Post MBA IB: deciding which group?
I'm in transaction services and headed to an M7 this fall. I'm planning on recruiting for IB, but not sure if I should be looking at specific industry groups or a generalist program.
Currently, I'm in an very niche due diligence / analytics role within the health services space working with mostly PE clients and some large corporate buyers / sellers. While I don't LOVE what I'm doing right now, I think pivoting to a healthcare group would be a logical sell and it would also broaden my reach within health services and get exposure to life sciences & med tech. I can't say for certain whether I'm passionate or not about healthcare overall since my experience has been so focused.
Outside of healthcare, I'm interested in media/tech, but I'm sure there are a TON of people my age that are as well. I could possibly try to sell the analytics background as a reason for my interest in tech, but that story feels less concrete than the healthcare sell.
I'm wondering if I should recruit for industry groups (healthcare vs media/tech) or if I should be industry agnostic and look for generalist / M&A groups? Wondering what the differences in career path / exit options down the line would be if I was industry focused vs not?
I have about 8-9 months before I have to hit the ground running with recruitment, but would appreciate any insight or advice you all could provide.
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A lot of this will ultimately depend on the banks you talk to, what their strong groups (be it coverage or product), and the people you meet. BB banks tend to have product groups vs. industry groups. MM/Elite Boutiques tend to have industry specific M&A/strategic advisory groups.
But two things, which are related, you should ask yourself are whether 1) there is an industry you feel passionate about (doesn't like you have one yet), and 2) do you see banking as a medium/long-term career or just a pit stop for a couple years before you leave for something else.
Absent of an industry you're really interested about and/or you're thinking about leaving banking after a few years, going into a product group (particularly M&A) will likely be the better option. You'll get exposure to a lot of different industries (which can also inform your industry interest), and generally build strong technical skills that would be transferrable pretty much anywhere you go. And rightly or wrongly, M&A tends to have more cachet.
If you do have a specific industry you have a strong interest in, I tend to lean towards the prioritizing industry. Banking is a grind, but it's marginally less painful when you're dealing with companies in an industry you're interested, and easier of a sell for your next employer (assuming in the same industry). Some industry groups are just as technical as M&A, but this is very bank and group dependent.
As for healthcare vs. TMT, no one will really be able to answer this but you. Neither industry is going anywhere, and there are subsectors within those broader industries that you can focus on. And people switch industries at the junior levels all the time. One thing I will say about life sciences (biotech/pharma and med tech), unless you're really passionate about it, I generally would not go into it. It's very hard to be a good banker without industry knowledge, and life sciences is niche enough industry that spending too much time in it can hinder your ability to move into another industry.
Would echo much of the sentiment above.
Coverage makes sense if you are a) genuinely passionate about a particular industry or b) know for sure you'd like to work in that industry as an exit. Otherwise, don't overthink it--I had plenty of peers going for different groups at different banks purely based on which people they liked.
Any bank that will start you as a generalist and/or executes M&A in groups will give you the most flexibility. And as @jobless123 pointed out, you can move around as a junior banker if your feelings change.
Not a concern for your potential areas, but only in more extreme circumstances would I avoid coverage based on sector performance--the closest example right now is O&G/Energy.
Is it possible for an MBA candidate to recruit for different industry/product groups across banks? Heard that alumni talk about certain candidates (at least about which bank is a candidate's first choice) so wasn't sure if that is a red flag.
Interested in this as well. Coming from an O&G background, I’m worried my best shot will be to recruit for O&G, however I’m actually trying to get out of this industry. Any thoughts on trying to get into Power & Utilities from an O&G background? I’m guessing as long as your “why” makes sense you can go for most groups but I’ve seen conflicting things when it comes to this. Thanks.
While your background may make the O&G banking story the easiest to craft, an O&G background would never be the reason you wouldn't get an offer in another industry group.
If you don't want to do O&G banking (awesome space but the mid term IB outlook is really somber) then just make that clear in your "story" and it won't be an issue at all. You will likely be asked "why NOT O&G" given your background so just be prepared to spin that into why you want to cover XYZ.
I recently went through the MBA recruiting process. You can recruit for any coverage group as long as you have a story that makes sense. I am going into a coverage group that I have no background in. I did get a lot of questions on “Why this group?” however I had an answer that made sense.
There were a lot of people who recruited for two coverage/product groups and had no problem doing so.
Can you speak a bit to what stories make sense? I know it would depend on the individual but let's say you are trying to go into a coverage group that has no real connection to your previous work experience, how would you tackle that?
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