Any advice, is career banking the move?
Currently a sophomore at a target that received an offer at a decent MM - need some advice and maybe some people to knock some sense into me.
I’ve always been the ambitious kind and super competitive so it was definitely a bit of a let down when I couldnt even get interviews this cycle at BBs/EBs despite strong networking with my school teams. Whether it be cuz I’m nondiversity and this cycle especially favored DEI at my school or i just got unlucky, it doesnt matter anymore because it’s probably just all cope.
At the end of the day, even if I got an offer and I should be grateful for it, it’s a bit disappointing especially since there were so many people that believed in me and thought I was gonna do great things. Considering I had 4 legit internships (not search fund) that i worked for and I had a strong gpa + club leadership, I thought so too. I didn’t grow up financially stable + first gen so on one hand my brain tells me that I should be grateful for what i have but at the same time the other competitive side makes me feel disappointed/slightly upset - not sure if anyone has the same feeling as this sometimes.
the firm i got an offer from is known to have an amazing culture and pays really well, it just isnt considered a top mm. i wanted to have a lot of optionality when it comes to exit opportunities but just browsing through linkedin doesnt raise my hopes since most people just stay on as a career banker and there were close to no laterals to better banks as well. any advice would be nice for what to do now, sorry for ranting appreciate the help.
I screened a very similar candidate during this cycle that fit your exact profile OP. If it is you that wrote this post, truthfully speaking, I’m not entirely sure how you didn’t get an interview but these processes can be black boxes a lot of the times.
It might suck that you didn’t get what you wanted but life sucks. The fact you made it this far with your background is exceptional, keep working hard and things will come your way even if it doesn’t now.
In regards to being a career banker, it really depends on what you want. I’m gonna be staying on as an associate at my EB and a lot of my reasons are because of my personal ambition. I don’t really see a reason to exit to the buyside especially since I’ll be making more as an IB associate and I’m also more efficient at my work since I’ve gotten a ton of reps and won’t have to work your typical 80-100 hours. You mentioned that you want career optionality but take the summer internship to see if youll really enjoy banking - if you got a lot of experience during those internships, then you’ll be an efficient summer analyst -> analyst and you can really impress as soon as you hit the desk.
If the mm bank doesnt have a lot of people lateraling to other bigger banks and doesnt exit into PE, then maybe you can be the first to do it. There always needs to be a precedence before others follow in your footsteps so keep putting in the work and I’m sure things will fly your way. Good luck OP
god i fucking hate sob story posts like this, you got an offer go get laid and get drunk
If I was in his position, I would be disappointed as well. You don’t need to be an asshole about it especially since all of us wouldn’t be on this site if we didn’t care about growing our career
look man if the kid wanted an eb or a bb then he should've worked harder, doesn't matter his profile. there's 100 other kids with the exact same profile that i would rather grab coffee with than this loser ranting on wso
I can tell you're definitely a bitter person. There's no amount of hard work that can guarantee a spot at an EB/BB especially with how much firms have been pushing DEI quotas over the last few years. I'm part of my alma mater's recruiting team and the amount of times that there were candidates that I felt were more qualified and HR instead filled up interview slots with DEI instead is absurd. The fact that this kid has great experiences and is first-generation yet isn't considered DEI or even given the chance to interview is a questionable decision by the recruiting team.
Get your head out of your ass associate, recruiting's not what it used to be. Going to this thread to hate instead of reading what the kid has to say is a waste of your time
Hey man, this VP prob fucks more than you. You sound insufferable.
Hey man, don’t beat yourself up too much. Getting any reputable IB offer is an accomplishment, especially as a non diverse candidate nowadays, regardless of the firm’s “ranking”
Also, full time recruiting is always an option if you want to maximize your buyside exit ops. It is a bit tough/random, but the market in 2025 will be a LOT better than how it is now.
Ps, looking back, prestige does not really matter for shit. I know it is hard to accept this, but chasing it only makes you more miserable. Coming from personal experience!
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