If you are one of the analysts who do not receive a 3rd year offer, you usually know it in advance, as you will have been rated poorly in your second year and should have already been looking for other opportunities, whether in banking, P/E, B school, corp fin, buy side, etc.

If you are one of the analysts who do not get an associate offer, you might be caught a little off guard, as you can be ranked fairly well, 3, 3+ or 4 out of 5 (5 being the best), and get an associate offer, or not get one – this often depends on your group’s methods of bringing on associates traditionally, the need to bring on associates in your group, whether you are interested in staying with your group or moving to another and even the condition of the market and level of deal flow. If you are ranked a 5, you should get the promotion, and generally 4s have a strong shot at landing the promotion as well – although this does vary from group to group and bank to bank. Since it is generally the B school entry point, the associate promotion is a trickier matter since some banks rarely promote, while others try to grow from within, and the same goes from group to group within banks.

If you are not promoted or not given a 3rd year offer, you will have to move on – whether that means you find a new home within the bank, move to a boutique, P/E, other buy side, commercial finance, corp finance, etc, you will be termed out upon the expiration of your contract, either at your 2-year mark, or your 3-year mark (depending on your situation). Since it is the end of a contract, you will not be given severance, but you will be given a bonus based on your ranking just as the other analysts are given bonuses based on their rankings. A 3rd year 3+ who doesn’t get promoted, should get the same bonus as a 3rd year 3+ who does get promoted, although the promoted analyst will usually get an associate sign on bonus, raise, and so forth. This, of course, is far different than those analysts who receive buyouts from their banks or are simply fired – in that case there is no necessity to provide a bonus accrued, but rather a severance package or buyout package (depending on your situation – essentially the difference is severance you don’t choose, buyout you “get to choose” although if you don’t take the buyout there is often a much better chance of being laid off).

If you do not earn a 3rd year and you haven’t yet found another opportunity, your marketability will be a bit less than if you are not promoted to associate simply because it is easier to get the 3rd year offer than to get the associate promotion. At the end of the day, however, not getting an offer/promotion is not as important as your experience with the firm over your 2 or 3 years. Deal experience, project responsibility, modeling skills, contacts, etc, will carry you in your pursuit to find a new employer – you may have to look at some smaller shops, boutiques, etc, but you should be able to find a home (generally speaking – market conditions definitely play a factor in the ease, or lack-there-of, of finding new opportunities). Although you might be asked whether you received an offer or not, and if not, why not, you can absolutely craft an answer that doesn’t lead to you shooting yourself in the foot – bank on your experience and sell those experiences. Sometimes the team just doesn’t have the deal flow or is told to let some analysts go – and particularly in this type of market, it is still alright to use an answer like this – as long as the real reason isn’t something awful that your former employer will shout from the rooftops.

Finally, regarding B school, while it is difficult to get into top schools with just 2 years of experience, if you can point to strong experiences over those 2 years, coupled with some leadership activities whether in college, during your professional career, or both, craft some articulate essays and get some solid recs (even though you don’t get a return offer, most bankers will still write a letter supporting your candidacy as long as you tried and were a decent analyst – in other words you weren’t let go because of a terrible attitude, etc), you should definitely have a shot. The application and review process is often a good bit about luck, so give it your best, and if you don’t make it that year, you can pick up a nice non-profit gig, or work in corp fin, etc for 1 or 2 years, build some fresh experiences and then reapply – that is, if B school is something you are seriously interested in. Also, since you are coming from a banking background, you will be expected to do well on the GMAT (although regardless of your background, for top schools, you will be expected to do well on the GMAT – in the 700s) and that is something you will want to prepare for if you haven’t already.

To quickly recap – if you don’t receive the 3rd year or promotion, don’t panic. You should know at least a few months in advance as the process takes place generally around the half-way point of your 2nd or 3rd year (depending on which you are going for, of course). Once you get the word you need to move into action. While you don’t want to completely slack on your work as you never want to burn bridges or screw over your chances of getting needed recommendations, you should absolutely start reaching out to your network and headhunters. Put the feelers out, polish the resume, and work on getting your name back out there. Make sure all of your deals, modeling work, and so forth is articulated clearly and well on your resume before sending it out – you can probably even ask a colleague or two to take a quick look when they have a spare second. Next, be open with your boss – if you need a bit of time to interview on a particular day, just give a bit of notice – they know you’re being let go and you need to move on in, probably, the next several weeks, to a few months – not a hell of a lot of time. Remember to relax and not lose your cool – you can absolutely find something else, even if temporary, you just need to keep your eyes and ears open (and, ideally, have your contacts do the same).

