Should I accept William Blair offer?
I currently have an offer for William Blair Chicago which expires in less than 48 hours - I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I’m from a non-target, but my school does have alumni connections at some banks like GS/MS/PJT. One of the analysts at GS said he would pull for me and the only other process I’m currently in is that I have an upcoming process for JPM CCB New York (which I’m also considering).
I know that coming from a non-target, I shouldn’t be so picky. But I’ve absolutely grinded my way through college and feel that my resume and experiences give me a chance for a NY firm. But I also understand that Covid has impacted the number of offers given out this year, which makes me afraid to not take the offer.
A part of me has just felt kinda unsettled when thinking about taking the offer. I don’t necessarily feel enthusiastic about the firm - it just feels like the most realistic option for me. I would love advice about this situation - should I take the risk...?
No, clearly you should not...and you already know this. Just take the offer.
Personally I'd take it. Sure, there's a significant difference in exit opps and prestige (if you care about that) between Blair and GS, but Blair is still a top MM firm. I'm sure you can lateral from there to pretty much any BB / EB you want after 1-2 years if you don't like it. However, if you feel like you'd be settling, then you may have to decline and shoot for your top choice so you don't question yourself down the road. Keep in mind this could mean you end up empty-handed.
WB is an excellent firm, I would go ahead and take the offer. I’m assuming CCB is some sort of corporate banking role? I wouldn’t recommend that at all. So really it’s between the WB offer and putting all your eggs in getting an offer with GS, where you don’t have even a confirmed interview yet.
WB will give you great exits if you stay and want to move to a buy side role in Chicago, or you can try your luck in FT recruiting next year after the summer, and I can’t imagine it would be too tough to move into a NY based BB (maybe not GS/MS but one of the others) if you still decide you want to be in a larger firm and in NY. The quality of the senior guys at Blair is very strong, and people have a lot of respect for the firm, in Chicago particularly, where it is probably the most prestigious role you can get out of undergrad (maybe with the exception of something at Citadel) but even in NY.
FWIW - GS/MS former analyst here who didn’t get past the first round at Blair. Congrats on your offer!
Take the offer and don't look back
Don’t let your COVID-19 internship experience cloud your judgment. WB is a great firm with a tremendous culture, which may have been difficult to experience through remote work. Their analyst retention suggests as much. Rolling the dice, especially without a confirmed interview at GS, is too risky.
Had you secured a few more interviews in more stable economic conditions, many, myself included, would encourage you to roll the dice. Congratulations on your offer.
As others have mentioned take the William Blair offer, you don't even have an interview for GS and assuming by CCB you mean corporate client banking which is corporate banking for $2bn - $500mm ev companies at JPM, this one's a no brainer.
If at this point WB is the only offer you have, I wouldnt be sure of your ability to land GS/MS anyway. Just take what you got
e: Fuck it, bring on the MS, no regrets
Yours as well
Don't feel that's super reflective of the current cycle — if you're non-diverse, it just means you struck out/didn't apply for Evercore, PWP, HL RX, PJT RSSG, Moelis & struck out/didn't apply early enough for CS/Citi (both of which are also doing fall recruiting). I'm at a supertarget and lots of very qualified kids just weren't applying to banks in Feb/March, & are really amping recruitment. Every BB is still recruiting & some EBs too like PJT m&a, CVP, Lazard, etc — not having an offer from EVR/PWP/HLRX/PJT RSSG/Moelis, by this point, doesn't mean you aren't gonna get an offer when basically everyone who has already gotten an offer has signed with that place...
Sure, if he didn't apply to anything until the summer that would make more sense, but if he struck out at all the others it's not a very good sign. When I was in undergrad it seemed like most people interested in IB would go through the earlier EB processes first though, but ofc there are exceptions. And I definitely could have phrased it better, but I just meant more along the lines that it's towards the middle-end of the process now, and he only has one offer at this point, so I would not get too cocky and reject a decent offer for prestige reasons unless you are very confident you will get another one. But GS/MS/JPM are obviously the hardest BBs to land, so like I said, I wouldn't be too sure of one's ability to land that unless you've gotten other comparable offers earlier. Unless OP is comfortable reneging..., but that's another matter
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...
"Two in the bush"
this must be what Good Old Patty Cake... you know what, nevermind
I've heard William Blair in Chicago has good exits to Chicago PE firms but no first-hand experience in the matter
100%
Blair is an incredibly well rounded and well regarded firm, especially Chicago. Great culture, exits and comp. Take the offer, and if in a year you decide it's not for you then you'll be in an even better position to lateral out to a place like GS.
To put it bluntly - you sound like an idiot.
Take the offer.
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