I'm a long time user of WSO, and as the title says, I've had a pretty convoluted career path so far. I started off in S&T out of undergrad, and was on a prop desk that was getting decimated (historically it was one of the most profitable groups at the BB). I was desperate to make the switch to an IBD coverage role but did not have much luck so had to start of as a 1st year analyst in a capital markets team. I knew i wanted to work in PE so I eventually made the switch to a coverage team as a 3rd year analyst and went through the off-cycle PE recruiting process, which eventually led to a MF offer which I ended up taking. WSO was a tremendous help throughout this process, especially the PE interview guide and the WSO video library, and I thought I'd pay back the community with a Q&A.
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Thanks for the AMA!
Did interviewers question you as to why you wanted to switch/ how often you switched into an entirely different field? After working your third job in four years, I was just wondering how you were able to explain the reason for switching each time you moved groups without sounding like the group you were joining was just a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal.
I got that question mostly during the PE recruiting process, and the first switch from S&T --> IBD / Cap Markets was pretty easy to explain. It's such a common switch these days given shrinking size of trading desks, niche skillset etc. I did make sure to say that PE wasn't necessarily a stepping stone and I'm interested in doing it longer term, and that's something the senior interviewers wanted to hear. While doing internal switches in my BB, it was almost expected that every analyst is using the gig as a stepping stone so was not really an issue.
What was the off-cycle process/preparation for the process like?
How were the PE opportunities that were off cycle? Were they mostly small lower middle market PE firms? Or were there relatively well-known / sizeable funds? Why did that MF PE recruit off cycle?
I'd say about 70% of the opportunities that I was presented (some headhunters probably did not show me their best clients given my atypical background) were MM opportunities (both lower and upper MM), and 30% were megafunds. A lot of the megafunds were hiring because they either under-hired on-cycle, or some of their associates left early (seems to be a recurring theme at some megafunds). My particular MF had an opening because some of the 3rd years decided to stay on as principal and there was a shortage of associates.
The off-cycle process moves quite slowly and funds take their time with the interview process. This is good because there isn't a frenzy in Feb like how there is in the on-cycle process and you have more time to prepare / spread out your interviews.
Ah interesting. I've seen a couple of emails recently about MFs recruiting off cycle and wasn't sure if they were legitimate, but looks like it worked out for you. Congrats on the gig.
Thanks for the AMA. I was wondering if you did find out about why the associates actually left early.
Thanks for doing this. How long did it take you going from S&T to M&A? In other words, how long did you spend in S&T, how long in ECM/DCM, and how long in M&A? Thanks.
1 year in S&T, close to 2 years in capital markets, and about a year in M&A.
what were the strategies your prop group used?
Do you find the work you are doing more interesting/engaging than what you were doing in M&A?
Thanks for the AMA!
Thanks for the AMA! Although you mentioned that you stayed in S&T for a year, do you believe that it is easier/more difficult to make the jump to capital markets investment banking role from a S&T summer analyst role to an Capital Markets full-time analyst role given your experience?
I don't have too much color on how mobility works for summer analysts unfortunately. I think it varies by bank and is more a function of networking.
Also interested in going to IB from S&T. What advice do you have w.r.t. internal networking in the bank, particularly in a summer role?
edit: just saw that the person above me asked this question. For a follow-up do you think it would be better for an S&T analyst to take an offer at a boutique IB or FT in S&T, if their long-term goal is IB at a bulge bracket?
Long-term goal being IB makes it an easy question to answer - just start off in IBD at a boutique and lateral later. BBs hire laterally almost all the time.
Would like to add a follow-up question on top of what mindcraft posted.
From my understanding, S&T is a lot more fast paced than IB. Would you say that your success in IB and PE recruiting is due to your flexibility in adapting to a slower pace environment or do you just prefer it more than S&T?
Could you please explain a bit further about your move from S&T to ECM/DCM? How did that happen and how you prepared for it? Thanks
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