by meridith dennes | Jul 14, 2026 | Interviewing, Lateral Recruiting
If you spend any time in the investment banking lateral market, you’ll notice that nearly every mandate reads the same way: “must have 3+ closed M&A deals,” “demonstrated public-to-public execution required,” “sponsor-backed... 
by meridith dennes | Jun 23, 2026 | Interviewing
If you’ve been trying to lateral to an elite boutique and the process feels harder than your resume suggests it should be, you’re not imagining it — and it’s usually not about you in the way it can feel. The screen these shops run is specific, and... 
by meridith dennes | May 14, 2026 | Interviewing, Lateral Recruiting, Networking
The following reflects current conditions in the investment banking lateral market as observed through active search mandates, candidate conversations, and offer negotiations across bulge bracket, elite boutique, and middle market platforms. This update covers the AS1... 
by meridith dennes | May 5, 2026 | Interviewing, Lateral Recruiting, Summer Internships
Investment banks are having a good run. Revenues are strong, bonuses are up, and deal flow is recovering. Junior bankers’ benefits have been stripped back anyway — and the conditions that might once have forced their return look structurally weaker than before.... 
by meridith dennes | Apr 24, 2026 | Interviewing, Lateral Recruiting
A VP2 in FIG at a bulge bracket calls me. Forty billion in deal volume on his sheet. Stacked resume. Top school, top group, top bank. He wants to move to generalist M&A at a peer shop. He can’t get a callback. Not from the banks. Not from the headhunters who... 
by meridith dennes | Apr 21, 2026 | Compensation Trends, Interviewing, Lateral Recruiting
Every year, M&A bankers at every level — analysts, associates, VPs, Directors, MDs — find out their number, see it is smaller than they expected, and spend the next forty-eight hours refreshing the anonymous banking forums, texting a peer at a competitor for...