Q&A: No return offer to FT BB Offer
Wanted to help out other people who are / will be in a similar position, so wanted to provide a forum to help those still going through FT recruiting. Some background info: I was at a boutique / MM investment bank, and didn't get a return offer. There was a pretty low return offer rate, and a lot of us were fucked and we did not really expect it at all. Was absolutely destroyed for about a week after I got the news, as I was told I was performing well throughout the internship. I expect some of you would will say there were signs that many of us weren't going to get returns, but this truly wasn't the case. Mid internship reviews strongly positive, and we had no additional formal feedback sessions after that. Ended up re-recruiting, and got an offer at BB, after a couple months of putting my head down and grinding. This consisted mostly of learning technicals, shooting networking emails, and applying to open applications cold. More than happy to help out anyone else in a similar position any way I can - it's a painful spot to be in.
Do you want to exit to PE?
How is this at all relevant
Do all BBs post FT analyst positions on their websites? Or is networking the only way to find out about them?
Also what did the timeline for your process look like?
Hey @KillerBean" ,
Many of the BBs actually don't post the FT Analyst positions on their websites. I had a couple of BB superdays, and I only recall one of them actually being listed on the website. Other ones had sent me a link to apply to after I had already gotten the super day. After speaking to some analysts, it's my impression that if you drop an application on the website, your resume will almost certainly get lost in a sea of thousands of applicants. Since most banks try to fill the spots of SAs that leave or didn't get returns, you're only looking at 1-2 open spots. If you network with people at the associate level and above, you'll have a much better shot.
Timeline for BB FT recruiting is pretty unstructured if you're interviewing for a specific coverage group. Saw a lot of threads saying BBs were done recruiting by September, but I did two in October, and got the invite for two more in November, which I could not attend because I had already accepted my offer. Hope this helps.
How did you approach the associate level+ employees for networking? Did you simply reach out on LinkedIn? Also, how did you exactly find out about / ask for info about any non-advertised positions? Did you ask during the networking meeting you set up?
Hey, thanks for doing this.
I'm in a similar position but at this point, all the open apps from BBs seem to be for lateral hires. From seeing your above response, it seems like you were done by October, but at this point, what would you recommend?
Hey man-
Timeline was a little bit later - believe it was in October. For networking, I'd recommend making sure your resume is in really good shape (try sending it to your buddies who are full time analysts to look it over first), and then start cold-emailing associates and above. Firms don't have a standard role that handles recruiting; in some firms, analysts will run it, and in others, associates will. I think reaching out to any alumni associate level or above is a safe idea, as well as people with similar backgrounds (eg. similar hobbies).
Definitely acknowledge that you understand it's late in the process, and always take the call even if there may not be an open spot at the moment - one might open up later down the road and you could be the first one they call. I've sometimes had good conversations with analysts / associates at banks that didn't have open spots, but they referred me to their friends at banks with open slots. Good luck with everything man.
Thanks man. One more question: did you find that your superdays had more difficult technicals because it was FT?
Hey @Meewtw" ,
I think the finance technicals were only marginally harder than SA interviews, but they'll expect you to know about a specific coverage group if you interned in it / are interviewing for that group. More industry-related questions. Eg. Tell me about a deal you saw in X industry, what are some companies you think are interesting, why are you interested in X industry?
One notable difference between FT and SA, however, is that there are many more interview rounds for FT in my experience, especially if the team is smaller or if you're interviewing for a specific coverage group. Some BBs had up to 7 phone screens before the superday (though they were all chill and asked generally the same questions). I believe this is because you're signing a 2 year contract as FT analysts, whereas SA is only 10 weeks, after which they can decide if they like you; so they have a much more thorough process for full-time. Just my thoughts on this.
How did you explain not getting a return offer? Looks like it worked out but I imagine some people were skeptical of your situation even if you were honest about it.
What kind of school you go to? Lac or uni? Target or non target? East coast or Midwest or elsewhere?
How did your networking calls and emails differ from your summer analyst position networking? What did you talk about in the calls (because I would assume that you no longer ask about many of the things that you did for SA networking? Thanks
Hey IBplz78 ,
Yeah, for sure. They're usually willing to hop on the phone if your resume looks fine / they're looking for candidates. On the phone, without exception, all of them will ask if you got a return offer or not. Some of them will mask it nicely by saying "Are you thinking of going back?" and others will just ask you straight up. The conversation will mostly be about your experiences at the bank you were at over the summer, deals you were on, and work you did. Make sure you know the deals that you were on, their rationale, as well as the company at hand. Based on how you speak about those topics, as well as how much they care that you didn't get a return offer, the interviewer will proceed. Hope this helps.
I feel the lack of return offer was probably due to banks expecting a financial crisis and trying to manage headcount. I work at a BB and that seems to be what's happening here too.
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