purely theoretical question at this point, but i’m just curious what people think. say you were doing ER on the sellside and had done 2 years for your senior and were planning on switching to the buy-side. would you ask your senior to use his/her contacts to help you in looking for a new position?
I have done this but only in an intra-company setting. i.e, looking for different position within same company. this was an insurance company though, not investment related.
I have done this and it worked out quite well. I was and remain pretty good buddies with that boss however, depends on the relationship.
turkish, how long did you work for the previous boss? how did you bring up the discussion?
stylemog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > purely theoretical question at this point, but i’m > just curious what people think. > > say you were doing ER on the sellside and had done > 2 years for your senior and were planning on > switching to the buy-side. would you ask your > senior to use his/her contacts to help you in > looking for a new position? I’ve heard of this, but: 1) I would be reluctant to be the first one to ask. In my experience, people have had an MD in there group who has a history of talking to junior guys about there goals and helping them achieve them. If this is the case then it may be a worthwhile converation to have with him, otherwise, you’re rolling the dice. 2) If you want to roll the dice, next time you’re at lunch/drinks/dinner with your boss, snake your way into a conversation about your long term goals and mention something like “I’ve been wondering what it’s like to work on the buy-side…”.
Worked there for 4 years. One week over beers, I said, I think I’d like to try sell-side trading…he said, I’ll make some calls. Then I responded, if you didn’t make 10 times more than me, I’d offer to pick up the beers…
It really depends on (1) your group and (2) your relationship with your boss. In banking, you’re expected to interview with other shops at the end of your first year or beginning of your second year as an analyst, and most group heads are receptive to this because it reflects well on the group if they’re able to place you at a great buy-side position. For example, GS TMT and MS M&A historically have placed their analysts at the best HF/PE shops, and they’re very supportive of this because it helps fortify the banking relationship with the buy-side firm and it also helps draw the best talent to their group when it comes to hiring new analysts. However, this is very specific to investment banking, as there is a lot more variability if you work in different areas of the bank where the maturation and exit of junior employees is not as regimented. This leads me to the second point, in that asking your current boss for help with finding a job really depends on your relationship. Some managers are very supportive of this, and realize that it is in their best interest to help cultivate and develop young talent – these are the good managers. They understand the importance of helping to mentor young professionals, as Wall Street is a small place and the street runs both ways. It’s true, because you never know when your boss might come asking you for work in the future (I’ve seen it happen). However, there are a lot of managers that do not understand the notion of a two-way street and are too focused on their own self-interests. These managers feel like that as long as they keep their subordinates happy enough, they’ll never leave and they can continue doing perfunctory or rudimentary work for the manager. These same people will feel insulted by the idea that you’d ever want to stop working for them, and might do whatever they can to suppress or even sabotage your professional growth, however insidious such behavior might be. Sometimes it’s due to selfishness; other times it’s due to personal insecurity; and the remaining times it’s due to pure managerial incompetence. Whatever the case is, these people don’t realize that good employees always find ways to rise to the top, and if they’re not given the opportunity to do so within the team or under the guidance and supervision of their manager, they’ll find ways to get it done on their own. You really have to carefully examine your situation and your work relationship with your boss, as it can vary widely. I’ve been in both situations, i.e. asking for a manager for their support in looking for new opportunities, and circumventing them entirely because, for whatever reason, they did not want me to leave and thought they could somehow prevent me from circumventing their totalitarian proclivities. In my relatively short professional life, I feel like I’ve been able to continue moving upwards – sometimes with the support of my boss, and other times without it (or even with their opposition). When they oppose your personal and professional development, it then becomes a simple issue of taking matters into your own hands and doing what’s best for yourself. So, I now ask you: “would you ask current boss for helping find a new job?”
That was well though out…
Turkish Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Worked there for 4 years. One week over beers, I > said, I think I’d like to try sell-side > trading…he said, I’ll make some calls. Then I > responded, if you didn’t make 10 times more than > me, I’d offer to pick up the beers… As long as it wasn’t WillyR???
Turkish Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That was well though out… I was looking for the right opportunity to write about it and thought it’d never come around.
“As long as it wasn’t WillyR???” I’m fairly certain WillyR asked me for a job.
thanks for the thoughts guys… very helpful
did you decide what you’re going to do?