Aldrich & Co Managing Director Emily Aldrich’s clients are both big banks and boutique offices. She feels that candidates, especially mid-career employees, ignore working for boutique offices to their detriment.

Our reader asks: “I have decided to make a big move from a larger bank to a new, boutique firm. I’m concerned that my experience might not fully translate to a smaller, more hands-on environment. In my current role, I work with much larger budgets and far more resources than I’ll have in this startup. In your experience as a consultant who has worked with big firms and boutique offices, am I right to worry? What challenges should I expect, and what should I be thinking about now so I can hit the ground running?”  

Here is Emily’s response:

“Thank you for your question, and what an exciting position for you to be in! Moving across different types of institutions is one of the best ways to improve your odds in your career. It’s the sign of someone who thinks seriously about their value and fit, and the right people will take notice.

“But are you right to worry? Well, the environments you’re moving between are very different, so you will need to do some necessary upfront work in repositioning your skills and experience to make them applicable to a startup. Take a look at your CV. Banking and finance professionals are trained to think of the numbers. You might have generated a long list of successes to the tune of several billions; now is the time to focus on the skills you needed to reach those goals.

“When you leave a big bank, you do lose the infrastructure of a large organisation. But this ultimately gives you several opportunities to sidestep bureaucracy, hierarchies and silos. Instead, it values those who thrive as generalists rather than specialists, who can work across operations and assets. If you’re mid-career, your move to a family office can help you consolidate your experience and make in-roads into several avenues at once.

“Of course, having more responsibility also means employers will see mistakes more easily. Personality fits may also become much more important in smaller teams. But if you are keen to make a difference, we think the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks.

“In my experience, boutique firms worry that hires from the big-banks need too many resources, are reactive rather than active, and expect excessive structures in their work. You can get ahead of these concerns by focusing on situations where you were in the action, building processes, taking initiative, and working directly with principles. These tasks will give you the best blueprint for working in a boutique environment.”

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Are you looking for a job in the banking & finance industry? We are a boutique recruitment consultancy for the City of London, and we are always looking to match talented candidates with the capital’s most exciting jobs. Take a look at our Jobs Board or contact us with your CV and an accompanying note of the jobs that interest you.