Given the roles are roughly equivalent in terms of independence and scope, with the only difference being comp where Citadel beats all others. Which would you say is the "best firm" in terms of performance and future potential?

 

You should pick the firm that works for you. All will open doors, all are “top” places, etc. You are more likely to succeed if you like the culture, the people, their philosophy around management, etc. Too often I see people chase prestige and end up with poor managers or just in a firm where they don’t fit in well with the culture. The more you can find the place that will make you excited to be there (and the colleagues who will push you to be better) the better chance you’ll have at success. Now it is hard to tell where that’ll be based on interviews but it’s also hard to get an answer online since everyone has different preferences on work style. 

Please don’t be one of those people that thinks they can grind it out wherever and that the people/culture don’t matter (especially when all the firms are top places). I see that too often, and these people tend to burn out. I would go back through the conversations you had (were you able to talk to any junior people? Shadow some of the job?) and think about where you see yourself. If possible I would ask to shadow someone for an hour or so, or just try to chat with a junior person. Less likely for a role right out of school but I’ve seen it done before. 

 
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