Long story short, I've been at a MM IB for a little over a year now. Haven't really learned much since the work has not been technical at all. Is it worth it to lateral if you have to take a year back and start as a first year again?
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Take the BB offer and don't look back. Do well and your exit opps will be significantly better than where you are now.
What firm are you currently at, is it something known to us? Also what are your hours right now, if these are some pretty relaxed hours and if pay is good might be worth to ride it out and come on as a 3yr as opposed to a 2nd year?
What are your goals / interests post-IB?
People in finance know of this MM bank and it is growing every year. Some of its verticals are very strong but then again most of the work in them is equity related. 0 exposure to anything debt related.
Hours are pretty relaxed on average it's like 9am-10pm and most weekends I'm usually off at least 1 day.
The hours and culture at my current spot are making it really hard to leave. I really do not want to do finance anymore after this but my exits from here are slim to none.
I'd like to get into sports business development or operations after banking. Also very interested in working at a real estate related fund.
Why not try to move into a role more closely related to sports/RE now? Spending another two years in banking wouldn't be as useful as two years of related experience in your new field.
@"YMCM-IB" I'm in the same position, at a MM bank and similar experiences you have had. How did you get into the process for a BB recruiting off cycle position? networking? word of mouth? Thanks!
I just looked for openings and was shooting my resume out. After applying, I'd reach out to anyone I knew at the bank and would ask them to talk to HR or put me in touch with someone in the group that had the opening.
I think it depends upon your goals post IB. I would still suggest taking the BB offer as you don't seem to be able to build a skill set in your current role.
By finance do you mean primarily the IB/PE/HF world or are you talking about business related? If you don't want to do finance then what is the point of lateraling to a BB, you will just get slammed working late every night and will be miserable especially if you are not interested in any of the typical exits that IBD offers.
Does your bank pay street? How competitive is pay and did you guys get the bump to 85k for first years? Considering how good your hours are and if the pay is good I would just stay in this role until you figure out what it is that you actually want to do. It will not be too late to lateral to a BB next year if thats what you end up wanting.
Most people know of my bank or at least the boutique bank they acquired couple of years ago.
My bank does pay street (no $85k bump) and bonuses were in line with street as well. Hours are decent and I'm really comfortable here. Positive is I can finish out my final 9 months here and interview for a new job without anyone really bothering me. If I move to the BB I'd have to commit for at least another year with no interviewing.
Taking a full year back is tough and I won't be able to deal with all the BS.
If it comes down to it, I'm sure I can practice modeling over the weekends and in my free time.
Might just stay put, interview for jobs outside of banking and try to build up from there.
Senior bankers here love me and are willing to reach out to their contacts for me. Issue is I'm not sure I match up with other candidates in terms of skillset.
I'm not even sure if their connections can yield to interviews / job offers.
Lateral sounds ideal given your situation. If anything, the BB name will help you out and you can decide what you want to do after a year or two there.
Does anyone know of any BB banks that are understaffed or are looking for immediate hires? Looking to move. Thanks.
RBC and Barclays
I say lateral, it's not really 'starting over' if you don't plan on continuing on in banking anyways. When you go to apply other places or for b school or whatever people will still see that you have 1 year of banking at your current shop + whatever you accumulate at the BB. They won't say 'what year analyst does the BB currently consider you as?' To them you will have 2+ years out of school IB analyst experience, and a year at a more reputable shop will only help your story.
I quickly glanced through this chain, but it seems like you're very open about exit opportunities. If that is the case, stay where you are. The only scenario where I would recommend moving to BB would be if you wanted to go into BB PE. Having the connections is more important in the world of finance, and like you said, you can practice modeling. When you interview, however, be sure to talk about your modeling in the projects / transactions. If you have the skills to back up the talk, that's all that matters.
Worth lateral move? (Originally Posted: 06/08/2011)
I'm almost finished with my first year in M&A/LevFin at RBC/WF/RBS and was wondering if it was worth trying to lateral to an industry BofA/Barclays type place if my goal was to work for a >$1B PE fund in New York? Will the exit ops be THAT much better? Thanks.
industry group*
RBC and WF are on a different level than RBS so that makes a difference.. RBC has been expanding their IBD pretty rapidly as of late so id think twice
depending on the industry group. but if you are in RBC/WF, you should probably stay...
if you are in RBC/WF levfin, I would stay - RBS maybe not so much. There are a lot of considerations for lateraling, like having to stay another two years in banking (otherwise recruiters will discount you), rebuilding your relationships and networks at the new firm, possibly entering a shitty environment at the new group, and obviously the caliber of the new group (GS TMT is a lot different than BofA TMT). I mean you are getting very releveant experience in M&A/levfin and if you like the people in the group and your MDs will give you good recs, I would definitely stay. If you hate your group, you are willing to do 3 years of banking, and you get an offer from like MS Tech Group, I would take it.
If I had to take a guess, I would say that you are working at WF, in Charlotte, simply because you pointed out about finding a spot in NYC, when anyone working there probably would have just thought it was implied already. Anyways, I would probably sit tight. The market is still tight, although there are a number of lateral positions open. The exception being is if you know that you want to focus on a certain industry and you find a position in the industry group you desire at a bank that is clearly better than where you are at.
Just remember you are taking a risk by leaving someplace you are established and going to a place where you will be the newest team member, potentially in a new city. Also, as dayaaam pointed out, you could be leaving a decent place and stepping into hell (or not) but it's hard to be sure. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.
Regards
Who here has lateralled to a "higher" bank and was it worth it?? (Originally Posted: 02/13/2013)
hey guys just curious which monkeys have lateralled to a different bank before and wanted to hear whether you truly regret the decision you made or was it the best decision you could've made to advance your career
i think obviously lateral is a good move if the bank is not a good fit for you but has anyonne ever lateralled to a bank solely because of pay,prestige, and/or exit opportunities??
All I want for my birthday is a big booty ho.
problem.
Can we get a real answer here?
I think it makes sense to move from a boutique to a full-service bank. It makes less sense to move from a MM to a BB as the jump is not as significant.
Totally worth it and I didn't even lateral to a good group
Why have you hashtagged the tags for this topic?
Bump, any others have input on OP's original question? Would love to hear from someone who has successfully done this.
actually interested in this too now
bump?
I did and it was worth it, no question. Hard to say what would have happened if I had stayed but I recently accepted an offer in PE where I wanted to be. It obviously depends on the situation though...
have a good friend who went from an upper MM PE group to a top 5 BB group (one that is often widely praised on this thread). he had headhunters all over him for MF PE and top HFs. he ended up deciding to take the A2A route and stick with banking and he feels much better about the franchise he is with now and in general is much happier than in his previous gig.
Lateralling within the bank from a poor group to a good one is probably just as good. Every BB bank has at least a few groups that are very strong, so going there might be a good idea. This is especially true for analysts looking for better experience for follow-on jobs.
Lateraling Back 1 Year? (Originally Posted: 02/10/2016)
Monkeys,
Currently finishing up my 2nd year in a coverage group at a lower MM bank and was offered an opportunity with a Tier 2 BB (CS, UBS, Citi) to join a different coverage group. Only caveat, because I am coming from another coverage group, they are asking that I start again as a 2nd year analyst.
Exit ops and brand are definitely better at the new place and the coverage group I would be joining is my top choice, however I feel like I would have wasted a year by not being promoted. Also unsure if this will help my future attempts at buyside recruiting and if being a 2nd year would be seen as a plus or a ding.
Unsure if any other monkeys have been in this situation... thoughts?
if you want to exit to a decent buyside shop, definitely do it. chances will improve dramatically and far outweigh the loss of ~a year
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