That’s about it – if anyone has any other questions on the topic, or any topic, feel free to send me an email HERE or drop a comment below! Stay tuned for future posts on what a analyst really does, navigating the SA prep and interviews and much more!

The modeling experience is definitely a sizable part of the attraction to those groups exhibited by P/E firms, and even with slower deal flow, there will still be a good amount of modeling, or at least more so than in most industry groups (outside of those that do all of their own modeling). That said, it isn’t just about the modeling, it is also about the contacts you will make and the perceived value of the group as a skill set in general. P/E shops see Lev Fin and M&A above all else as their feeder groups since that is how they view their job. Sponsors and the industry group that they serve follow, since those groups are still in line with their function/industry beyond just being P/E (for example, a renewable energy focused P/E shop would look to E&P or Project Finance).

While deal flow has definitely slowed down, it has also slowed down for the P/E shops – as Lev Fin comes back, so too will P/E shops, and, possibly, so too will hiring, if this all unfolds accordingly. If you are interested in breaking into P/E – look to M&A, then Lev Fin (although depending on the bank’s rep for the groups, they may be reversed), then Sponsors and then coverage.

As a recent Business school graduate, can/should I include my SAT score on my resume?

I wouldn’t include your SAT unless 1) you couple it on a line with your U Grad GPA and 2) have your GMAT listed with your B school. If you have your SAT listed and not your GMAT score, it will look a bit funny – sort of like you are relying on the distant past as a means of remedying your poor performance in the present.

Technically, if you have your GMAT on there, and it is strong, you don’t need your SAT – if, however, you just want to include it to avoid any potential questions (though I don’t see many arising), and you have a strong SAT (if it’s not strong, then obviously leave it out) feel free to include it as long as you stick with the 2 above conditions.

I’ve been placed on hold/on a waitlist for an IB opp, what should I do?

On hold is better than a ding, but you also don’t know how many people are “on hold.” For now, I would focus on finding other opportunities, BB, MM, boutique, and let the chips fall where they may regarding the “on hold” bank. If, however, you get an offer from another bank of the same caliber, or even a strong bank in a slightly lower tier while still “on hold”, you can absolutely contact the bank that put you “on hold” and let them know about your exploding offer – they will in that case either ding you, or make you an offer – either way the wait will be over and you will have gotten your verdict.

Do you know if banks will take back their offer if they are unsatisfied with your transcript, because you have taken too many courses P/NP thereby manipulating your GPA?

I think you are pretty safe. As long as your GPA is in the ballpark of what you claimed it was when you applied, you should be fine. It might look a bit funny to have a number of P/NPs in your transcript, but, honestly, they don’t give a crap. As long as your GPA is where it should be and you are graduating when you are supposed to be (based on what you’ve told them), you shouldn’t have a problem with retaining your offer (whether SA or FT). Banks will verify the transcript, but not scrutinize it – more as a means of checking what I previously mentioned and, honestly, dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s.

I was wondering if you offer any review services pro bono, for a discounted rate, etc.

Here’s the thing; first, I believe that my revision fees are fair and if I discounted someone or gave a free full revision to someone, I’d be expected to do the same for virtually everyone. Second, I always offer high level resume reviews (which often turn into more than “high level”) and I am always available to take a look at any of your resumes and give you some general feedback – you are welcome to send it over. I honestly enjoy working with so many of you on improving your resumes, and helping you all to land interviews – unfortunately, the most I can offer on a “free basis” is the high level reviews – whether through email, WSO, or private message.

Do I need my MBA to succeed in banking?

This is a question that I receive way too often (nothing wrong with questions, just that I hope this response helps to set the record straight). When it comes right down to it, you do not need an MBA to succeed in banking, to earn a promotion to associate, to VP, D, etc – you can do all of this with nothing more than your Bachelors. That said, the promotion to associate, and then subsequent promotions, are not automatic by any means and will require hard work, good connections, intellect, and, of course, a bit of luck. It is definitely possible to run the ladder without a finishing degree, but for many, the security or, rather, opportunity that an MBA offers is worth the break in employment. Additionally, if you are not one of the analysts who believe an associate promotion is your destiny (or implied – as in you are amazing and it is all but a given that you will earn one), the MBA is a nice back-up plan, or even go-to plan – then again, P/E, boutiques, buy-side are all good back-up plans as well. When it comes right down to it, an MBA is definitely helpful, but strictly in terms of investment banking necessities, it is not one.

Stay tuned for more articles on Missing the 3rd year offer, what a banker really does – part 2, and much more! Comments go below, and emails, as always, can be sent Here!