That's it. p2

I won.

After only God knows how much MORE time, effort, and money spent preparing for SA 2024 recruiting, I am now on the complete other side of recruiting season and got ONE offer to show for it. I truly don't know where else I could've gone, and maybe that's what gives me the closure to write this post so freely.

OK, I'm not going to try to recreate the entire first post in a positive version this time, but there is a lot to say. The fact I'm even posting this anon LinkedIn essay for an offer announcement is going to contradict a lot of my points, but I know that there are kids who have been in my shoes and will be in my shoes that I can hopefully give one more reason to keep going. My thank you's will be at the end.

Following the first post, the date was March 24th. I had an unbelievable amount of support and (as my follow-up comment mentioned) I was introduced to and helped by so many people. It then hit Instagram and LinkedIn and continued to grow, and WSO mods reached out and introduced me to some of the people that wanted to contact me. These people weren't offering me jobs, just the guidance they could see that I needed. Two people stand out in particular (they know who they are); one transformed my resume, gave me a cold-email template, and gave me a comprehensive list of 50+ banks to still recruit for in April; the other has been a role model in the truest sense - their story and path to success really put my self-prescribed 'catastrophe' in perspective. 

From March 27th onward, I have worked my ass off. Like, way more than I patted myself on the back for in the first post. Every phone call has been practice and and 'in' to their firm (rarely, lol), but every phone call has also been a connection that's been created. I have learned to speak with people as people first, and as bankers second. It felt like every call was just one more person on my team, and by the time I got to interviewing with the places I did, I felt like I had too many people rooting for me that I couldn't fail.

I interviewed with three legit places. I had conversations/connections with 5+ at each of them (one was >20). I made it to the final round for all of them. I perfected every phase of interviewing, from the timing and delivery of my story, to the mechanics and intuition behind an accretive merger. When it came to the interviews, I left it all out and don't think I could've done much better. For all three, I received automated emails one week later instead of phone calls one day later. I was crushed, dejected, drained; whatever words I used from the first post. At this point it was mid-May and there wasn't much left.

I continued firing emails and fielding calls but at this point the life was gone. I was just showing up, but not really caring anymore. At this time, my internship (not in financial services) started and I forgot about it all for a bit. Then, when I least expected it, another bank did emerge for an interview, a regional one. Even with the opportunity in front of me though, I couldn't get excited about it. I somehow got moved on to the final round, despite rusty delivery of my story and not being warmed up to technicals. The timing for another flipped-switch couldn't have come better, though. Between the work I was doing in my current internship and being reminded to keep it all in perspective, the obsession that I've had this entire time came flooding back. My rationale for Why IB has been the great learning opportunity it presents, but I found my true Why at that moment; I wanted to do the work that investment bankers do. Every little nuance of slides that get appendixed and every pitch that fails is exactly what I want, what I signed up for. Fuck pay, prestige, location, coverage, product. I wanted to be an investment banker and the opportunity to become one was right in front of me. I ended up acing that interview, and last week I got the phone call instead of the automated email. 

I remember reading a few Instagram comments on the first post that read, "I hope this turns out like the end of Pursuit of Happyness", and to be honest, I was hoping it would. The tears of joy, the clapping in the street, yelling "THANK YOU" on the phone, etc., but it didn't happen. It still hasn't. I think the reason why not is the same reason I ended up with the offer; I stopped taking myself so seriously. Whether it's PJT RSSG or Kodiak Capital in Alaska, life goes on. The outcome of an arbitrary 'cycle' doesn't define who I am and my career shouldn't be the most important thing about me. Me of three months ago wouldn't have even considered this offer. Me today couldn't have landed at a better place (and I truly mean that). I'm excited from angles of curiosity and interest rather than angles of 'passion' and appearance, and I know that I will not burn out no matter how crazy the lifestyle gets.

So to close the post, I'll give final thank-you's. First, thank you to the commenters on the first post; you gave me the lift I needed to even give myself a chance in this process. Second, thank you to the mentors that took me in despite the misguided anger of the first post; they got their own emails, they know who they are. Finally, thank you WSO; I've learned a lot about the world of finance because of you all and every post is the next chance to learn more. More importantly though, I've learned how to just never fucking give up and play the cards I'm dealt. Every single user has their own 'big break' that got them down this path, and every story I read reminded me that it would come for me one day, and I needed to be ready for it. Whether I'm a bottom-bucket burnout (doubt it) or an all-star Associate-to-be, I'm going to give it every single bit I got, because I am grateful for how lucky I am to be alive, healthy, young, and down my dream path at 20 years old.

"God's never going to put you in a situation you can't handle." -LeBron or something