S&T to IB - Advice Needed

I made this switch back in my banking days - definitely do-able, and this was pre-covid when the deal flow environment was more like it was now vs the insanity that was 2021. I came to the realization while in S&T that I wanted to do PE, so IB was more of a stepping stone for me, but that said, it's the best decision I've ever made. It was scary at times (part of me didn't really believe I could pull it off) and definitely a slog to pull off, but having made it into a great PE seat, couldn't be happier. The thing to understand about the difficulty of making this switch is despite being at a top BB in a front-office role, you have no modeling/ppt skills to speak of, so for the most part, any decent bank will take a guy from a no-name boutique who has done a year or two in the trenches formatting pitch decks / modeling over you. It sucks, and I wish someone told me that before I took an S&T job out of undergrad, but it's important to understand that's the uphill battle you face. What this all means is 1) you need to pound the pavement and cast as wide a net as possible, and 2) you need to know your technicals and modeling stuff cold - since we didn't learn this on the job, you'll have to teach yourself on your own time. This took me a few months of 2-3 hours every night after work, but maybe you're smarter than I am and can ramp faster. Here's the rough playbook I used:

1. Drilling the BIWS 400 questions, technicals, walk me thru a DCF/$10 of depreciation etc. this is table stakes and you have to know it cold. I found flashcards were helpful here, speed of recall and the ability to speak fluidly about this stuff is key given they'll know you're self taught.

2. Buy a modeling course. It's a few hundred bucks but probably the highest ROI investment I've ever made. WSO course is great - they have a bunch of basics courses on 3 statement modeling, DCFs, LBOs etc. I'd start with 3 statement and work up to the LBO - goal is to build a fairly simple LBO from scratch.

3. Networking - I did this in parallel to items 1 and 2 above but it may also make sense to wait until you feel comfortable enough with 1 and 2. I started more on an informal basis, use linkedin search to find other guys who have made similar moves if you can. Reach out to them, ask them how they did it, what worked for them, how'd they tell their story etc. Use what worked for them and incorporate it into you own story. Once you feel good on 1 and 2 to the point where you think you can hold your own in a formal interview process, start reaching out to anyone and everyone who has a job posting online. Citi Consumer has a posting? Find their MDs/Ds on linkedin, google the email convention of their firm and email them. Don't bother with VP and below, they won't respond and don't have the pull to get you in the door anyways. The more senior the better, they'll respect the hustle and most guys are too scared to cold email them - I landed my BB IB gig by emailing the head of the group I was applying for. Quick and to the point - explain who you are, why you're emailing them, and why you think you'd be a strong addition to their team. Don't shy away from acknowledging that you're self taught. I had a line in all my emails along the lines of "While my group does not model, I have spent the last several months in my spare time studying 3-statement, DCF, and LBO modeling and believe I could be effective from day 1 on the desk". 

Final words I'll say is that it's no secret that this is a very tough environment to pull this off in, but if you stay persistent and don't quit, you can do it. I applied to hundreds of jobs over months, got dozens of interviews, flopped in many, it only takes 1. Set yourself some goals to get achieve each week and keep at it - drill your flashcards every night before bed, aim to get 3 networking calls a week, apply to everything under the sun and talk to everyone who will get on the phone with you.

Last point on the hours - people in banking love to exaggerate their hours. You may be working 80-100 hour weeks in banking, but what nobody admits is that from 9am to 3pm you're scrolling ESPN waiting for comments. It's much slower burn pressure-wise, personally I liked it much more than S&T, and it helped for me mentally that I viewed IB as a bootcamp to get the skills I wanted for PE.

That's all I got - good luck and keep at it. If it's what you really want to do, throw yourself into it and don't give up.

Edit: I re-read your post and realized I didn't mention internal opportunities. Good work starting on networking for those already - again, find people in your firm that have made the same switch if you can and ask them how they did it. Most importantly - be ready to crush your interview at the drop of a hat. Don't network with everyone and then start practicing - you never know if a group might have an immediate opening. I missed some good opportunities at first because I got interviews before I knew my technicals cold. Also, keep things on the DL in your own group. Some banks are great at internal mobility - others are not. Do your best to not tell your group you want to leave until you are fully prepared to interview and accept a role on the IB side, and recognize that they might fire you, so be prepared and have things in process externally as well. Good luck!