M&A jobs require advising client companies on mergers (where two companies join up as equals) and acquisitions (where one firm takes over part or all of another).

Various different kinds of organisations are involved in the M&A market. The biggest investment banks typically advise and facilitate M&A deals worth $100m plus. Smaller deals are typically dealt with by advisory boutiques or by the Big Four (and other) accounting firms.

The career ladder in M&A is relatively straight forward.. Although job titles may vary depending on the bank you work in, beginners start in an investment analyst job for three years, move up to associate (again for three years), then become vice president, director and managing director. Most M&A careers focus on a particular sector, e.g., consumer, financials, oil and gas, technology, media and telecommunications.

Senior M&A bankers spend their time cultivating relationships with potential clients and originating business. M&A has traditionally been about advising clients on potential target companies and the dynamics of an M&A deal. In the changing environment senior deal originators in investment banks are increasingly becoming 'relationship' professionals who advise clients on the broad range of products offered by their employer and on the financing required for a deal - and not just the deal itself.

At a junior analyst level, M&A is about spreadsheets, marketing documents and financial models. Junior M&A bankers rarely attend client meetings; instead, they spend their time evaluating the financial information of target companies and putting together pitch books. These are marketing documents that banks use to sell themselves and outline their ideas for which companies a client should be buying or which it should be selling to.

Analysts are at the bottom of the hierarchy of M&A roles, with associated ranking slightly above them.. The key difference is that M&A associates have slightly more responsibility for transactions and projects. They also get junior analysts to do some of the work for them.