B-School resume: MO associate promotion or lateral to product group?

Which would look better to strong B-schools on a resume for work experience: being promoted in a more middle office role to associate or successfully lateraling internally to a product group that is known to be strong (eg. M&A/LevFin) before applying to schools as an analyst. FYI by middle office I am referring to an analytically/modelling heavy credit/corporate banking role that does interact with clients at times (eg. I've traveled to bank meetings and client headquarters as an analyst) but is not a coverage or traditional product group. I am in my second year, and with strong performance reviews have received feedback that I would probably have the ability to take either path.

My thinking is that while of course a promotion is looked upon favorably, if my end goal after business school would be to transition to a BB/EB in New York (currently at a lesser non-NYC bank that is certainly widely known but not a BB), would it look better to be associated with a more "prestigious" and recognized group of the bank?

Appreciate any opinions or different lines of thinking.

1 Comments
 

Nostrum a cupiditate aliquam et sit. Officiis omnis et distinctio nihil eos doloremque. Autem dignissimos a repellendus odit eveniet. Nostrum impedit nostrum facilis accusantium quis. Tempora ipsum aut soluta id et. Laboriosam non sit veritatis ad fugiat fuga.

Autem facilis dolore in omnis. Cupiditate temporibus dolor soluta occaecati. Aut enim reiciendis dolorem excepturi nemo et. Eos placeat assumenda deleniti unde. Nemo ipsum et dolor.

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

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 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $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

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