Hi Guys, I’m in a bit of a situation here. By no means and I complaining, but I have multiple offers comming up and I really don’t know how to pick. If you would be so kind as to share your $0.02, that would be much appreciated. Options (All options are for IB) 1) Canadian Big Bank (Verbal offer, no details yet) - This job was found through a ‘headhunter’, so I’m not sure if that will affect my compensation since the company will have to incur aditional costs. - I would have to specialize into an industry group immediately which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. - Good networking opportunity especially since I’m not out of a top b-school and don’t know too many people going into the industry. 2) Canadian Small Tier Independant (Verbal offer, no details yet) - Very small firm, but I have worked here previously and really enjoyed my time there & the people. - I get a fair bit of client interaction where I would never have the opportunity at a BB. - Very lean team and I would probably be compensated fairly well. 3) Canadian Mid Tier Independant (Finished shortlisted interviews) - No offer yet, but my fingers are crossed and the wood has been knocked on. - Firm is top 10 in equity issues. - Since its a small team, I would likely get some client interaction and I would get to work on all sorts of different deals (instead of specializing in one industry). - They have said that they would expect me to get started with minimal training so I would not get any formal training like the big banks would offer. Any thoughts or wisdom to share? Thanks!
Congratz . …did you just graduate from an MBA in canada ?? From what I 've heard from people in the industy the big banks provide the best training programmes …I would take the BB offer learn as much as i can and maybe transition to a smaller firm ( maybe mid - tier ) in 1.5 to 2 yrs …just my .02 cents … This is not advice just an opinion …
No MBA…undergrad… I’m going to have to make a choice very very soon…any other comments?
First off, congrats! Getting offers right out of undergrad is impressive. I think you should go with the Bank’s offer. A full fledged training program is invaluable, and you can always move into a mid-tier firm after gaining the 2-3 yrs of experience.
Congrats. I’d also go with the BB offer. Don’t worry about compensation this early in your career. I’d focus more on training and exit opps, both of which the BB offers.
Are you in MTL ibank?
I also would go for the BB. 
Sorry, I made a mistake the with the acronym apparently…I used BB = Big Bank, not Bulge Bracket… Sorry for the confusion. Thanks again for the advice!
If your assessment and descriptions of the positions are correct, go with #1. You are much better off starting your career at a firm with recognizable name brand early on. If you start at a small company, you may have good experience there too, but the perception of their program and relative lack of prestige can work against you assuming there is a candidate with equal job experiences but from a bigger bank. Plus, if you start out at a big bank, you’ll never have to explain why you decided to go with a small one.
Congratulations on the offers. You are in a great position. Assuming you are comfortable with the culture and people, I also recommend starting at the big bank. Having their name on your resume will provide a lot of credibility in the future,which is particularly helpful if you aren’t coming from a top school. Training is also important, but even the biggest Canadian banks tend to have more “on the job training” than global bulge bracket banks. If you still want to move down to a smaller shop in a few years (there are lots of good reasons to this, including compensation and truly entrepreneurial environment), this option should remain open. However, the reverse is not necessarily true if you start at a small independent. One other thing. Don’t worry too much about compensation at this stage of your career. Although your salary/bonus will be phenomenal for a recent university graduate, it’s peanuts compared to what you can make further down the road. In other words, don’t let $10K or $20K difference in first-year compensation affect your decision.
I agree with LIFO_FIFO_WTF. Training, prestige, credibility, and professional networks are among the most important factors that you can gain working at a big bank. Out of undergrad, I had the opportunity to work at a good but middle-tier bank in research (think along the lines of CIBC, Oppenheimer, Lazard, etc.) that paid me $15-20K more base (and comparable bonus) compared to what I would be earning at a bulge bracket. However, I decided to go with a larger bank for some of the reasons highlighted above. I know that the the training, prestige, and networks I developed through working at a couple of leading banks have paid dividends many times over. Even if I could have made more all-in comp at the associate level at a smaller firm, never having to defend my decision about going to a big bank is a great thing, and my BB experience has also opened up doors for me that may not have been opened had I worked at a smaller firm. For you, you would experience similar benefits working at a big Canadian bank as opposed to a smaller, perhaps relatively unknown independent firm.
Again ibank, are you in Montreal?
damn, this is the exact opposite of my situation… i interviewed with GMP, Canaccord, BMO, CIBC the only one that I can still say I may have a shot at is CIBC, the others ones I either got rejected or they took the position down due to recession any tips ibank? whats up Alayle. IBOasis is getting a bit boring…
alayle, i’m in toronto…
ibank: can you give us a bit of your background/stats? I’ve tried going through headhunters but they are not very helpful… keep being told that I “need prior work experience in IB”… at least 4/6 months as an analyst
mikeintoronto: seriously, nothing particularily special in terms of background or stats. not a top b-school, but i have <1 yr experience in IB in a boutique. i know it’s real tough to get started and you’re right that everybody is looking for 6-12 months work experience. but that’s because you’re going into “off-cycle” hires. the analyst class of 08 was already hired back in oct/nov 07 (for the big banks, GMP & Canaccord i’m pretty sure don’t recruit in waves like the banks) so they’re just looking to fill the gaps now. have you interviewed with cibc already?
if big bank is the investment divison of RBC/CIBC/TD those type of banks then its fine i rather in a firm that specialize in investment banking
ibank: would you be kind enough to send me an email at hoseinb@gmail.com? I would apprecaite 5 mins of your time, thank you
mikeintoronto Wrote: > I’ve tried going through headhunters but they are > not very helpful… keep being told that I “need > prior work experience in IB”… at least 4/6 > months as an analyst You need some experience. Is that a surprise?