Did I make a bad decision

Got an offer from a bank with similar prestige as a BofA/barclays/HSBC (Think BofA before they decided to fire alot of people and scale down ibank operations). Offer expired yesterday, so i took it. Got an email that I had a final roound interview with an industry group at a bank with a similar prestige as a CS/UBS. I decided not to try and push my luck with the first bank in fear tht theyd rescind offer even if there is a substantial difference between the caliber of these firms. Everyone was telling me to take the offer and not take the risk, did i screw up?

 

I am in the exactly same boat as you, and got an offer from a bank with similar prestige as your's. I took it, but I had final round interviews with BB's coming up, and I canceled. There are many ways that people can find out, especially because the banking world is pretty small, and people know each other. The markets are so crappy right now that the bank you'd be interviewing for (a) might only be giving out 1 offer or (b) may not be even hiring, but is simply going through the recruiting process so they can have a presence at your school. Hope this helps.

 

Surely, they would keep it confidential if they are interested in hiring you if you got any offer from some other firm?

I think that people finding out about your offer, etc. is exxagerated to some extent. I know many people who have leveraged offers, interviewed while having an existing offer, etc. Banks get 6000-1000 applications...Sometimes they cant be bothered to check up on everyone....

 

He is talking about a different scenario. It's not an existing offer, but he already SIGNED that offer. Those are two different things. If you just have an offer, you leverage the f*ck out of it. But if you already signed, that's a different story.

 

Thanks calimonkey, that makes me feel alot better. It is just so hard to play games with these offers because there is a small chance that one bank rescinds your offer and the BB doesnt give you an offer, and your screwed. I figure I am just confident that if I work my *** at this bank, the difference in prestige will not be too prohibitive

 

You signed the offer, so what?

Did you read the contract? It will say if there is a material change in the market yadda yadda... they can pull the offer. I say look out for number one, but do it discretely. You have every right to interview with the other bank. You don't owe the banks anything, I can tell you they think exactly the same of you.

 

beaker - i have heard that argument before, but I think relationships and reputation are really important. If you reneg on an offer, you effectively burned many bridges and relationships you made on the first bank. From what Ive heard, wall street is a small place and this type of behavior could hurt in the long run.

At the same time, you might be right. I think the other factor influencing my decision is the following: Say I was offered a spot at the BB, which like other BB's has experienced tough times, what if it pulled my offer? Then, I would be in a really terrible position....I might just be risk averse, i dont know

 
Best Response

Even though it is a dog eat dog business ....... having integrity yourself is admirable and something that is a positive on your end even if your company fires you in a month, I would still feel good about the integrity of the decision. Also no use in giving yourself any negatives from the start. I was in a similar position with an offer deadline and I agree you should not play with these to see "what if". I made it clear to every place that I was applying to that I would need to know about any offers prior to the deadline of my offer because I was not going to risk having no job just to see what else is out there.

So overall I think you made the right decision and I would not suggest merely cancelling the offer to see what else is out there. It is true that many banks are already full or mostly done with their full time hires. In this kind of market, I would not have chanced having no job just to see what else might have been available. The only thing I would have suggested is pushing the other banks about getting you in for an earlier super day or somehow having the process sped up. This would be really hard and very well impossible since most HR could care less about changing for one applicant, but its really the only thing you can do if you have another offer that expires by a certain date. I definitely hesitated trying to have them extend that offer deadline considering the current market

 

i hate all this talk about how wall street is a small world and people will screw u over if u reneg. listen, just do whats best for you - screw this crap about having to make sure you dont piss people off - no one gives a rats ass if u reneg. i hate the false info out there - take the offer, interview elsewhere and if u get an offer at a better place, take it.

 

So, I was in a spot VERY similar to this a long, long time ago. Stand by for the best piece of advice you will ever receive.

Go to interview at the second bank. And if you get that job, reneg the first. It is not unethical. These banks do not give two shts about you, before you sign or once you're in. The ONLY time you have leverage on HR as a junior person is when you have an offer in hand. They have yields to meet and want to keep you happy.

As to this "beaker - i have heard that argument before, but I think relationships and reputation are really important. If you reneg on an offer, you effectively burned many bridges and relationships you made on the first bank. From what Ive heard, wall street is a small place and this type of behavior could hurt in the long run. "

It comes from a good place, but it is incredibly naive.

Jimbo

 

My opinion is that if you are deciding to not interview and/or reneg out of fear of your reputation, pissing people off, or not getting a job in the end then I would agree w/ Jimbo's response. If, however, you feel that it is unethical for you to sign something and then not keep your word, and that is the reason you will not reneg, then I think what WnBkr did is commendable.

 

your mistake was cancelling the cs/ubs interview. Even though you accept an offer, doesn't mean you have to take it. You shut yourself out of an offer from a potentially better bank because of your cancellation.

You can always renege an acceptance. The banking universe isn't as small as you think...

 

I must say that I agree with Jimbo...

Talk to everyone. Keep that interview with the BB. Have one foot in and one foot out. Banks are not loyal, so don't feel bad about the likelihood that you would take the BB offer and reneg on your first offer. It's your career. It's your life. So long as you handle the dynamics thoughtfully and with sincerity, it'll all work out.

 

I have an offer expiring on Wednesday at a Bank that I have concerns about exit ops and deal flow. I am waiting to hear back from a BB and have a second round interview sometime next week with a Bank with a very strong presence abroad but more of a MM player in the US. I emailed HR and they said they will not be able to extend my offer. If I get the BB, I will most likely take it, and it gives me more time to interview with the other firm, but If I don't get that offer, should I accept the offer and interview with the last bank with the intention of taking the 3rd banks offer. I feel like it is too much of a risk to reject the offer with the hopes of getting one with the last bank. What kind of reprecussions do you face if you accept an offer, and then want to change your mind??

 

What if you're in this situation:

You summered at a bank and they gave you an offer. You had until a certain day to take it, and your second rounds with BB's come up after that deadline. Therefore, you take that offer that the bank you summered at gave you, but you still decide to go interview anyway with the BB. They (the BB) see your resume and see that you worked at a bank this past summer, and they ask you if they gave you an offer, and you say yes, then they ask you when does it explode? So this is the question... what do you say to that? Do you just say that it explodes on a later date and simply lie to them? Seriously, I know a lot of junior staff that just calls around to the junior staff of the bank you worked at to ask them about you, it's happened a lot of times. Just want to get some viewpoints on this.

 

You lie to them.

Seriously, all this talk of integrity is crap. Just wait for the day when you see an entire group being terminated, how they are treated etc. You do not owe banks anything at all.

To think that you are building a reputation as an analyst is laughable. You are one faceless drone in a sea of many. It's all about numbers for HR. When you are on the other side of an MBA things might get a little different, but not yet.

 

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