Headhunters Reaching Out Before Graduation

I'll be starting in IB in July, but to my surprise, a few headhunters have already reached out to me regarding placement opportunities in the future. The only IB experience I have thus far is from my internship last year. How should I approach these conversations and what should my expectations be going into them? I have an idea of what I want to do in the future, but it just seems very early to be having these conversations since I haven't even begun my FT role yet.

13 Comments
 

In my experience, recruiters aren't worth the time when you're a junior employee. Keep in mind that the "Account Executive" reaching out to you probably graduated your year in college, got hired by the agency, and got staffed to the lowest-caliber staffing (i.e. intern/analyst).

These people dont know much about their clients and industry space, and in my experience will routinely bring you in for interviews when its clear to everyone else that you have way less experience than is desired.

I once got brought in to compete with some other candidate who had 10 years experience - wtf was the recruiter thinking?

Remember that these people get $ for hunting heads. No skin off their teeth if you waste a few days interviewing and don't get it, they can just pony up a new body and try again.

Array
 

Hey buddy, how about you go back to third grade, practice your critical reading skills, and take a second look at what I said. Of course I'm not talking about 2nd/3rd year analysts when I say junior employee.

I'm talking about a college kid who isn't even on the job yet getting hit up by recruiters. Not someone who is at the end of an analyst stint - an experienced hire - going into the PE pipeline.

Look, I get that you think you look cute cherry picking examples and straw manning them, but to the rest of us you just look like a moron that can't see the forest for the trees.

Array
 

I did recruiting last summer. If they come from an "executive search firm" (Russell Reynolds, Spencer Stuart, Korn Ferry), try to stay in contact. These firms deal with very well known boutiques. For example, I assisted with a search for analysts for one strong boutique. They ended up taking analysts in their first and second year from firms like Barclays, DB, BAML.

While this may be an exception, if they're from a pretty well known recruiting firm, it seems like a good relationship to form. A lady I worked under had a lengthy spreadsheet of all the analysts, associates, and VP's she formed contact with, detailing their industry group, product group, contact info, etc.

 

Like OP, I start FT IB this summer, but Pinpoint Partners has been reaching out to me about 2018 PE opportunities (mostly MM) over the past few months even before graduation. I completed an IB coverage internship at a BB last summer. Anybody know anything about Pinpoint?

 

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