Man has been and always will be a social animal. We like to be around people. The recluse of society is shunned, but the social ones are enamored. As 2024 has started, individual bond counsels and public finance bankers don’t want to make a move themselves. However, they would readily engage if they had a cohesive team move together. This is definitely a trend that I have seen increasing since we are at the tail end of the COVID experience.
Types Of Team
The reason for that might be that we were isolated during this period that more professionals asked about team moves. Team moves allow junior bankers or bond counsels to be swept along with more senior professionals in their team. Now these may not be official teams as we see in the advisor space, and here I am not talking about municipal advisors but rather traditionally (for lack of a better term) stock jocks. These teams are very well known. The teams I am referring to here are more of a collaborative and cohesive team. They have all worked together on projects, and the idea of one leaving without the others is not something they will readily consider.
The Optics Of Cohesive Team Members
Firms must be more aware of this as they start to work with teams and realize that sometimes the most critical person to pursue is the junior member of the team. Why? Because if he does not go, it has a ripple effect. The senior member of the team may find that if they leave their business that they were counting on moving remains with the old firm and the junior person has now inherited a book of clients, the value to the senior member that you have danced with is now not the belle or beau of the ball. If their clients have decided to stay with the current firm, there are still bankers or a bond counsel who is familiar with their matter or bond deal and can handle it professionally and efficiently. Also, the senior member of the cohesive team needs to get everyone’s buy-in on the possible transfer to a new firm as that can now really hurt morale.
A hurt individual can sabotage – not deliberately but could put a sting on the move.
The Rhythm Of A Cohesive Team
Investment banking companies and law firms must be aware of the cohesiveness of the informal group and treat them like a formal group. These bankers and bond counsels have all been working together over the past years, and they have their cadence of how they do business. For a cohesive team to move effectively, they must feel that their business mode will be adopted and will not necessarily have to conform to the new firm. Still, on the converse, the new firm will have to adapt to the way the team has worked in the past to be a successful transfer. The fewer hiccups the team can foresee, the greater the likelihood that we will all move as a team.
A Word To Junior Professionals
Lastly, for a junior professional without a book, the best thing you can do to get hired at a new firm is to attach yourself to a newly created team. A team where you can add immediate value, then your new team can look for a new home together. But the days of the junior bankers being hired themselves are slowly waning. That is unless we are talking about the newly minted college graduate going on the analyst path. However, for junior bankers with no book of business, it will be tough to place. If you have a cohesive team that wants to stay together, reach out to H Friedman Search. We will keep the team together as we find a new and exciting home for you to continue to work together as a team.
Conclusion
You don’t need a resume to chat with us! If you would like to discuss your options, please reach out for a confidential conversation at 760-477-1284 or email at [email protected]. He can also be reached on LinkedIn. Harlan publishes a blog every Thursday here. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here, which is a compilation of our weekly blogs, so you never miss one. You can find our listing in the “supplier and services” section of the Red Book under the title of “executive recruiting.”
About Harlan Friedman, JD & Founding Member, H. Friedman Search LLC. Harlan is a thirty-year veteran Public Finance Banker turned recruiter who specializes in the placement of all levels Public Finance Bankers, Healthcare Bankers, Municipal Advisors, Compliance Officers, Issuers, and Bond Counsels.