Sophomore BB upwards mobility to EB/top BB

Diversity sophomore at a weak semi-target with a 3.5 interning at a bottom tier BB (UBS/DB). I really don't see my bank having a good outlook for the future.

Do I have any chance at a top BB or EB for junior summer? Asking because of my low gpa and no EB recruit my school.

 

Yeah, you'll def get looks from other firms. Would just network and do so earlier (might even suggest reaching out to people that went from UBS/DB to other firms and/or those that were sophomores at other firms as part of that process). That and be really solid in your prep for interviews.

Know a girl that actually went DB sophomore to BX REPE so it's doable. FWIW she did go to a target but that starts mattering less once you've gotten your foot in the door. The competition for talent is fierce and firms don't hesitate to poach talent. This is actually why a lot of banks have walked back their freshman/sophomore programs - conversion to full-time has been very problematic.

 

Wtf? Do you know how few kids actually have BB internships their sophomore year? This is also a diversity program so you have a huge leg-up over all the white/asian kids applying for junior year internships.

 

Agreed, even as a current IB analyst at JP/GS/MS, I definitely would have stayed at Barclays or Bank of America if I was already there for my sophomore summer.

 

Disagree with this. 95% of kids that I know that were freshman/sophomores on the street tried to lateral to JPM/MS/GS (even from JPM/MS to GS) for junior year. Only the ones that were unsuccessful and a few that had really strong relationships at their sophomore summer firm stayed.

I haven't looked too hard at the numbers but a decent percent of ever year's GS IBD junior year SA class sophomore summered at other banks.

 

To OP, It's great you want to leave, just keep in mind that DB still has some strong and competitive groups in IBD if you "have" to stay.

 
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OP, first and foremost, your absolute priority this summer should be getting the return offer at your firm. Failing to secure a return offer will hinder your ability to move as you will be asked about it in interviews.

With regards to moving firms, now (while you're still on campus) is the perfect opportunity to be laying the foundation. The lateral process is completely separate from junior year recruiting so you should be aware of the timeline - it's early (as early as mid-July, yes while you're still on the desk, firms will start organizing interviews). Those interviews will happen quickly as they want to do them while everyone's still in the city - you should be prepared to finish your internship on Friday and interview the following Monday. Honestly, there were sophomores from other firms interviewing at my firm during the last few weeks of the internship program (yeah pretty wild and recruiting has only gotten nuttier so this might be standard now? not sure).

Did you network with alumni and other professionals through this process? If so, you should reach out to them to thank them for their time/help, let them know where you have signed for the sophomore summer, and ask to hop on a call to see if they have any advice on preparing for the summer or things to be aware of. If people have been gracious with their time, it's only sensible that you thank them for it and update them with how things play out (not sure why this isn't obvious to everyone but its common courtesy and also an easy way to maintain the relationship). If you worked with recruiters at other firms for their sophomore program, you should also communicate with them where you have signed and that you'd like to keep in touch for junior year opportunities.

For building relationships at other firms, if you're at a semi-target, you likely have alumni at the other firms as well. I'd reach out to those folks as well (junior or senior) as well as other analysts that switched firms (from yours to another or two other banks) and diverse analysts that did sophomore summer internships. Just say you're a student and you signed for sophomore summer at your bank but you'd love to connect to hear about their experience at their current firm, why they switched, if they would recommend it or not, etc.

You also mentioned that you are diverse so I would recommend continuing to apply to insight programs: there's the Blackstone one that there's been threads about, Moelis and Evercore have ones that are currently open, BB banks (BAML, MS, GS, etc) also have open applications now. Most these applications close in February so I wouldn't dilly dally here. Think the BX deadline has passed but no harm in reaching out to the recruiter to say I know the deadline has passed but I'm an incoming sophomore IBD analyst at this bank and I'd love to be looped into junior year opportunities. See if you can schedule a chat (honestly if offers haven't went out yet, they might even squeeze you in b/c they're in the business of recruiting the most competitive talent and you having secured a sophomore banking position is signaling in their eyes). These programs are created to be recruited out of and they're an easy way to get on the radar of other firms without much work. You'll also get a sense of the culture of other places to figure out if you even want to leave and which firms you would/wouldn't want to go to. Definitely put incoming sophomore summer analyst at your bank on your resume before sending it out. Definitely reach out to recruiters directly and maybe even people who have been through those programs.

Whether or not you ultimately interview or leave is a separate thing but I think it's a disservice to yourself to at least not see what else is out there, if you have the option. A few friends of mine were eligible for those insights programs and said that they just kept running into the same people at all of them, many people already committed to some bank for sophomore summer, and that they made some friends out of the programs. You'll likely get into these b/c you've signed with a competitor, you'll get a feel for the culture of other firms, and you'll make a ton of peer friends, and free trip to NYC - there is only upside.

Let me know if you have any other questions/if I can elaborate on anything! Congrats on the offer and good luck!

 

The "intern lateral process" is completely separate from junior recruiting? I did not know this was a thing - he can't recruit normally and expect the normal timeline? I had no idea banks did this for sophomores in BB IB already. I understand the return offer is critical either way, but I didn't know banks had a separate process for this

 

Intern lateral recruiting sophomore summer isn’t a thing. I knew several people who got junior summer offers for BBs in the regular timeline in the spring of the sophomore year, even tho they were going to an MM or another BB that summer. So they had already signed for their junior summer before starting their sophomore IB summer internship.

Array
 

Was a sophomore intern at a BB (BAML, CS, Citi) this past summer and almost every sophomore is going back (ignore my username). Some lateraled to the a different group in the bank and others were happy to stay where they placed. Of the 20-25 sophomores, I only know of 2 that are leaving. Once you are on the street you start to realize that group and culture matter more than bank. Feel free to ask any questions

 

When you say on the street, would you include banks like RBC, Mizuho, BNP Paribas etc.

 

RBC is way way ahead of Mizuho and BNP for IBD. They're also doing much better than DB and especially UBS in North America.

 

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