IB to Corp Dev/Strategy?
Rising senior that interned in IB this summer. Honestly wasn't a huge fan of the hours/work life balance and considering I don't want to go into PE after, Im not sure if it is worth the two year effort. I am thinking about getting into corporate development/strategy down the line in a few years, and have been thinking maybe consulting -> MBA paid for -> consulting -> Corp Dev would be a better path and I believe the work and lifestyle would suit me better than banking. I liked the work and people of my firm though, so am not opposed to returning but just thinking about other options. Not sure if there's other entry level jobs to start at that would be a better path as well. Thought about some of the major FLDP tracks, and they sound pretty interesting, but none of the major ones or tech ones don't recruit from my school so not sure how difficult they would be to get.
There are entry level roles for CD (probably with different titles here) but they are few and far in between. Recruiting is scattershot for CD compared to IB, but the lifestyle is better generally compared to IB.
What makes recruiting for Corp Dev out of undergrad tricky is that a lot of CD roles have IB as a pre-requisite since IB is the training ground for the skillset that is needed in M&A roles in general
So two years of IB then Corp Dev is the most common path? What about maybe consulting or F500 rotation programs? Are there any other career paths that feed into Corp Dev or would IB be the most direct?
That is correct about IB then Corp Dev. You don't necessarily have to do the full two years. There are other ways to break into CD (I worked with a guy who came from a Valuation Group), but can be more difficult for a variety of reasons....
To add a bit to the above.
There are some analyst roles that hire directly form undergrad. These roles are mainly for larger companies that have more developed/professional teams.
Corp Dev is a lot harder to bucket, since the roles and requirements vary so much from company to company. The IB -> CD move is the most common, and the easiest route. I have also seen PE, consulting, or internal FP&A/Corp Fin movement to CD. For the most part you need to have an understanding of valuaton/modeling to prove your worth (i.e. there will always be a case study/modeling test).
FLDP can work too, this will be the most successful when the rotation program goes through a CD rotation.
Overall, there is not a clear path to CD, but if there was one IB is the most clear. You can get in, and I would encourage looking at LinkedIn/Company websites to see what is out there for Corp Dev roles. These don't always have to be companies you're interested in, but they can be data points for what caompnies are looking for with role requiements.
agree w/ this
coming out of undergrad, i would say having demonstrated industry interest/ alignment and decent technicals (i assume with an IB SA stint OP would have this) is probably the best way to set up for CD.
recruiting tends to be on an as-needed basis though, so a company might be looking one year, and not the next. so it can take a lot of networking and casting a wide net to find something.
Would the move to Corp Dev typically be after around 2 years in IB or later? From quick linkedin searches of my bank, seems like the Corp Dev exits were moreso post-MBA or A2A promote associates. Not sure if thats because those exiting IB at higher levels might do so more for a better lifestyle and analyst want PE more, or if thats because Corp Dev is tough to get after two years in IB.
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