If I am interning at a BB in IBD in one group SA - is it possible to switch into another group full time?

Hi - was wondering how easy it is for me to switch into another group within IBD if I am in SA in a certain group? For example, if I am in investment grade finance but want to switch into Lev Fin or M&A - how do I do this and how hard is it? Would appreciate anyone who knows or has tips on this/has done it.

 
Best Response

I'm not sure how difficult it is but I do have some knowledge to share here.

In London, this generally doesn't happen. When you enter into your summer internship, interns will already be assigned to a team although I do know some banks who offer rotations i.e. from Healthcare M&A to Consumer & Retail M&A, but even that is rare. The reason is because 10 weeks is a very short amount of time. By the time you've established a good relationship with your team and / or picked up some knowledge / skills for the job, leaving for another group would be an inconvenience to your team who just spent all that time and effort getting to know you and teaching you.

Also you may hurt your chances of getting a return offer depending on the situation. If you rotate to another team let's say with 2-3 weeks to go, then your new team may not know you that well enough to go bat for you when it comes to deciding who gets the return offer, especially since those decisions are made probably about 1 week before the end of the internship. I know this because I also interned at a bank which rotated us 4 weeks in, but because of how understaffed my previous team was, I practically prioritized everything for that team and in the end it paid off because they pushed for me when it came to making decisions.

That being said, it's not impossible to move, but if I were you I'd focus on the team you're assigned to. Even if it's not your dream sector / product team, put your 100% into getting the return offer and consider moving teams when you join as a full-time hire.

Also, if you're hoping to switch groups before you even start somehow, then ignore everything I just said haha.

 

Sorry if I was not clear. I meant that - say hypothetically I am placed in Healthcare for the summer - but I really want to be in M&A or Lev Fin - how do I go about switching for my return full time...

Say I spend the whole summer in the HC group and get a return offer - but I really want to be in an M&A/Lev Fin product group.

I really DO NOT want to be in the group I am placed in for the summer but love the firm and love the other groups............. any help/advice is GREATLY appreciated

 

The bank I interned had pools and we had to rank the top 3 pools we wanted to be in. The bankers from each team then saw our preferences and decided who they wanted in their team. This, combined with some input from HR, generally determined which pool you're allocated to.

I put my preference down for the sector team, but which sector team I was allocated to was determined by the staffer and I had no say in this. It was purely based on business need, not that I minded it.

 

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