Trouble deciding which offer to pursue: CB @ BB VS. M&A @ Local Big Four
FYI: both positions are Full-time analyst.
I am in a position where I have received a Local (German) Big-Four FT in M&A (IBD) and a London based CB FT offer at a BB.
I'm really not sure which way I should go. Stay local and do local M&A or go for CB in London at a BB?
Hi Tim_Bilas, any of these topics helpful:
Or maybe the following users have something to say: monkey168 Zatopek snakeplissken
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
up.
Would you mind elaborating on your interests and location preferences?
If you really want to do M&A, the position at the Big4 should clearly be your choice. I know the German market quite well and can tell you that it would not be a major problem to lateral to BBs/EBs (within Germany) after a few years assuming you are doing a great job at the Big4 and have significant deal exposure. Moving to another office within the BB/EB may be an opportunity a few more years down the road since most of the banks have rotational programs in place or at least encourage it to some extent (and until a certain degree ob job tenure).
Do you speak German fluently?
Is CB really of interest to you? Do you desire to work and live in London?
Sure, no problem.
I have a strong preference to try life in London for at least two years, which, alongside the "prestige" factor of having been with a London BB, is a strong pull.
Aside from my short-term aspirations, my long-term goal is to join a local German PE Fund. Thus, for my long-term goal, the M&A gig is pulling me in that direction.
For your final questions:
1) Yes, I am a native German speaker,
2) I like some of the work a CB position offers you, but I also think that the nature of Annual Reviews / Credit Memos are somewhat boring, as it is purely internal work.
Hi T, congratulations on the offers! Both I would say are great choices. It depends on what your career goals are, I would say. It is very easy to move from Big 4 M&A to investment banking at a BB, because the skill set required is the same. Moving from CB to IBD is also quite easy too, especially because most CB groups work directly with the M&A groups at BB's to help with financing. However, it would require more networking and being able to convince your interviewer that you have transferable skills. Nevertheless, being in london could provide more opportunities for networking etc. If your career goal is PE, big M&A would definitely be the better choice in that case, because it provides more transferrable skills to PE.
Once again congrats on both offers! If you don't mind, could you share what the interview process was like for the big 4 M&A position? Like was it behvourial, technical or case study? If so what was the case study about? Thanks so much for your help!
Also curious what Big 4 M&A interviews are like
See below, sorry.
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Thanks a lot for providing your perspective, it helps and both answers are honestly pushing me towards the local M&A, rather than the London based CB position. I am also very pleased with having two offers at hand, but it has made the choice even more difficult!
In terms of the Big 4 interview process:
There were four rounds in total, which are listed in chronological order below:
By the way, the two rounds in the middle happened on the same day.
Thanks so much tim! Really appreciate it!
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