Hi all,
First year MBA student here thinking about summer associate internships this summer. My top 2 groups through the recruiting process have been Citi Industrials and CS M&A so I'm just curious as to the general reputation of the two groups and what everyone knows about them.
Any insights are appreciated.
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ResumeAttached, shame nobody has responded. Maybe one of these topics will help:
You're welcome.
Bump
Citi Industrials
Citi Look for Levengood
A recent graduate from my school just started at CS M&A and apparently, it is a major sweatshop. They are absolutely getting crushed at work.
Second this, a friend of mine is in the group
I've heard as much from the two alums who are associates in the group. I certainly don't have a problem with being super busy so long as I don't feel like the work I'm doing is completely worthless.
Any of us can make a statement about which group you should go for, but none of us have worked at both groups, so it’s all BS. The reality is that you have the best information to make this decision. This is notwithstanding the fact that your information will improve between now and the end of interviews, as you will interact with more senior bankers.
More important than brand or what a bunch of aspiring bankers say out of their ass on some forum (which seems to be the majority of comments), are two things: 1) What kind of experience are you looking to have in banking? 2) What is the sense you got of what your experience would be like at those groups?
Both those groups do enough deals that brand is irrelevant relative to the experience you’ll have.
That question to some extent goes to product vs. coverage. But more important, it goes to which group had seemed to have better people who will invest in you and with whom you’d be happy to go to work.
It is possible to have a job in IBD where you enjoy your coworkers and where you develop a lot of valuable skills. It’s also possible to be perpetually crushed doing grunt work or work on stuff you hate with people you don’t really care for. You have to do the diligence to figure out which spot is right for you.
Totally get what you're saying. I was hoping to hear from some folks that worked in either group or had friends there with inside info. Just wanted to see if there was anything that people knew beyond what the folks I've interacted with have said during the various stages of the recruitment process.
I've really enjoyed getting to know the people in both groups and it seems like either group is somewhere I could see myself. Industrials being such a broad group is attractive and of course through M&A you get experience across industries which is great too. Guess I'll just see how it plays out. Thanks again.
On the product vs. coverage side, you should ask yourself if you’re more interested on the strategy side or the execution side.
As an ASO in an M&A product group, your senior client interaction will be limited (zero, really), and you will be focused on running the model / data room. Your creativity will be less related more to creative deal structures and less on client strategy. That last part is of course less relevant as a jr. ASO, but as you grow into the role, it is what will get you paid.
I think the question to ask on that front is whether you would prefer building a model from scratch, or pounding the pavement with an MD or Director to drum up business. Both can be interesting or a grind depending on your preferences, but they’re very different.
Have a friend in Citi Industrials and it is like a sweatshop most of the time as well. Both groups will be tough so I would go with one based on the following:
Do you want to develop an industry expertise or product expertise? You’re an associate not an analyst so this is more important than exit ops or marginal prestige.
Which group has senior bankers you see yourself working well with and as potential mentors? Very important for your professional development.
From what I know, I would say Citi Industrials is the better group. At Citi it is one of their top groups consistently. At CS, their Lev Fin / Sponsors, and industry groups tend to be better than their M&A group. Others please correct me if I’m wrong, this was my impression as I went through the recruitment process in the past couple years.
I’d say the two groups are within spitting distance. Agreed on your two points.
Correct that CS LevFin/Sponsors are top. M&A has been doing pretty well in past 1 year however, much more so than certain industry groups.
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