Investment Banking / Corporate Finance Lateral Hire from NYC

[NYCcabby]

Hey everyone!

just curious to know if anyone was able to provide some information in regards to the aforementioned industries here in HK. My objective is to find opportunities as a ‘lateral hire’ into one of the bulge bracket’s entry level IB analyst programs in Asia-Pac (HK), be it key contacts, or helpful recruiters who are able to effectively market me for desired roles. I’m certain there have been posts in the past regarding this specific topic here, so sorry for any redundancies.

If you care to read on, my scenario is as follows...

Fluent in Cantonese/’Conversational in Mandarin’ (typical ABC im told?); American educated; 3 yrs out of school. I am Manhattan based and have 2 years of management consulting experience (in financial services) and 1 year of trading experience (in fx). I work for a well known management consultancy (think big 4) and my projects/client roster has been mostly major investment/large money center banks etc. I originally had intended leverage consulting experience into business school, but I think a switch into banking and going abroad would round out my skill set, develop groundwork for a career in Asia, and expedite my overall progress into a top b-school program.

I know that in every IB analyst class there are fair amount of ‘lateral hires’ from the management consulting (especially strategy side) into the IB. But my interest is in Asia and thus my challenges are as follows… first (and the greatest) are geographical constraints being that I am in NYC. The second is my peculiar scenario - I am three years out of school and trying to get back into an entry level program (this is rare for here, how much more so for HK). Thirdly, is the translation of my experience into banking/finance oppurtunities in the Asia-Pac region.

I’m already in discussions with recruiters here and also with friends/former classmates who are within banks and (while difficult) local lateral hires positions are out there and I’ve been told the next major wave will be ~July when the 2nd yr analyst exit their programs for other opportunities. However, my recruiters/friends have no coverage in Asia (other than hearsay). To my dismay, I’m starting to realize how distinct and ‘vertical’ the two networks are at my level.

To benchmark things, without being too specific- coworkers in my analyst class have left for positions in industry for ICG/Corp. Strat/Product Strat. with the likes of GS, Lehman, GE and within consulting for similar roles at places like Booz, Mercer, IBM bcs, EY, etc.

In any event, I truly desire the chance to work in HK and at this point I am open to any sell side position with a good career path (IB being the most favorable of course). I spent my first internship at an Engineering firm in Asia and two consecutive summers in Beijing and loved the environment, I want to come for good now!

--- Your assistance would be most appreciated; any advice, help, recruiter referrals, etc ---

[NYCcabby]

Hey everyone!

just curious to know if anyone was able to provide some information in regards to the aforementioned industries here in HK. My objective is to find opportunities as a ?lateral hire? into one of the bulge bracket?s entry level IB analyst programs in Asia-Pac (HK), be it key contacts, or helpful recruiters who are able to effectively market me for desired roles. I?m certain there have been posts in the past regarding this specific topic here, so sorry for any redundancies.

If you care to read on, my scenario is as follows...

Fluent in Cantonese/?Conversational in Mandarin? (typical ABC im told?); American educated; 3 yrs out of school. I am Manhattan based and have 2 years of management consulting experience (in financial services) and 1 year of trading experience (in fx). I work for a well known management consultancy (think big 4) and my projects/client roster has been mostly major investment/large money center banks etc. I originally had intended leverage consulting experience into business school, but I think a switch into banking and going abroad would round out my skill set, develop groundwork for a career in Asia, and expedite my overall progress into a top b-school program.

I know that in every IB analyst class there are fair amount of ?lateral hires? from the management consulting (especially strategy side) into the IB. But my interest is in Asia and thus my challenges are as follows? first (and the greatest) are geographical constraints being that I am in NYC. The second is my peculiar scenario - I am three years out of school and trying to get back into an entry level program (this is rare for here, how much more so for HK). Thirdly, is the translation of my experience into banking/finance oppurtunities in the Asia-Pac region.

I?m already in discussions with recruiters here and also with friends/former classmates who are within banks and (while difficult) local lateral hires positions are out there and I?ve been told the next major wave will be ~July when the 2nd yr analyst exit their programs for other opportunities. However, my recruiters/friends have no coverage in Asia (other than hearsay). To my dismay, I?m starting to realize how distinct and ?vertical? the two networks are at my level.

To benchmark things, without being too specific- coworkers in my analyst class have left for positions in industry for ICG/Corp. Strat/Product Strat. with the likes of GS, Lehman, GE and within consulting for similar roles at places like Booz, Mercer, IBM bcs, EY, etc.

