship and focus on doing well in FT recruiting next month. I would recommend a lot of networking both internally and externally. If you can convert your next internship into an immediate FT position at the same bank, that will be a great opportunity for you. If you end up having to accept a FT offer for next summer, no big deal -- enjoy your year off. If you're thinking about bschool at all, that would be a great chance to do something interesting and distinguish yourself from other applicants later on.

 

To anyone who is currently working already: How bad would it be to take the FT and keep interviewing with other places? Assuming I get a better offer (which might not even start until January 2012 or summer 2012), I could always switch afterwards. I know it's not ideal and I would probably burn bridges at my current place, but I'm not too worried about being blocked there afterwards for 5 years or so. My only concern would be what the BBs think when I'm interviewing there after I tell them that I'm already working at another bank, but would have no problem with leaving early. I don't know if this will be interpreted as having zero loyalty or whether they understand that it's not a top tier place and thus motivations are different? Has anyone been in a similar situation before or know of someone who has? Thanks.

 

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