Currently a senior analyst at a BB - accepted my MF/UMM offer but regret it - what do I do now?

As title says, currently a female at a top coverage group in NY/SF/LA . My experience with recruit this year is that it was extremely slow last year from summer to October. Almost nothing coming in. And then a few early birds around November - January where I luckily got into most of the processes I was interested in. I was in 3-4 simultaneously and ultimately progressed to get the offer at 2. The offer I accepted is to work at a large, premier energy/hard assets firm.  

Since then, I've gotten some incredible inbounds that I've had to turn down (and not just big blast ones either, pretty targeted and HH's have went out of their way to get on the phone and get me in) - numerous top shops & groups. I'd like to think I would've had a good shot at them given a unique backstory, being female and a lot of modelling exposure given that junior bankers in my group within the last year have been dropping out like flies.  

I've been reading on WSO that you're at the "peak of your optionality during IB" and lately have been concerned that I accepted too quickly. Not to say I'm not grateful for my offer / incoming role, but I accepted it as I was concerned I wouldn't have anything down the tunnel, for the pay & name (the competing offer at the time was for a more desirable industry, but MM-sized) as I thought that would help preserve my mobility. I have great relationships with almost all the top HHs so was thinking of continuing the relationship and letting them know I am still open to look at new roles. 

I don't think reneging is ever on the books here in terms of reputation, so am curious about:

Is this notion of "optionality" still going to be relevant a year's time from now in terms of being able to re-recruit? Do top groups really look at laterals this early on?

 

congrats on the 2 offers. I say that as long as you're not roughing anyone's elbows at your current firm, then take one of the offers. If those 2 places are firms or teams you actually want to be on as an end-stage buyside shop then go for it. Both of those places will likely pay better than what you have now, why not get to your end-stage earlier. And you as a woman in banking, energy or real assets space at that, are like a white rhino. Your scarcity will likely be the exact same as another year out, so that demand for your talents will still be there (macro factors constant). If both of those shops are firms you don't truly want to be at, and you just wanted to test the waters with the interviewing process, then renege on the offer. If not, take it.

 
Most Helpful

This may be unpopular advice that runs counter to the grain. I think it's possible to walk out of something and maintain your reputation by acting in a high-character way.

Call the headhunter or the recruiting lead at the firm you previously committed to. Explain that you've reflected on it for months, spoken at length with the core group of people you respect and look for advice from, and turned it over and over in your head. Your honest conclusion is that the role isn't right for you. It's not a them-versus-another type of situation. It's you re-evaluating your life and goals and having an honest conversation with yourself. 

It's kind of hard to knock that. Sure, people can get angry. This industry is definitely full of immature people who have a low level of self-awareness or perspective. Don't be surprised if one or more of the people involved in the process take it negatively, but persevere.

Don't get off the call without pushing past any negativity to reiterate that you were very committed when you signed, that everything you said in your process was sincere, that the opportunity to meet, speak with, and learn from them during the interview process is something you're grateful for, and that you are grateful for the opportunity.

Frame it as you feeling a burden of responsibility to deliver your best work, and after reflection, a sense of duty to tell them you can't be that for them. 

Stepping past everything I just said, you can go a different route (or combine with everything I just said) and be a bit disingenuous. The pandemic offers the perfect air cover for anything you want to say. You have a family development that's changing your life. You need to relocate for some sort of personal reason. You are developing a health concern. There is just about nothing you can't say as evidence for why you aren't prepared to take that role. 

The downside of this alternative path is that if or when people at that firm see your LinkedIn at a different firm in the future, they'll read it as what it was: a smokescreen.

I think honesty is not amiss here. Very early in my career (picking between internships) I wish I had practiced it, I didn't and a number of people rightfully looked at me unfavorably. I have practiced this in a lot of different scenarios. I have chosen who wins the auction for an asset of mine. I have returned or declined eight (in one case, nine) figure LP checks. I have fired senior investment professionals. I have replaced management in portfolio companies.

I find that sitting down and explaining where I'm coming from, why this decision matters to me, how I got to where I got, and what I think of the person regardless of the decision I have landed on makes it possible to deliver uncomfortable or unhappy news without severing a relationship completely. People have called me months or years later to thank me for how I acted in that moment, or skip mentioning it explicitly but through their behavior show that they're still a fan of me (showing me another deal, trying to buy something else off of me, whatever).

You're at a crossroads. It sounds like you recognize it. Leaving banking is one of two guaranteed shots to be viewed as a blank sheet of paper. The second is business school, and that's unfortunately to a lesser extent because it's colored by your pre-MBA experience.

Put plainly, there's a realm of firms that won't want to hire you or will screen you way harder once you have buy-side experience relative to having none and interviewing for that first investing role. It's hard enough to train people well. It's harder to un-train them, and for better or worse, many people prefer a blank vessel to one with habits that may need to be unwound to fit in at their shop.

Good luck.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

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