JPMorgan IBD FT Locations: Best Bet?

Looking to apply to JPM as a FT IBD Analyst. Which Location: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, NY, or Boston is the best bet to get in?

The two biggest things are open slots and competition. NY will most likely have the most open spots for hire while also having the highest competition (Target Schools), while Dallas may have the lowest level of competition but only a few open spots.

Thoughts on which city combines the best of both? Does NY's size make it overwhelmingly the best bet to get in? Or Chicago as a middle ground?

Thank you for any help or guidance.

 

Philly is not an option on the JP Morgan Application site for FT Analyst, which is surprising considering how many companies/industries are located there.

 

Which one are you geographically closest to? If you’re in Chicago then it’s easy to say why you want to live in Chicago.


I ask because outside of New York, most banks are afraid that you’re trying to leverage an offer to end up at New York. So unless you have good reasons, you should worry less about the easiest place and more about the right place. 

 

I am closest to Houston/Dallas, but after some networking, I found almost all analysts are from UT-Austin, Rice, or SMU. That combined with the small branch size makes me hesitant. I was thinking Chicago because it is one of their largest offices, but it would not be as difficult since many target applicants will go to NY. Or would you recommend Houston/Dallas solely on location?

 
Most Helpful

I would only recommend Houston/Dallas if you can intelligently talk about why you want oil and gas banking. If you’re unable to do that then pick somewhere else. This is my advice:

aiming for SF: need to love tech and intelligently be able to talk about why you want tech banking.

Houston: focus on why O&G

NY: focus on why banking. Why NY is easy - take 5 minutes to come up with a good reason. 

Chicago: focus entirely on why Chicago. You need good reasons for wanting to live in the Midwest. Some banks focus heavily on industrials, but you need SOLID reasons for why Chicago instead of why industrials because they’ll just think you’re leveraging to go elsewhere. 
 

Etc. the common theme is that industry hubs have you focus mainly on why that industry and a little bit on why that location. If you interview in Houston and they ask you “why Houston?” then give 3 solid reasons for why O&G, then 1-2 on why Houston. 
 

“I really want to work in Houston because I was exposed to the oil and gas world at a young age. My uncle worked in O&G and this exposure helped me to learn just how hardworking the industry is. I really admire that work ethic that the industry brings to the table, and along with that, oil is really the lifeblood of America. Sure, the industry may be a little depressed right now, however it’s times like this that innovation causes a huge bounce back, so I’m not afraid of the future. Along with this too, O&G Banking is extremely technical and I’d love to really get my hands dirty in the model by digging deep and seeing how certain sensitivities like gas pricing affect everything.

Houston provides the opportunity to dig deep into the O&G industry, which I’m really excited about, but it also provides the lowest cost of living opportunity to work in investment banking, which is amazing for setting up a solid future for myself. I’d enjoy living here, which is something I learned after attending college here, and after talking to a bunch of analysts and associates here I really feel like JP Morgan is the best place for me to launch my career.”

 

Also, many target applicants will apply to every location. There’s no easy way into banking — you either grind to get into a target college or you grind to get into a bank from a nontarget.

I’d personally argue that it’s MUCH harder to get into a bank in Chicago vs. New York unless you go to a Chicago target school. UChi will dominate most chicago banks since they’re a good school in the heart of the city.

at the end of the day dude, you need to pick wherever you’ll be willing to grind the hardest. Wherever you work hard to get in will determine where you get in. If you love tech then aim for SF - if you love Chicago then aim for Chicago - if you love O&G then aim for Houston - etc.

 

Thank you for your response. This breaks it down perfectly. If we had Banking internships (not IB, but banking) in the past, would applying to New York make the most sense as you can stress how much you enjoyed the culture and type of work?

 

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