IB at no name boutique, how to move to MM or BB bank?
Title says it all.
I'm at a boutique bank down in the South. I went to a target school in the northeast that has heavy IB presence in NYC ( I transferred in so I was only there for 2 years) and didn't recruit for IB during my time considering I had no relevant internships in the industry and was still contemplating going into IB. I moved down here on a whim after the semester I graduated (Spring 2021) ended because I had some buddies living down here. I graduated and have come to realize why in the hell I did this / only recruited in this area.
I am currently doing an off cycle internship at this no name boutique. I wanted to get some opinions on how I should go about getting into a decent firm in NYC or if anyone has done something similar in this nature before. I networked to get into this bank, and I certainly think it's possible to do it again. There is a robust alumni network at my disposal. I'm just afraid that I'm gonna get stuck if I stay at this bank, and I feel I should leave. Although, if I stay here I feel I could really move up fast considering I am the only target school person in the Analyst class. Leveraging this to get into a really good spot in NYC seems very possible.
Any opinions would help, some guidance here would be amazing.
All comes down to networking. If you have banking experience, they will respect it.
However, it is important to make the move earlier by lateraling to an analyst stint because it would be harder the minger you’re in boutique world. If you stayed on as an associate at the boutique, the MM and BB might downgrade you to analyst level when you lateral - just something to keep in mind
Definitely would move before going FT, because once you're FT the 'target school' status won't really mean much. The value basically starts and ends when the foot is in the door.
Definitely doable, network pretty hard and do lots of interview prep. Obviously, technicals are important, but really focus on situational and behavior based questions.
Other question- why do you feel the need to go to a big bank? Did you not like your group or anything? Are you not happy with the transactions you're working on? Or are you just interested in a more prestigious name and pay? I think smaller boutiques are severely underrated. Transferred from an EB to a LMM firm after my first year, and I never looked back. Pay is slightly below market, but the hours are so much better and I'm given more responsibility. Just my two cents
Thanks for the advice. I plan to get a move on everything as soon as the long weekend is over.
I'm gonna answers these one by one. Honestly after being in a boutique that has around 20+ people from Analysts to MD's it feels very unrewarding. I am currently interning with the expectation I go full time. My group is in M&A which honestly dope, I really enjoy the work I do get to do. It's just upsetting that when the largest transaction that the bank is taking on is only 30mm - 45mm in value, and then they have a bunch of smaller ones to make up for not having consistent deal flow in that range I feel like I have sold myself short. I want to work on transactions that are hundreds of millions, and gain some high level exposure to transactions. I want to stay in M&A because I find it very interesting so thats not really the issue. The transactions I'm getting staffed on seem insignificant, I haven't done an ounce of modeling as they only do comps and precedents as their "modeling". Coming from a target school, and getting there by busting my ass off at Community College, I feel that I've worked so hard, and I do want that prestigious pay and name whether it's a BB or an MM in NYC, it's still going to be a lot more meaningful then where I am at. Also I feel when you start off making 6 figures you set a precedent for future jobs whereas starting off in that 60k - 80k total range you almost shoot yourself in the foot. I feel retarded being the only target school kid in the intern class and everyone just went to state schools, although thats what made this gig really easy to land. Yes I agree boutiques are very underrated, you get less pay and work less but I've always chased the grind, I get infuriated when somedays I leave by 5:30-6 and others days I'm out at 9, and never have consistent work. A boutique in a 2nd-3rd tier city like where I'm at honestly blows. Fuck going to the beach after work or on the weekends, I wanna spend my time drinking ontop of a buddies apartment building in Brooklyn or one of the 10000 same bars that are at your disposal in NYC ( this sounds ass backwards I know, but I wanted to be in NYC since I was like 8 fucking years old :/ ... sue me )It honestly feels very subpar, although I could see myself working at a boutique if I was at a VP roll or up but I don't plan on staying in banking forever, as I want to go buy-side after a 2 year tenure. Honestly its more about being in this area then it is being at boutique I've come to realize at this point. Also another thing going PE with no in-depth modeling skills seems doable, although I prob wouldn't even get into the a top shop down here.
All in all is that I'm still interning, so I can't really say much because I would never know until I become a full time analyst. I just don't want to make the mistake of staying, and never getting the NYC experience, and THEN maybe come down here to do buy-side
Got it, thanks for the clarification. I agree, the transactions that you're working on seem a bit underwhelming. Don't blame you on that one. I'm at a shop that does 200-500mm EV deals, so I've always felt like they suffice. Definitely get paid more than 60-80k as well, more like ~100k salary with a ~60k bonus for A2. Sounds like a larger MM bank would give you everything you'd like
What target school did you go to?
Also, your comments and thoughts are all over the place. You did poorly in high school so went to a community college, then worked hard to transfer to a target that placed into IB, but then decided to not even try to recruit? What?
You then had no job after graduating so you moved down South on a total whim cause you had buddies moving there?
You then say you’re doing an internship, but then mention you’re in the bank’s analyst class? And because the deals are small that depressed you? What does deal size matter when you’re an intern, are you learning anything is much more important.
Your best bet is to try to get a first analyst position as some crappy middle market bank like William Blair, work for a couple years and then take a shot at lateraling as an analyst to a BB, since you said that’s you’re dream, to work at a big name in NYC. Although I don’t get how thats your dream when you didn’t even try to recruit as a college senior lol.
I would say your advice of lateralling to a MM makes sense in normal times, but the job market is very hot right now. I think in today's market it is feasible to make the transition to a BB or EB especially if you have a couple of closed deals under your belt.
Thanks for the heads up and I know thats very doable, but for the moment, considering I am only an intern I think it makes sense to jump ship now then to wait a year to then transition. Just some thoughts I had
Alright I finally got around to answering this, its prob a dead thread but im bord rn so yeah.
To answer your question yes I did move to the south on a whim, it was a good way to enjoy my summer before I had to find a serious job.
I did say that I am doing an internship and didnt mean to mention myself as an analyst but I guess I was using the wrong context. What I mean is that the analyst there, who if I was going to go full-time I would be in the "analyst" class which would then be a total of 4 of us lol. I am learning a lot but I feel that if I was to go full time the exposure on such small deals would not be fulfilling.
I would very content working at any MM in NYC, I dont want to do IB in the long term, as PE in Florida would be my ultimate goal. What I meant by prestige is any bank that has somewhat notable name. Whether it be William Blair or some other MM bank that would make me very happy working there considering its know not by a lot but at least some, whereas the bank I am at no one in the world would know it unless you lived down here and had some knowledge or connection to the industry. My definition of prestige is a lot different from others.
I get that maybe was a bad way to phrase it as my dream but, I have never really had a real college experience so my two years at my target school was really to enjoy the culture my friends, my fraternity, I wasn't too focused on the job grind as I felt a bit burnt out from CC. It had taken me 5 years in total from high school to graduate college.
Update: The target school I went to is a bottom tier Ivey ;) that should explain enough lol
Networking is key here. My bank (west coast upper MM / lower BB) is looking to hire lateral 2nd year analysts ASAP (next 4-5 weeks). If you're interested reply to this w/ username and ill DM you.
Nolan42
Appreciate you reaching out. To clarify im only an intern at the moment so I wouldn't meet the qualifications. Although if thats still an option I would be more than happy to reach out!
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