Fall graduate can’t get a job…What to do?

I graduated last Fall (a semester early) from a target school (3.9 GPA - economics major, comp sci minor). I have two banking internships: one at a LMM rx boutique and one with a top MM / fringe-EB (think Greenhill, Roth, Jeffries, etc.). My firm had a particularly low return offer rate last summer and I was not given an offer.

I have been looking for work since August and have found nothing. I’ve submitted over 200 applications, done the necessary networking calls and I am casting a very wide net. I’ve applied for AM, Business Dev and ER positions in addition to looking for high finance roles. I’ve had seven super days and have gotten zero offers. A few times, the companies I’ve applied to have scrapped the position entirely and given no offers.

I am growing frustrated with my situation and don’t know what I am supposed to do. I would happily take an AM job at this point and look to leverage it as a stepping stone when the market improves, but even that seems out of the realm of possibility right now. Everyone I network with tells me they don’t know of any openings but will keep me in consideration if/when things improve.

What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Take a low-paying job that’s multiple stepping stones away from IB? Go for an MSF? I genuinely don’t know what my best option is at this point. Any guidance would be appreciated.

 

Did you graduate in May 2023? By business dev, do you mean more strategy and corp dev or sales?

I graduated in May 2023 and was going to do an MSF but ended up lucking out with a strategy/corp dev offer at a LMM company in a niche industry.

I totally relate to you and understand how stressful it is. I went to a non-target although good school and had a difficult time recruiting. I think applying to an MSF could be a good idea and nice to have on the backend. However, you will need an internship for this upcoming summer which may be hard to recruit for now. Are you currently in any processes?

 

It’s a tough time and I graduated in May of 2023 and took me till last month. You have a great resume from what you are describing (much better than mine) and I’m confident you’ll land something. Keep your head up and have something to say when they ask about time off. I went and travelled/said I was taking a step back to spend time w family etc etc.

 

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