Intern looking to exit
Hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but I was a hardo kid when I started college and was lucky enough to make it to a BB this summer and am currently getting crushed by my team. I think I'm starting to realize more and more that even though I thought I always wanted to do IB, I don't want to kill myself working ~90hours per week and experience so much trauma.
Curious to hear if any other interns feel the same way / what are ideal options for better WLB coming from a BB summer internship + with the expectation of having a return. My current thought process is secure my return and probably sign it, then recruit for corporate finance roles at tech firms in the fall for FT and renege the BB offer.
What is the purpose of burning ALL those bridges? Why not decline the offer then recruit? You don’t actually want to work in IV post graduation; what happens if you get to summer if ‘22 and you only have IB lined up? Will you do months of years at a higher level of intensity than the one you already can’t crack? It makes no sense.
He needs a back up option... Better to burn bridges in an industry you're sure to leave than have no job post graduation
He doesn’t want to work this job, but which is why he wants to leave. And as an intern, he’s already working the easiest possible version of the job that he already can’t handle. That’s just part a), part b) is the fact that he isn’t leaving the industry. He still wants a corporate finance job that he’s better poised to get as long as he doesn’t burn bridges behind him. Instead of needing to pray to not get a bad referral, he can crush the summer and have a conversation with a close MD/VP/staffer/intern manager about how the job isn’t what he wants but could use help on guidance or next steps.
THAT kind of attitude is respected and likely to lead to warm leads, intros and a much easier time recruiting in the fall. Reneging in the fall means risking losing an offer if the new firm’s hiring manager has any kind of connection to his current place. Which a fucking ton of ex-bankers/Corp fin types do!
He doesn’t have a job in the fall if he doesn’t intend to work in IB, whether he accepts the offer or not. We’re talking about whether he wants to damage his reputation for nothing or just not damage his reputation at the beginning of his career.
WSO culture seriously pedestalizes stupid and short sighted decision making, and it’s easily seen when anyone brings up reneging. It’s the last resort, never even the top ten. This is your reputation you’re putting on the line. It’s not something quickly recovered or repaired once damaged.
Ok intern. Look you can either take advice from people who are current professionals, have reneged previously and been fine or you can follow this interns mystical hocus-pocus about the sanctity of reneging.
Do you really think that some MD really cares about you so much he is going to waste the precious spare time he has on trying to figure out where you have went and then deliberately try to sabotage you?
You’re literally a 1st year analyst in PE. You’re not hot shit. Advocating for damaging your reputation to get a worse outcome than just coming clean at the end of the summer — or even before then — shows that. Literally a brain dead decision and the solution is obvious.
What is so funny is that I am absolutely hotter shit than you - picture your dream firm and that is where I am buddy!
My point is you're not damaging anything. Why the hell have you got this strong view on reneging? Where does it come from? I am speaking from PERSONAL experience and it has never ever affected me
I literally do not care about your firm at all. You’re a PPT and excel monkey just like anyone else. Calm down. Again, the fact that you can’t make this decision sensibly makes this clear. You got lucky? That’s nice. Offers are lost all the time for reneging, especially pointlessly. Intern managers and senior bankers have told me of how they’ve personally found jobs for those that didn’t want to work in IB, and how seriously reputation matters both to them and the industry. Reneging is the last resort, not the first..
Excuse me - you are dreaming about a job that will keep you up at 4am making the sell side PPTs to show my firm that we won't even glance at so don't try to belittle my role because what I do actually matters to my firm.
So again, you're not speaking from experience you are spouting hyperbole? Great sounds like another WSO hardo intern.
….you’re bragging about being a PowerPoint monkey because you think it makes you seem cool on WSO. Get a grip lol.
At least I AM a PPT Monkey - that trumps being a PROSPECTIVE PPT MONKEY.
As another intern, all I have to say is... bro what the fuck
Weird hill to die on but ok
Guarantee no MD is going to give him “warm leads” or whatever BS you’ve thought of. In fact, he won’t give a single thought to it beyond the fact that they’ll need an additional body.
If OP was exiting to another bank I’d have some reservations. But he’s going into something completely unrelated. There’s close to 0 risk here.
would not recommend reneging any BB at this stage of your career; agree with AnoQ
might be even worse, some tech firms know and dont care if you renege a bb offer to join them, but have heard of banks rescinding offers after candidate reneges at another bank
just avoid reneging all together, finance is a very small world
WTF People here are such wimps. As long as you do it respectfully and ahead of time, nothing bad will happen to you (don't wait 1 month before you start at the BB to renege). Don't listen to people here. If you get an offer that you like better than the one you currently have, reach out to HR asap and thank them for everything as well as your MDs.
Guys, this is fucking investment banking chill out.... We're replaceable and 2 weeks after OP declines he will be replaced and no one will remember him.
Nobody cares if you reneg, this happens all the time, especially when people upgrade to better banks. Do as you plan so In case case recruiting falls through you still have a full time job.
A LOT OF PEOPLE CARE IF YOU RENEG. People here on WSO have decided it’s a great idea to behave in incredibly irresponsible ways and think that burning bridges behind you — that you may need to cross later anyway — is nbd. If you decline the offer and give your reasons, if you have a good relationship with your intern manager then maybe they can find a role for you with a better fit. Possibly a warm intro or referral; that’s certainly how it would go at my group at a top BB.
But if you start burning bridges and showing off a lack of integrity and responsibility? Especially for no fucking reason?
Ok, intern
Several people from my intern class reneged and it was no big deal (except when they went to a clear competitor, e.g. JP to GS)
Guess who could be the senior manager of the Corp fin group you’re planning to go into? An ex TMT banker from your BB of course! Don’t reneg. Finance is a small world and you may end up finding yourself neck deep in more trouble than you anticipated.
If you are honest to your MD/HR about how you've done some soul searching and despite enjoying the internship you found the time commitment extremely tough then you will be absolutely fine to renege. Emphasise that when you signed you had every intention of returning but having spoken with some mentors you trust and family you have decided that you cannot fully commit to the role then they will respect the hell out of you for your honesty.
I have personally reneged on 2 banks throughout my undergraduate recruiting and it did not affect me in the slightest because I was as honest as possible with both of them.
I wouldn't call signing a FT offer that he clearly has no intention of actually following through on being honest, but I guess you have a more liberal interpretation of the truth. I'm not against reneging if the juice is worth the squeeze but it just makes no sense here just to have a backup option that he wants no part of
Look out for your own best interests. It’s not the end of the world if someone reneges an offer months before they’re supposed to hit the desk.
Who cares?
It’s show business - not show friends. Do what you gotta do.
Hahaha, I love that. Never heard that before.
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