Should I quit after 6 months on the job?
Hi everyone,
I am trying to elicit some help here and ask for everyone's opinions on whether I should quit?
**Background: **
I am from a non-target school and worked really hard to get current job in a M&A group at a tier 1 investment bank in nyc. Right now I am considering quitting after I find a good exit pop (I will never quit without one) and I think that will prob take me 6 months or so to do it, so basically my question is: by the one year mark when I possibly have found myself a good exit opp, should I quit at that one year mark or stick it out for 2 years?
Why I want to quit earlier ( at one year mark) instead of sticking it out for 2 years:
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I do not like the work (frankly, I don't enjoy the daily content of my work, and I also don't care about the work I do)
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I am not good at it (I am not very analytical although I know the basics but I am not a person who is very sensitive around numbers by nature, I know IB doesn't require rocket science math but compared to a more analytical peer, I am not as good as them) and I also don't want to do very analytical work.
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I don't like the lifestyle and I generally don't see myself staying in banking more than 2 years tops, and I have no desire to go into PE or corporate development. I want a more relaxed work environment and a better work and life balance. I know people on this forum will laugh and say I am a loser, if that's what you want to do, so be it. Above are what I want out of honesty and I just don't want to lie here.
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I think my reasons for why banking back in the day is probably not solid reasons: I wanted in because of money and prestige, and now my outlook on life has changed and money and prestige don't matter that much to me anymore. My current priorities:
a. work wise: do what I enjoy and what I am better at doing than other people (or at least will be good at doing)
b. life wise: I wanted to be a more interesting people overall (bankers and other business ppl please no offense, not targeting anyone here) and have a more meaningful life in general (again no offense): since the work in banking I don't really care about, I don't feel a sense of purpose in life, and since the work has taken up so much of my time, I don't have much free time at all to do what I am interested in doing outside of work
c. compensation wise: willing to take a pay check
**Where I want to do next? **
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I possibly want to do early stage VC (not late stage or growth equity), and sure having banking experience is one way to get in but there are other ways to get in too such as working at a startup
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Fundraising/Investor relations at a buy side shop, could be at a PE shop or an Asset Manager or a HF.
**My question: **
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Based on my question, what should I consider from all aspects before actually taking actions?
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What would you guys advise/recommend?
Thanks, really appreciate it.
I don't think it's crazy to leave after 1 year it doesn't look good but, if you honestly don't ever see yourself back in banking, I don't think it's that big of a deal. A decent percentage of juniors are always leaving so it's not that uncommon.
Don't leave your current position until you have something concrete from where you want to be. I've seen a fair number of people make that mistake. All of the sudden their job search that they thought would take a month or two takes nearly a year if not longer. All of the sudden they have an unfriendly gap in your resume. In my experience I've realized two truths: 1) It's easier to get a job when you have a job 2) Every day that passes that you don't have a job it becomes harder to get a job
I think your reasons for wanting to leave are fairly thought out and more mature than they were going in, however, realize that... 1) Every job will have work in it that you don't like 2) The grass isn't always greener: your next job won't necessarily have more interesting people, work that you'll enjoy off the bat, or give you purpose in life.
Overall: Based on your situation, I'd take what time you have next weekend and really think about where you want to be. From there network and figure out the path to get there. Land the position and then make the move. Realize that your best option to get to where you want to be may just be to stay for the full 2 years.
Thank you very much @93and63" , your response is very helpful.
I was just wondering, what do you know or do anyone on the forum know about fundraising roles that exist within buy side shops? I am very interested in getting to know more about those but the info out there on the internet is very limited.
Thanks!
Up, I would like to see if there are more comments? Thanks guys!
I would strongly recommend finishing the two year program. For a certain set of jobs (including many of the ones you actually want), the completion of an IB analyst program is similar to a graduate degree. It gives the person hiring you comfort that you have a working knowledge of finance and strategy, and can work in a demanding corporate environment. Doing it for one year, on the other hand, doesn't count for much. (The first six months are training and figuring out where the bathrooms are).
Leaving this soon may signal that you are flaky or a primadonna. Whoever you're interviewing with has almost certainly paid his or her dues in a job that they didn't like but did for a while anyway, for whatever reason. They're probably not going to identify with or have much empathy for someone who didn't finish out a program that was pretty short to begin with.
Oh, and it's not like IR or VC jobs go begging. There's a very good chance you'll be competing with 2nd and 3rd year analysts for them.
Why do you think corporate development is a high stress job? It's certainly less stressful than VC or growth equity. Most people go into CD precisely because it is so laid back. Do you know how inefficient companies are relative to IBs and consulting shops?
My reasons for corporate development is not because of its lifestyle it's because I think I will not enjoy the work (similar to PE to some extent).
Not sure about IR, I am more interested in fundraising. Although sometimes they are linked together.
My ideal position is early stage VC, since it's recruitment timeline is so much random and usually expect an immediate start once hire. I will start to recruit for VC now and might consider leaving if I get an offer from an early stage VC firm. I think it might take me 6 months or longer to land such a job, if I do get it in 6 months then I strongly consider leaving around my 1 yr mark.
How does the above plan sound?
Not in IB but similar banking group and I’m thinking about leaving at 6 month mark even without anything lined up right now, a lot of the same reasoning as you, long hours lifestyle and outlook has definitely changed my perspective of this industry and looking to move ASAP. What did you end up doing?
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