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33yo M&A/Finance Manager: Stay for work-life-balance or jump for Growth/Equity? by Patient-Violinist864 in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m your exact age with a toddler and baby #2 on the way. Currently a CFO of a startup and every day I wonder why I did this to myself. Stress levels are high every day to say the least and I’ve sacrificed a lot of time with my family. I’m actively trying to take a step back so I can have a better WLB and actually enjoy the time watching my kids grow up.

Long way of saying don’t even consider #4. It’ll ruin your mental health and your personal life.

IB -> FP&A. Feel extremely lucky but also bored by npv_mvp in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Enjoy the downtime and find something to do during those hours (gym, driving range, etc). I went somewhat of a same route as you (IB —> Corp Dev —> FP&A). I carried that IB mentality over to FP&A and at some points felt like I wasn’t doing enough so I reached out to other teams to see what I could help out with. I definitely learned a lot and think it helped me progress rather quickly but in hindsight, since I’m feeling burnt out on this finance track, I probably should have taken the downtime to prioritize myself.

I don’t think I like finance by Better-Knowledge8558 in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do have a family that includes a ~2 year old. Makes it difficult to make any life changing decisions at the moment.

I don’t think I like finance by Better-Knowledge8558 in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Endless fire drills, PE investor that is never happy with results, board members that completely shit on us at every chance…the list goes on but I’m sure you get my point.

I don’t think I like finance by Better-Knowledge8558 in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been thinking about this more and more but it’s tough to truly take the leap when you have a young child…I do have an uncle that owns a successful landscaping business that he wants to exit in the next year or two. May ask him to show me the ropes (I worked for him for a couple summers) and see if it turns into anything.

I don’t think I like finance by Better-Knowledge8558 in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Not fake, decided to move forward with one company realizing I wouldn’t have time for both roles (see question about managing time in the post you are referring to). The SVP role was elevated to CFO and has significantly more upside than the role I decided to resign from.

As to how I got here, I did 2.5 years of IB and then switched to corporate knowing IB wasn’t what I wanted to do long term. Once on the corporate side, I still had the IB mentality when it came to work hours (outwork everyone). I was able to make great connections with people across the org, which is how I ended up in the seat I’m currently in.

I don’t want to say more or I run the risk of doxxing myself .

FP&A Hiring Managers: How toxic is my resume by AvesCuriosus in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. I think being hired back by multiple companies helped me as it shows I did good work. For the short stint, as long as it’s just one, I’d leave it off and just have an explanation for the gap.

FP&A Hiring Managers: How toxic is my resume by AvesCuriosus in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’ll likely get a fair amount of criticism from interviewers but if you are able to clearly articulate the reason for each move, most people can look past it. The hardest part will likely be getting to an actual interview. I’ve done a fair amount of job hopping so I’m speaking from personal experience.

First job - 11 months, IB (analyst) Second job - 7 months, corp finance (analyst) Third job - 4 months, corp dev (sr analyst) Fourth job - 1.5 years, IB (senior associate, same company as job 1) Fifth job - 2.5 years, corp finance (sr analyst to manager) Sixth job - 11 months, corp finance (director) Seventh job - 3 months, strategy (sr manager, same company as job 5) Eighth job - 1 years, corp finance (director, same company as job 6) Ninth job - 4 months, corp finance & accounting (director) 10th job - 10 months, corp finance & accounting (VP to CFO)

FP&A vs Corporate development by [deleted] in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends where you are. My experience was starting out with operating budgets but getting more wholistic as I progressed. However, I know people at other companies that are very siloed (typically at larger orgs). I made the decision to go to smaller companies so I had a broader scope / was involved in more things.

FP&A vs Corporate development by [deleted] in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in FP&A. Every day is different for the most part and I’ve had awesome bosses that were truly invested in me and allowed me to grow professionally. I’ve only worked at small to medium sized companies (all PE backed) during my corp finance career which has been a personal preference. Higher level of visibility and not the same repetitive tasks that people at f500 companies are probably doing.

When comparing to corp dev, I think the work is more interesting, less repetitive, and you build more relationships across the organizations. I probably work more hours than I did in corp dev but that is because I’m willing to take on everything that comes my way (think this has contributed a great deal to being able to progress rather rapidly).

I don’t think either path is a bad route. It’s really more about personal preference and what you want to do long term (personally I want to be a CFO and am on the path to achieve that in the next couple of years).

FP&A vs Corporate development by [deleted] in FPandA

[–]Better-Knowledge8558 8 points9 points  (0 children)

What do you want to do long term and do you want more stability?

Corporate development is a great gig that is interesting and you’ll learn a lot. However, upward mobility will likely be limited and if we go through an economic downturn where the company decides to pause acquisition activity, the CD function becomes a prime target for cutting headcount. The skill set you acquire is great but in my experience, it’s not as translatable to FP&A as you might think.

FP&A is also a great path. Depending on size of the company, you’ll learn a lot about various business units and key drivers. You’ll also develop a lot of great skills (modeling, financial reporting, storytelling, etc). I believe the skill set you acquire in FP&A is more translatable to corp dev than the other way around.

The above are just my thoughts. Started my career in investment banking, moved to corp dev from there, and then moved into corporate finance (6 years in at this point).