In any event, I truly desire the chance to work in HK and at this point I am open to any sell side position with a good career path (IB being the most favorable of course). I spent my first internship at an Engineering firm in Asia and two consecutive summers in Beijing and loved the environment, I want to come for good now!

--- Your assistance would be most appreciated; any advice, help, recruiter referrals, etc ---

[howard_roark]

cabby - Can you please publish a Cliffsnotes version of the above so that people can offer some assistance. Thanks.

[jimbo]

Yup its a bit too much to take in and digest as it is now.

Have you tried your own personal network to see if people you went to high school with etc ended up in HK and working in your field? etc etc

[KnowItAll]

>> ICG/Corp. Strat/Product Strat. with the likes of GS, Lehman, GE and
>> within consulting for similar roles at places like Booz, Mercer, IBM
>> bcs, EY, etc.

All of these have very significant operations in Asia.

[Mat]

Just to be clear (refer to your title) Investment Banking and Corporate Finance are two totally different things.

[NYCcabby]

Hey everyone- thanks for the replies! sorry for the long post, thght id provide as much info as possible since i dont get to come on here too often.

straight up... i need an IN back into an IB analyst program.

tried emailing the banks, and either no reply, or illegible hr responses to go through their grad website, which doesnt make allowance for my scenario. (online) recruiters arent helpful either.

i realize theres all diff areas IB functions, prod/industry groups, corp fin to m&a to priv placement, etc. i just hear corpfin used interchangeably?

grew up in the burbs and all friends are in the nyc area. my network in hk is next to nonexistent. from what i understand it a very tight knit place. =(

actually had an interview the other day at GS (equity div) and not surprisingly, seemed very siloed. you can work your way around to other regions, but its a long, hazy path. my own firm is in china/asia region, but i want to stay focused on entry into IB/sell side/asiapac.

hmm.. i wonder if its even worth proceeding, maybe i should just wait until after b-school and try to get recruited into asia?

PS. ill even consider working for a french bank. lol. jk =)

[psampras88]

Cabby,

Take a 2 week holiday and spend some time here in HK - arrange your interviews schedule with headhunters in advance...then good luck -
If this does not work the first time, try again and again....you will defintely get something in the end, with your language skills and US consulting background.

Forget about working for French banks, they dont look, work and pay like the real IBs - you will be wasting your time - try and start with a US Tier 1 where you 'll learn the ropes (procedures, processes, IT systems, management styles, products, communication skills...) and stamp your CV with a prestigious name - then work your way up to more senior roles within the Tier 2 banks. The Tier 2 are usually in demand of US Tier 1 experience and know how.

I worked for both types of banks and this is my 2 cents.

[tsuiwah]

other than what psampras said (that's right, cash in some vacation days, get your ass over here and meet people), I would suggest trying for an internal transfer at your own company.

Work one year at the HK office and you'll be in a much better position to get an associate position at an IB here

If you got a first round at GS in New York (and it wasn't a favor and it wasn't with an HR stoogie), then presumably your background is strong enough to get an entry-level position in HK...when you say Big 4 consulting experience, do you mean Accenture/PwC or the likes of McKinsey?

just worth noting, the caliber of the entry level staff in Asia is much weaker than what you come across in New York and London, so what you call entry level may actually be more senior here in Hong Kong...

[NYCcabby]

hey psampras88 and tsuiwah thanks for the encouragement and info. sounds like i am going to have to kick down some recruiter doors.

yah... im definitely not in the same league of mcK- i wouldnt have the difficulties i have now if, in fact id prob be able to skip right into a PE firm. my firm is not as tech focused as accenture and PwC's consulting practice is pretty infantile here. So think the likes of deloitte, bearingpoint, & ibm-bcs

yah..hahaha. my round 1s werent for an "HR stoogie" at GS, though i wouldnt mind going in for one just to check out the fine ladies of HR & Marketing =)

hey- so in general how is the quality of human capital industry workers in hk? im having nightmares of broken english and explaining my background (based on the brief emails ive seen so far).

any other deal breakers i should be aware of? degree? school? language proficiency? nationality preferences? etc. Thanks!

finally... i just gotta ask, but is IB work hrs there as bad it is here in nyc? ideally id still like some evening time for "extra curricular" activities in wan chai & lan kwai (is that even "in" anymore??)