William Blair Employee Reviews about "investment banking"
Updated Oct 27, 2019
"great culture and opportunity to learn" (in 16 reviews)
"Flexibility, work life balance, senior mgmt, responsibility from the start" (in 11 reviews)
"Really long hours and unclear bonus criteria" (in 7 reviews)
"Hours are not great (but good by investment banking standards) - varies by group" (in 7 reviews)
Reviews about "investment banking"
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"Excellent culture, brilliant colleagues, and lots of opportunity for personal and professional growth."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at William Blair full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Highly competitive compensation, clear firm mission, great market reputation, exciting and challenging engagements
Cons
Work-life balance (but this is a challenge at all investment banks)
Advice to Management
Be even more aggressive in promoting top performers early
William Blair2019-10-27"Great Culture"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at William Blair full-time for more than a year
Pros
Great culture with abundant opportunities to network with senior bankers, smaller teams
Cons
Similar to other investment banking hours, long hours.
William Blair2019-10-24"Great Experience"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at William Blair full-time for more than a year
Pros
Great management, hands-on experience, lots of responsibility, great benefits
Cons
Hours are not great (but good by investment banking standards) - varies by group
Advice to Management
Keep it up
William Blair2018-10-24"Great Place to Work"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at William Blair full-time
Pros
Culture is great. Everyone is genuinely nice and willing to help. The partner model is something more preferable than working for a public company.
Cons
Lack of balance sheet puts the bank in a disadvantage relative to larger investment banks. Other than that, it is a great place to work.
Advice to Management
Keep doing what you're doing. The firm is in a great spot and outlook has never been better.
William Blair2017-08-04- Helpful (1)
"Investment Banking Analyst Program"
StarStarStarStarStarRecommendsApproves of CEOI worked at William Blair full-time
Pros
Great environment, focused on building a strong culture. The firm has taken initiatives to foster better work-life balance. Chicago is a great city to be a banker (cost of living, social life, food, etc.)
Cons
It's investment banking but doing it at Blair is as good as it can get for a Mid-market firm in the Midwest.
William Blair2016-04-26 - Helpful (4)
"Great place to work but hours are long."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsApproves of CEOI worked at William Blair full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Great benefits and the bonuses are decent.
Cons
Admins are overworked in some departments and underworked in other areas of the firm. Admin salaries are low in comparison to other investment banks. Bonus pools are generous however you chase that bonus money all year. Make a mistake after Labor Day and you can kiss your bonus money good bye. Very difficult to switch departments.
William Blair2013-09-18 - Helpful (2)
"Old Boys Club"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
No opinion of CEOI have been working at William Blair
Pros
Work across Industry Groups and various product advisory
Cons
As an investment banking analyst expect more secretary tasks oppose to finance. In addition, there needs to be a major change in the IT (everyone runs a bit slower here).
Advice to Management
INNOVATION!
William Blair2011-03-03