From Big4 valuation to client facing finance position

Hi all

I know that there is a lot of threads on some of the same aspects of my questions, but however I probably have another background.

I am a bit trapped and have been working in various positions since I finished my master degree around four years ago and hope you can help me with some advice.

About me: Living in Europe, late 20s, non-target business school and average grades.

I work in a Big4 valuation-team and recently moved from RE after being promoted.

Started my career in a “start-up”/relative young company where I mainly build excel models to track investments etc. (No valuation etc. but only backoffice stuff)

I had a hard time finding a “good job” and was rejected one million times before joining Big4. I managed to get in to RE as they needed more people and they did not focus much on grades etc. I usually do very well when doing interviews.

What I liked in RE was the commercial and client facing side of it. However, the team did not do very well (only a few small transactions and otherwise less nice RE projects) and I did not that the sector seems to be very local/national.

Before looking outside I tried to look for internal positions in order to get some experience with M&A deals and the technical aspects of valuation/modelling. I took a few interviews and was offered the job. Before joining the company as was rejected for a similar team as my grades were not good enough - so nice that I managed to do the move.

Have been in the team for almost six months and I learn a lot, but however I feel the work is SO backoffice and start to be afraid of potentiel exit ops and I don't went to spend the rest of my life behind a desk.

I long-term goal of mine has been to move abroad for a period (HK, Singa, NY, Dubai, London etc.) to get a lot of experiences and work with a lot of international people. Earlier on my resume could not even get me an interview in most banking, RE, valuation, PE, etc.. postions.

Before getting to old I think I will start to look for opportunities abroad after summer when I will have around one year in my current team.

However I don’t know what to aim for?

Do you have any advice on my current situation? IB, PE and CV might be difficult?

I appreciate you taking time to reply my thread.

 

Hi Associate 2 in Other, don't worry, the WSO Monkey Bot is here.... I'm hoping one of these links will help find your answer:

More suggestions...

Hope that helps.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 
Most Helpful

Tax valuations, building operating financial models (for budget planning etc.), purchase price allocations etc.

Well, we work for clients but I rarely attend meetings. So one thing is getting stuck behind the desk and the other ting is the purposes for which our projects are made. I don't assist in buy-outs, M&A's etc. (commercial purposes) and even if I did we would only be making the models/valuations.

 

Vel distinctio excepturi qui et reiciendis autem et. Et odio eveniet ullam consequatur aut. Officia hic quis ex.

Sunt architecto aperiam dolores labore sunt. Voluptates sed qui dicta nesciunt sunt distinctio. Eos non cupiditate ratione sint.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”