Now almost two years in F500 corp dev/m&a right out of university. Been on a couple of deals but have same problem of "average" culture with risk-averse firm. Always told myself it would be 1-2 years and out.
Earlier in 2020 was so close to going lateral in NYC EB/MM final interviews (think Evercore, Lazard, Jefferies, Centerview) but COVID froze the entire hiring process. Since then been trying to find other banks to lateral to and got an offer from Lower-MM *regional-ish bank but has national presence. Seems to actually be getting good deal flow during COVID and primed for a great 2021/good culture and people. Location is 2nd tier traditional finance hubs (MInneapolis, Seattle, Chicago?, Charlotte etc.)
My question is am I possibly going to hurt my resume if I join this firm just for a chance to lateral to IB instead of waiting it out for 2021/hopefully get back to where I was before in hiring process? What sort of options should I be weighing before I accept/decline? Thanks in advance.
Working in corporate development as well - I did two years at regional IB firm before making the transition to CD. Since you dont mention exploring any other CD opportunities it sounds like your mind is made up that IB is a better path for you vs. moving to another company.
So, if you really want to move to IB I would take the lower MM IB offer as there is no guarantee the EB will come calling once the hiring freeze is off. I would like to caveat this with do your due diligence on the MM IB offer and make sure the offer is in a group that interests you or provides a diverse enough experience that will allow you to exit or lateral.
Thanks for the reply. How do you like CD? Isn't the comp a step from IB/did you think about buy-side?
I totally agree with your analysis, I just don't know if it will perhaps taint* my resume as I move forward where the previous firms that I almost had offers from would have been perfect firms to advance my career. What are some characteristics/boxes I need to check with this LMM firm? Additionally how long am I locked in with the firm assuming I take the offer?
I really like CD and think it is a great place to build a career. Yes, the total comp is slightly lower - base higher but lower bonus %. However, I only work 40-50 hours a week and hardly ever on the weekends vs. the 60-70 hours I was working in IB.
I never really thought about the buy side, I learned very quickly that culture and quality of life is very important to me so I knew PE just wasn't going to be a good fit.
I wouldn't think about it as tainting your resume. Working for the LMM for a year getting quality deal experience wouldn't hurt your resume. If you do take the LMM I would try to do at least a year.
If I were evaluating this opportunity / firm my focus would be on the sector and quality of deal experience - meaning % of time pitching vs. working on live transactions.
Questions you should be thinking about are:
Will you be working as a generalist or covering a specific industry?
If generalist, how does staffing work? Will you get exposure to the higher profile deals the firm brings in?
If industry, are you interested in the sector? What was the groups deal flow like last year? How does the pipeline look? How has activity in the sector looked?
If this is a smaller two MD type of shop make sure you do some research on their backgrounds. Do they come from respectable firms and have a track record of bringing in business?
I would look up prior analysts / associates on LinkedIn and see where they ended up.
You definitely want to find out as much about this LMM IB as possible. Where their senior people went to school, what banks they worked at in the past, how big their deals are, etc. You also want to see where past analysts and associates ended up after and also contact them.
It's lower or regular MM bank. Owns the region its HQ is in but also does deals across the country. They don't move giant size, but apparently have tripled fee revenue in the last 5 years.
It seems that the majority of MDs come from Wharton or similar type MBA. The analysts are mostly from target schools with some regional universities mixed in. It's really not a bad bunch but not where I expected I would take my offer from. Also no sign-on bonus, pro-rated end of year bonus though...Half base Half bonus for comp.
Those are all good signs, from that info I'd probably take it. I'd think that a stint there would probably help you in lateraling to a top bank as you'd prove you're ready for IB and you would have some good IB experience under your belt. I know that most banks froze their hiring processes at the beginning of the pandemic but from what I've seen a lot of banks are really busy now and activity is through the roof, have you put feelers out to your contacts in IB whether they need people right now?
I started my career off at a "no-name" boutique, spent a year there, and then lateraled to a MM IB where I spent my second analyst year. I then spent two years in corp dev and have been in my current corp fin (mostly FP&A) role for the past year.
What position are you lateraling into the IB as? What positions were you interviewing for? If it's looking like you're going to have to start as a first or second year analyst, I would take the offer immediately. You could work there a year or two and take the associate promotion and go from there. My thinking is that if you're looking at analyst roles, any additional year in this corp dev role is just going to be another year longer that it takes you to get promoted and advance your career.
Does that make sense? I am happy to answer any more questions, especially any IB vs. corp dev ones you might have.
Hey if you have the time could I PM you to ask about your transition from MM IB to CD?
Sure thing.
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