Pre-MBA CAREER PATH?
Which of the following is the best career path for landing a post-MBA IB Associate job?
BB PWM -> Top 5 MBA -> BB IB Associate
BB Commercial Banking -> Top 5 MBA -> BB IB Associate
F500 rotational program -> Top 5 MBA -> BB IB Associate
I pursued one of the three paths above (though my MBA is top 10 and not top 5) and all three can help your transition perfectly into banking. I also know people in each of these backgrounds who recruited into post-MBA banking
1.) PWM - You will have by far the hardest time getting interviews because PWM is looked down upon by bankers. Nonetheless, the sales skills and polish you will develop (as well as learning the nuances of managing / navigating personalities and organizations) are invaluable. A great skillset for a long-term / career banker... This is pretty important since senior-level VP and beyond, sales skills far outweighs your analytical / technical skills
2.) Commercial banking - Great fit for product group banking such as leveraged finance or syndicated loans or structured finance. Commercial banking is extremely broad though. Ironically, this is the background I have seen the least of in MBA banking recruting. My theory is that people in commercial banking can transition to investment banking on their own, even without a MBA...
3.) F500 - Great fit for coverage group. If you did a program at GE for example, industrial groups will fight over you. If you did it at a tech company, you can probably get interviews at any TMT group on the street. The danger of this is that you might get silo'ed into a particular industry even against your will. I have seen a lot of people from a particular background get placed into an industry group (based on their background) against their will
Ultimately, recruting is what you make of it. All three backgrounds will enable you to break into banking. The key is do what you enjoy and choose the path that will maximize your professional development. You want to be able to enjoy your work and be a leader so that your achievements can get you into a top 5 business school
Great post.
How does a F500 Leadership program in an insurance company do? Just wondering if that still fits into your categories.
Yeah I wish I had SBs, that was good stuff.
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