Hi mate, I'm a person who actually made a team change possible at A0 level a few years ago, at KCO. Is it risky? Yes. The only reason I had the balls to do it was because I was offered a cushy job in the niche area I actually wanted to work in. With that offer in hand, I went to my partner and had a candid conversation about how I absolutely could not see myself working in that particular area at all. I also had an opportunity to take on some of the stuff relating to my preferred area in my erstwhile profile, and accordingly, I had a minimal connection with the desired partner and team. The partner told me to check with the equity partner and the new partner was not against me for this — but do keep in mind that I had actively built the best billable hours and reviews on my record amongst all the freshers I knew back then, before I made this leap of faith. Essentially, noone should be able to question if this is because you are lazy or can't commit to something. I also had a demonstrated interest and aptitude in the area (both before and after joining the firm) I wanted to jump into, and all those things together made it happen.

My advice? Find a partner who admires your skillset and hard work beforehand, and then reverse engineer your way from there. Go to the HR only as a last resort. And have viable backup options before you say those words aloud, and if it takes you a year to get there, then so be it.

Stick with your current team until your ongoing review cycle is concluded. Hoping that you’ll receive a good review, you can consider the following steps. Once your review is in place, approach HR and clearly communicate that you no longer wish to continue with the current team and are seeking a transfer to another team. Please identify the GC team you want to move to and ensure that they actually have vacancies. Be firm and unambiguous in your communication. Make it clear that your options are limited to either moving to another team within the firm or exploring opportunities outside the firm. The idea for you should be to leverage your positive feedback to demonstrate that, where a vacancy exists, the firm would be better served by absorbing a known, well-reviewed performer rather than taking a risk through lateral recruitment. Firms are generally reluctant to lose someone after having invested a year in training and integration.

Why do you wish to move to GC - just curious? GC also does not offer much work life balance if that's what you are looking for. On the other hand, B&F offers tons of opportunities for moving in-house which you will anyway have to, even after making a move to GC. So think hard and then take a call, don't make a decision in haste - Cheers.

It does happen once in a while. Not too common. Before asking your partner, do check if there's a vacancy in the team you're wanting to switch to. How your partner takes it depends on them. It will also be a factor to consider the relationship between your new partner and current partner.

I would say wait one year, while i'm in a similar boat, I got a ppo with a team I do not see myself working with long term and want to change my practice area, safer to wait a year as then atleast you have the ease of applying elsewhere if something detrimental happens, atleast this is my thought process.

Hi,

I am fresher with 4-5 months experience in the banking and finance team and I wish to change my practice area to general corporate. I want to stay at KCo only and make an internal shift if possible. I know this option exists but am not sure how many times it has been exercised successfully.

I am very skeptical about asking my partner about it as I am not sure whether it will be taken positively or be detrimental to my job.

I really am not enjoying it and i know it is the best time to make a decision as I have just started.

I need urgent help tbh. If someone has gone through the same route please guide me, I feel stuck at this point of time.