So, I'm a recent grad (may 13)from a non-target state school with a 3.2 gpa in finance. I could go on a diatribe about the death of the entry-level job; but I'll spare you the drama and just say that its tough getting interviews (other than informational's) much less job offers. I never EVER wanted to go into IB. My goal was to get into consulting and eventually start my own boutique consulting firm; or find a way to work with startups (likely in VC). Thats all gone out the window; I need skill-building work that will...ya know...pay me some money.
So I was thinking about either an MFin or going back to add a supply chain major to my bachelors (recruiting is pretty serious for that major at my alma mater).
However; I've recently come upon two things that popped up all at once and I have no clue what to do.
Offer 1: Temp position in the most BO of BO roles imaginable. I wouldn't even call it behind the back office. Its more commercial banking than anything; it just happens to be physically located with some of the firm's PWM offices. Its a "tax reporting analyst" job where essentially I'm processing, auditing, reconciling certain items, and editing 1099's from individual clients to get filed during tax season. On its own; a totally bullshit gig that doesn't even require a college degree. However; its at a BB and maybe (just maybe now) I'd be able to network my ass off and try and eventually move into something more worthwhile. I'm a little unsure of the actual chances of this (not just because I'm in a department full of people with associate's degrees....which I'm not hating on, but I'm shooting for something higher than being the most overqualified person in my department), but in addition to being able to move from commercial to investment side, I doubt the geography of the position. Its in bumble fuck, about an hour and a half from NYC. There is nothing but backoffice, IT, etc, etc at this position. A couple of FA's from the private banking side are rumored to be in this location, but I'm not even sure. Who would I even be able to network with if there is no communication from my part of the firm to parts of the firm that I want to work at? I'd be trying to move 60 miles and a gagillion divisions away. However; Its paid work at a BB. I'm not doing shit right now.
Offer 2: Unpaid full-time internship at a complete boutique. Besides the fact that I would feel like a chump working 60 hours a week for no pay, I wonder what the real upside is. It has 13 employees; and I remain unconvinced by the deal flow. I mean, what kind of bank actively advertises the fact that they're looking for unpaid, college graduate interns? In addition to the fact that IB isn't exactly what I want to do (although at this point I'd milk goats if I thought it built skills that could lead to a solid career), I wonder what the future really holds at this tiny ass firm. They're making it sound differently, but I doubt that they'd be looking to hire even if I was solid as FUCK. They want free labor and are saying what needs to be said to get that. If I network my dick off on my own; I might be able to turn it into a paid position at another boutique. Maybe not. In which case I just wasted 6 months that I could've been getting paid for. In addition; how long should I stay? How long is too long and crosses territory from building experience to being an idiot who is working for free?
Sorry for the wall of text; but if you can't tell, I'm greatly in need of advice.
How important is the money? If not important, take #2 and start looking the following month with that listed on your resume.
1 sounds pretty horrible to say the least
It would be nice, but its not all that important I get paid right now. #1 does sound pretty horrible. I'm just wondering if I'm an idiot to turn down a paid job at a BB (even if it is on the commercial side)
being and IBD analyst doesnt really require a degree either, its just there for show and tell
I think we're differing on the meaning of require. Of course you don't need a degree to be able to do the work; but I'm willing to bet that to get an investment banking job, a degree is a requirement. If its a requirement, I'd say its required.
To answer your concerns about dealflow: Go to your local campus Bloomberg terminal and check the dealflow of the bank or check the ibanks website on recent transactions or Google "Bank XYZ transaction" and see what comes up.
13 people seems quite large of a team, and if theyre hiring interns, clearly there is SOME work to be done. Can you try to negotiate a salary, do you have previous work experience?
I think if you want to do consulting, you should stick with it and keep networking/applying.. and take the BO job and apply for consulting.
Paid job > unpaid, especially if banking is not what you want.
Yeah, I'm definitely going to take your advice on checking up on deal flow.
Is 13 folks total really a big team? This includes a computer guy and a secretary, so 11 bankers from what I an gather.
I'm a recent grad, no experience other than a summer internship between my junior and senior years of college. Its pretty clear that they're not looking to pay anyone jack shit.
If it was a regular BO operations type deal, I'd be in for it. Honestly its not even BO. Its like the BO of commercial banking. Helping clean up/edit/final auditing of 1099's before being sent out to the IRS.
Not exactly an ideal scenario, but at least you have something to choose from. How badly do you need the money? Considering you DON'T want to get into banking at all, the paid BO gig sounds like the better bet & you can continue researching and networking (assuming this job consumes less hours & is less stressful). Is the boutique intern gig located in NYC? Because that would obviously put you in proximity to your consulting target locations, even if you have little time to shop around.
I was in a similiar situation when I was younger and I worked unpaid for a very small full-service boutique (I'm talking one deal team doing private placements, PIPEs, and 1 small M&A deal). It sucked but I did my work and acted positive and eventually I landed a full-time analyst role at a MM firm in the same city. Also, the MD I interned for unpaid helped introduce me to people in the industry and made a call the group head at the firm I eventually landed FT (they knew each other).
You might not get tremendous experience but you can still make your resume look strong and it'll give you a big leg up on someone with zero IB/deal experience. I just think starting on the BO path will put you in a difficult position, so if you can hold out on money I'd take the IB internship.
Yeah; this is beginning to sound like the better option. Deal with 3-6 months of bullshit and hope to network enough to land somewhere else. You mind if I pm you with a few more questions?
Fire away
Take the BO job. Switch after like 6 months into a tech back office role. Switch to a consulting company as a tech consultant.
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