potential comp related dilemma for lateral hire into BB IBD

I'll make this short - currently finishing up my first year in BB S&T, and have interviewed for IBD in a bunch of other BBs, and my own BB internally. Got a call from HR from one of the other BBs, and they said before they give me an offer letter, the need me to fill out a past compensation questionnaire before they give me my official contract.

Here is the issue - my desk got absolutely decimated in 2012 PnL wise (negative PnL, in the several millions of dollars), and several senior people got let go. Our bonus pool was minuscule, and several people got zeros at the senior and mid-level. A lot of people, including analysts and associates, resigned and went elsewhere. Analysts were a little luckier because HR has certain benchmark for bonuses, but even then, it was well below street, and nowhere close to what a 1st year in BB IBD would get, let alone BB S&T....now if i disclose my true bonus to the other BBs HR, would my future comp be bench marked to this?

I don't want my future IBD bonus to be bench marked to what i got on a shitty trading desk...i want to be paid standard, street level IBD bonus (the new IBD position is at a top BB btw, GS/ms/JPM), and am just afraid that after filling out the comp questionnaire, my future IBD comp is going to be benchmarked to what i got in S&T

 

No reputable bank is going to arbitrarily pay you significantly less than your peers. Don't fret.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

You're overthinking this. You are not going to get dinged on your next salary just b/c your trading desk's P&L had one shitty year.

All the world's indeed a stage, And we are merely players, Performers and portrayers, Each another's audience, Outside the gilded cage - Limelight (1981)
 
quag_mire:

I was not really referring to base. I'm sure my base will be street standard. I was more concerned about my future year-end bonus, which I am hoping is not benchmarked to what i got on this desk lol

That's what everyone else in this thread was talking about. You're being paranoid. You're in the same bonus pool as everyone else.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
quag_mire:

I was not really referring to base. I'm sure my base will be street standard. I was more concerned about my future year-end bonus, which I am hoping is not benchmarked to what i got on this desk lol

Double post.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

quad_mire:

Do you mind sharing how you went about looking at other groups internally within your bank? And how'd you hear about these positions? Aren't your bosses typically not happy when you try to get out of your own group? Or did they actually encourage/help you? And isn't there usually like an 18 month period where you can't look internally until then?

Appreciate the help; thank you in advance

 
quag_mire:

my bosses are chill and understood that i wanted a career switch, so they gave me permission to move internally, as did HR, so I am interviewing with a bunch of groups internally, hoping it works out

Hey, I know I sent a PM already, but figured everyone could get a lot of value out of this question. When did you start expressing that you wanted to move onto IB? Did you start networking before then? Did you start the conversation with your boss and then HR?

 

No BB will mess with your bonus based on your previous year's bonus. You'll either got top, middle or bottom bucket based on your performance/reviews and then you'll get the same bonus as everybody else in your bucket.

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”
 

Still in the fucking office!! Long story short, networked with friends in other BBs, got interview and subsequent offer, and having something in hand, I brought up the convo with HR and my group and they were ok with me moving internally...this was sometime in early August....ill tell u this...my recruiting process has taught me that lateraling to banking from trading is pretty fucking hard, simply because many bankers are rigid and will not look at non banking candidates unless you have a strong network...heading out of office PM me or update thread latwr

 
Best Response
quag_mire:

Still in the fucking office!! Long story short, networked with friends in other BBs, got interview and subsequent offer, and having something in hand, I brought up the convo with HR and my group and they were ok with me moving internally...this was sometime in early August....ill tell u this...my recruiting process has taught me that lateraling to banking from trading is pretty fucking hard, simply because many bankers are rigid and will not look at non banking candidates unless you have a strong network...heading out of office PM me or update thread latwr

Thanks for the response man. Two more questions.

  1. Did you network with IBD groups at your own firm before you brought it up with HR and your boss? I feel like this could give you a leg up, but also be pretty risky if word gets around.

  2. I'm also in a S&T-type role. Was there anything that you did/say that made you sound serious about wanting to do IBD? I just want to show these guys that I talk to that I'm serious about the switch over, even tho I haven't been in my role a year yet.

 

i only networked with other BBs initially, because I was afraid of what would happen if my group found out what I was doing. Once I was in the final stages of interviews with other banks and was confident of getting an offer, I brought this up to HR, and they were willing to help me make the move....in retrospect, I should have brought it up earlier, because HR would have always been supportive, and so would my group....not doing so made me miss out on a lot of internal IBD opportunities...but then again, this is a double edged sword - some groups might be supportive of u moving, some might not, so it depends on your relationship with your MDs

I've always wanted to do banking even in college, and decided to give S&T a try and then sort of got stuck in it....i worked in distressed debt before as an intern, so had relevant valuation skills etc, so it was easy to sell myself as a banking candidate...getting interviews was hard though, since I was competing with a lot of banking analysts for lateral positions

 

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