Gladiator MDs, Rumblings of a Rebound – Weekly IB Recruiting Brief

“I done something new for this fight. I wrestled with an alligator. I tussled with a whale. I handcuffed lightning, I thrown thunder in jail.”?- Muhammad Ali

• JPMorgan?will acquire most of?First Republic Bank?following a third bank failure this year (FT)
• Lazard?reported a surprise Q1 loss as dealmaking slumped and warned of an uncertain outlook for the FY while announcing a 10% workforce cut (RT)
• Moelis splashing out on new people, dumping old ones (efinancialcareers)
• DB adds to investment banking team ahead of potential deal-making rebound (SeekingAlpha). The hiring spree comes soon after DB announced a new round of job cuts?in back-office operations, amounting to about 800 positions, or 5% of its non-client-facing workforce, as it seeks to accelerate efficiency improvements.
• A persistently gloomy macroeconomic backdrop and near banking crisis drove a decline in M&A activity in Q1 2023, pushing global deal value down 32% from the peak just over a year prior.?But total M&A deal value still topped $1 trillion for the quarter. While certain sellers—think PE—stepped back in recent months, lower valuation multiples in some cases helped encourage deal flow.?(Pitchbook)
• Fed Set to Raise Interest Rates to 16-Year High and Debate a Pause (WSJ)

Recruiting Update

With rumblings of an M&A rebound on the horizon, the IB recruiting market seems to be showing small signs of life. Banks who have been stringing along candidates for months finally seem to be pulling the trigger on offers. That being said, recruiting remains no to slow at the analyst and junior associate level (associates with less than a year of post-grad experience).

I do expect more layoffs before June 1st, especially at the bulge brackets and select elite boutiques. There have been a lot of recent hires at the senior level and I expect turnover (forced and unforced) as Gladiator MDs go to battle over coverage. There will be winners and losers. Winners will want to bring over trusted junior resources; other quality bankers may be cast out as politics come into play. I also expect at least one more mass culling prior to Q2 earnings. Even though M&A deal activity seems to be picking up, banks still have tons of fat at the execution level. That combined with the class of news hires starting this summer means there still is not enough work to keep everyone busy.

Top Recruiting Tip

If you have been notified that you have been RIF’d, be upfront with your recruiter. Cast a wide net. Be open to all brands and geographies. Be positive. It’s a tough market. Solid deal experience trumps brand every day. Bankers with BBs and EBs with no deal experience are not valuable. A2As are still extremely valuable. It is tough to switch verticals.

This is not the market to have a?meh, outdated resume. A well-crafted resume can help you control the narrative and target the "story" you want to tell during the interview process. If fixing up your resume seems overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, I can help. Email me at [email protected]?with questions.?Happy to hop on a call to discuss further.

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