Lateralling from a mid-market to a BB / EB

Hi,

How likely is it / what are the key obstacles to overcome when attempting to lateral from a good mid-market (think Lincoln International, William Blair etc.) to a BB / EB*? If anyone could provide advice on their own stories / what the best approach is for this kind of jump, it would be greatly appreciated.

*Jumping from Analyst 1/2 to an Analyst role at a BB / EB (don't mind taking a pay cut if the jump is worth it in the long-run).

14 Comments
 

I lateraled from a LMM bank to a BB this past year after working at the former for a little over 1 year. My best piece of advice would be to use all resources available to you through your network. Every interview I had gotten during the process came from someone in my network or a one off. you really just have to our hustle other people that aren’t willing to put in the extra effort

 

I think what has been standard practice on this Board is staying at your current gig for 6-8 months before looking but I knew I was ready to move after around month 4. If you can get the bank you're lateraling to to match the bonus then that's all that really matters. In my experience people really don't care how long you stay at your first gig and if you're looking to leave then might as well go as soon as possible

how long you stay*

 

I didn’t. Everyone that I have known to make the jump came on at the same level so I’m not sure what banks might make you go back a year. With that being said, the learning curve from was substantial. Obviously the bigger a transaction gets, the greater the complexity, need for financing, etc.

 
Most Helpful

Remember that banking is banking and that the core fundamentals of the role doesn't really change from a place like Blair or Baird to an EB or Bulge. You need to make sure you're grounded in all banking processes and technicals but other than that, there isn't a big reason you should have to take a step back. Unless you're from a boutique which didn't offer a ton of M&A experience / modeling exp, you should definitely fight for a continuation of your role. If not, and you'll have to recognize this for yourself, offer up a step back and see it as a long term learning / exit opp experience. However, given the firms you mentioned, you'll likely be fine in terms of lateraling at your level but I want to stress, highly dependent on where you are lateraling to

 

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