Can you guys hype up Citi for me

Accepted an offer there, but am not feeling as overjoyed as I thought I would after sinking countless hours into recruiting and getting many rejections. Can you guys gas up Citi so I can feel better (no don't bring up Revlon, we all make mistakes sometimes)

58 Comments
 

On a serious note, the culture and pay are absolute bottom, but as analyst you'll get very good deal experience and have the chance to compete for UMM PE.

Don't think too much OP.

 

Hey OP, I was in a similar mood after accepting my offer, low EB (Gugg/Ghl) for RX, but now I am over it and hopefully, I can help. 

Let's break down what you could be worried about:

  • pay: do you think that 20k more as an analyst is gonna change your life? not really, the difference is going to come up when you are later in your career, if you will be good no need to worry about pay
  • exits: even if you are shouting for MF PE, you have a good shot, you a good BB, and people have exited to MF in the past, focus on getting better and there is no need to worry
  • deal experience: Citi has worked on huge deals (Fox) and it killing the SPAC space, focus on getting the group you like and I am sure you will have an amazing analyst experience 
  • prestige: do I think that landing PJT/HL/EVR rx would have made me a better person for the additional prestige? who I am trying to impress? if people are with me because of my offer they are probably not worth my time anyway 

Trust me, the reason for you not being happy is not that you are going to Citi, actually, that should be a reason for you to be happy. Get off this website, go hit the gym, meet people, work on becoming better and I am sure you can have as much success as you want. 

 

You won. You beat out thousands, if not tens of thousands, of other wide eyed, hungry undergrads.  That in itself should make you happy.  Don't think of the bank, think of all the dead bodies you had to climb over to reach the top of the latter. Congrats!

 

You’re good, but it’s important to realize we’re both gonna be better off than 99% of people our age after we graduate. On top of that I don’t think the name of your employer is ever going to be truly fulfilling unless you’re a complete hardo, there’s always gonna be someone out there doing bigger and better things than you no matter how far you go, just try not to worry about it

 

Congratulations, man. Citi is an awesome place to be and understand first hand after countless hours of networking / recruiting how difficult it is to break in. 

For background, they are typically viewed as a mid-tier BB on this forum, alongside BofA / Barclays. League tables speak for itself, they consistently rank among the top banks in M&A, specific coverage verticals, etc. 

Best of luck with group placement, it's an incredible platform to start off and put your career in the right direction. 

 

I’m glad you’re keeping it positive, but don’t worry about what goes on on this forum. 98% of people here have no idea wtf they are talking about, example: I work IBD at a bank that is discussed here often and the “top groups” people list on this website are so, so, so wrong. The group I’m in is the 2nd highest grossing group over last 2 years and isn’t discussed whereas one of our groups that is below median revenue is masturbated to.

Moral of the story: take everything you read here with a mountain of salt. 

 

Best thing would be to develop a sense of eternal optimism no matter where you end up, but for now I’ll give you the sales pitch.

1. The most global bank. If you do well and are interested in working internationally, Citi gives you that opportunity

2. Top 3 U.S. balance sheet bank (along with JPM and BofA)

3. Consistently top tier in IG DCM, IG Loans, and ECM

4. The #1 SPAC Investment Bank

5. Very diverse and multicultural place, partly because of #1

To balance out the post, here’s a few things Citi is not great at:

1. Years of outdated processes and poor merger integration caused failed risk management bringing regulatory scrutiny and insanely redundant and convoluted internal systems 

2. M&A (not well positioned for middle market and large cap is an insanely competitive space; why work for a regulated bank when you can advise on M&A transactions without needing a balance sheet or the headache of oversight)

3. Leveraged Finance/Sponsored Transactions (Company isn’t that well positioned to serve the middle market space where a lot of these transaction take place)

At the end of the day, you’re making vastly more money than almost everyone you went to college with. Learn to poke fun at yourself and the place you work (embrace Shitti bank) and you’ll have an ok time. 

 

You have a job and you get a salary. The fuck else you need to listen, boy

 

I work at Citi and think it's a fantastic place to start your career. Unfortunately, this forum is full of insecure low 20-somethings who benchmark their success and happiness on salary and "prestige". Anyone who has spent any reasonable amount of time working will tell you that real rankings differ across product, group, focus, etc. And perhaps more importantly these rankings don't matter as much as your ability and willingness to stretch your limits and expand your network. In 5 years, those latter qualities are what will dictate the outcome of your career far more than the bank you start out at. 

That said, Citi is a very reputable bank and you shouldn't let anyone on WSO tell you otherwise. 

  • Internal mobility is relatively strong at Citi and I am a testament to that fact. I started out in Back Office and managed to make the transition to Sales and Trading (structuring role). I'm certainly proud that I was able to transition, but I can't say for certain I'd be where I am without the dedicated pipeline for young talent to internally transfer (not only to S&T - I have a buddy who went from my Back Office program to IB, too). The point is Citi really does reward its performers, whether its in compensation or increased opportunities, or both. 
  • Having worked for a couple years, I've gotten the sense that Citi is more in tune with its workers than other banks are and is more willing to compromise on WLB. This is especially evident in Citi's stance on the return to office, allowing optionality in people's returns, etc. Of course everyone's experience is different, and I'm sure some 1st year analyst will reply to this comment declaring it objectively wrong based on their own anecdotal experience, but this has been my subjective experience. 
  • Social justice is a pretty strong theme at Citi. While I wouldn't describe myself as a SJW by any means, and while I do think it can get excessive at times, I do think Citi does a good job of cultivating an inclusive culture and fostering opportunities for minorities. I think it strikes a good balance between being a meritocracy and casting a light on its underrepresented population.  
  • Mental health is a really big thing at Citi. As with anything, there is a time and place - I wouldn't suggest you send out an e-mail blast saying that your anxiety is preventing you from being able to work today, but there are resources and options available to you if that's a concern.
  • On the product / business front, I already mentioned this, but Citi is very strong across the board (obviously stronger and weaker in some areas). If you do well here, you can do well anywhere and assuming reasonable transferability of skills there are plenty of exit opportunities. 
  • The pay here is pretty competitive, not really sure why others are saying otherwise. 

Of course, as with any bank, there are downsides to Citi. 

  • If you're not big into the social justice scene, you'll quickly get annoyed working at Citi. It's a consistent theme. My mentality has been to more or less embrace it (it's certainly not going anywhere not just at Citi, but across society) - if this is difficult for you, you'll be going against the grain.
  • As mentioned elsewhere, Citi's internal systems are awful. Honestly, the whole process of being onboarded is consistently a pain in the ass. Citi uses a lot of legacy systems, and it often feels like HR is just as lost as we are when it comes to getting important tasks done. This may seem like a non-issue on the surface but it can reflect poorly on you when things should be done by a certain time, but they're not, even though their not being done is no fault of your own. 
  • As much as WLB is a thing stressed at Citi, a lot of groups won't hesitate to work you to the bone. This may frustrate people who are disillusioned by Citi's stance vs. the day-to-day. Still, I feel that the culture does have something of a trickle down effect and a lot of my friends in IB / S&T / Corporate Banking / etc. have noticed that things have become more reasonable with time. 

All in, you're starting in a career that pays you in the 95th+ percentile of earners in your age group, at a massive institution with international brand recognition, and with plenty of opportunities that could come out of this. Trust me when I say that for every one of your analyst class, there are hundreds if not thousands of people your / our age who would happily trade places.

 

A person complaining about receiving an offer that puts them on a path to make around 200k straight out of college did not deserve this detailed of a response.

 

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