those of you who didn't get a return offer after S&T SA, where did you go?

Hey Monkeys.

Seeing as this year's S&T SA return rates will probably be abysmally low (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and FT recruiting most probably a total bloodbath everywhere, I'd like to ask: For those of you who didn't get a return offer/didn't want to return to the bank you summered at, where did you go for FT?

After a quick swipe on LinkedIn, the common exits I found were:

  • Downsizing a notch i.e. larger BB SA to smaller BB FT (e.g. GS to BofA etc)
  • Downsizing more than a notch i.e. BB SA to MM/non-BB FT
  • Lateralling i.e. moving BB to BB of comparable sizes (dream scenario tbh given COVID)
  • Private Banking/PWM
  • Prop Trading
  • Buyside (MF/HF)
  • Doing something else?

Anybody got any war stories to share? Is trading up banks for FT possible at all? Either way, I'd imagine one would need heavy networking to re-recruit for an FT spot. It'd be great if somebody could walk through the re-recruiting process for S&T as well.

Cheers and stay safe!

9 Comments
 

why would the conversion rate be abysmally low for S&T? Seems like most groups are doing okay/well

 

Hot DAMN alrighty then, wasn't the response I'd have expected but I'll take it!

Vols have gone up, and so has trading revenues for q1 at least, what does this mean for sales desks headcount wise? How closely tied is it with trading performance as well?

Also have heard that although q1 revenues have gone up, BBs are hesitant to add headcount - how true is this? And how much does it affect SA headcount?

Cheers again :)

 

The more traders make, the more sales commission the sales-people make (usually). Headcount is a tougher question, as it is really just group dependent. I know that's not the answer you want but it's true, it just depends. Generally speaking (very generally) - higher vol --> desk trades more --> desk makes more $ --> desk is happy --> desk more willing to add junior people to do their bitch work.

SA headcount is generally the same. Junior people are really cheap, relative to senior employees, and even when things are going poorly someone has to keep the lights on at the bank and pick up the phones. Don't overthink it. Do what you can to KILL IT this summer, and you'll be in the best position that you can be in.

 

At the end of last summer (2019, BB S&T in an APAC regional office) my boss asked me if I would like to stay on their desk or get recommended to another desk in the HK/SG office (lot more products/desks). I didn't like the product we were trading in our smaller office so I asked to be moved and I got a couple interviews for FT S&T positions in the HK/SG office, but unfortunately ended up with nothing. Stressed out for a couple months as I was scrambling to find something and ended up with a couple prop trading offers which is probably more my strength anyways (math ugrad + MFE). Overall ended up doing better than I thought I would but there's definitely an extra bit of a stress and anxiety as the days and weeks go by without a FT offer in hand.

 

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