At the end of my rope - Need Advice/Suggestions

Hi guys, as the title suggests, I'm extremely frustrated by the failure of my job search. I was officially laid off last week but mentally checked out many months ago and have been looking for a job for almost 7-8 months now and have no offers.
I have about two years of experience, 7 months in IB and the rest at a hedge fund. Went to a target and graduated in '07.

That being said, I've pretty much applied everywhere, including:

Hedge Funds
Investment Banks
PE firms
VC shops
Consulting positions
Strategy Positions at Large firms
Startup tech firms

Basically anything that is front office and analytically oriented, I sent my resume to. I cast a wide net and haven't caught anything yet.

What's really disappointing is that I've tried almost everything: networking with alumni, some former colleagues, cold-emailing firms, faxing/mailing my resume, only to have nothing concrete materialize besides promises that they would contact me if anything came up.

The only thing I can think of that I haven't done is cold call firms and pitch my services. I guess I could also show up at their doorstep or wear a sandwich board asking for a job on the street...

I had a phone interview with a VC firm last week and haven't heard from them so far, but that's my only lead right now. I do get calls for phone/in-person interview regularly but nothing materializes. I guess I don't match up well with other candidates in the interview process.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice ? I'm starting to think I'm incapable of finding a place in this economy.

 

Only have experience with startups. They'd be off. Not that you aren't qualified, you just aren't a developer and don't have any experience in business development/B2B sales. It's possible to come in with your background in operations or as the CFO, but there generally are only VP or c-level executives in those positions.

Strategy at large firms might not work, but what about corporate development?

Worst case scenario, I say you apply for a masters. You can do an MFin, or ideally a masters in management science and engineering at Stanford. Or something more technical.

I can't imagine some boutique banks wouldn't be interested in you though.

You could try starting your own company.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, don't know how to multi-quote, so will take it one by one.

AROTC Monkey:
Only have experience with startups. They'd be off. Not that you aren't qualified, you just aren't a developer and don't have any experience in business development/B2B sales. It's possible to come in with your background in operations or as the CFO, but there generally are only VP or c-level executives in those positions.

Strategy at large firms might not work, but what about corporate development?

Worst case scenario, I say you apply for a masters. You can do an MFin, or ideally a masters in management science and engineering at Stanford. Or something more technical.

I can't imagine some boutique banks wouldn't be interested in you though.

You could try starting your own company.

Thanks for the response. The positions I interviewed for with the startups were sort of related to Data Analysis/Operations. Programming/Developer type positions are definitely out of the question.

I'm definitely going to look into the management science and engg degree at Stanford, but being close to broke doesn't help. I have not really looked at boutique banks because I'm not too keen on going back into banking.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
Just keep at it.

I was watching the Dan Loeb video in another thread and he mentioned how he was unemployed for 9 months in an earlier down-cycle.

Its definitely comforting, in a certain way, to know that people like him have been down in the dumps too. I feel like less of a loser now.

 
Best Response

Considering your stats, you really have to take a hard look at your resume - how does it stack up - as well as your interview skills. I would suggest running through some interview questions and answers with friends or something like that to get an honest feedback on what's going on. Hell, you can even video tape yourself and see what you look like while interviewing. Also, think about your answers to your questions, and presentation.

Also, keep in mind that while you should thoroughly evaluate yourself, it is an incredibly competitive market and many people have been looking for work for months. For each position you interview, there are dozens, if not more, of other people who are all qualified interviewing as well for probably 1, maybe 2 spots. So stay positive, and keep at it...you will find something eventually.

IBanker www.BankonBanking.com [email protected] Articles, News, Advice and More Break Into Investment Banking

 
BankonBanking:
Considering your stats, you really have to take a hard look at your resume - how does it stack up - as well as your interview skills. I would suggest running through some interview questions and answers with friends or something like that to get an honest feedback on what's going on. Hell, you can even video tape yourself and see what you look like while interviewing. Also, think about your answers to your questions, and presentation.

Also, keep in mind that while you should thoroughly evaluate yourself, it is an incredibly competitive market and many people have been looking for work for months. For each position you interview, there are dozens, if not more, of other people who are all qualified interviewing as well for probably 1, maybe 2 spots. So stay positive, and keep at it...you will find something eventually.

IBanker www.BankonBanking.com [email protected] Articles, News, Advice and More Break Into Investment Banking

The thing is, I've been getting dinged after the phone interview in most cases, I'm not sure if I'm just being used as backup in case someone else falls through, or that my phone interviewing skills suck.

As far as the resume goes, I've fine-tuned it a lot, but I might post it up in the resume review section so please look out for it.

 

I think BankonBanking offers some very good advice. I know that videotaping mock interviews that I did really helped.

If you have the time and are willing to do it, I would also suggest doing some research on a particular industry and some of the leading companies in the industry, to show firms that you interview with that you have been using your time off in a worthwhile way. If you can develop some sort of an expertise, where you feel comfortable talking about the industry trends and know how to value companies in an industry, that can potentially give you a competitive advantage.

 
j312:
I think BankonBanking offers some very good advice. I know that videotaping mock interviews that I did really helped.

If you have the time and are willing to do it, I would also suggest doing some research on a particular industry and some of the leading companies in the industry, to show firms that you interview with that you have been using your time off in a worthwhile way. If you can develop some sort of an expertise, where you feel comfortable talking about the industry trends and know how to value companies in an industry, that can potentially give you a competitive advantage.

I've been doing quite a bit of research on the VC industry, but its so hard to break into, even compared to PE or HF, that I'm not sure how to separate myself from the rest of the pack.

 

Keep at it. Work on your resume. Here are a few things I suggest you keep on top of / do:

  1. Work Out / Exercise / take care of yourself - seen too many people come to interviews with my firm who looked like dog shit and were out of shape. Seriously, there's no way they can put you in front of clients or even have you in the office looking like that.

  2. Really leverage your network - it may take a year for you to find out about job opps, but it will be important in various regards.

  3. Don't get desperate and fall for stupid scams where some hole in the wall shitty 3 person boutique has you put together pitches/models and go through about 4-5 months of interviewing/iterations just to say, "We're waiting for the market to get better." (had this happen to a good buddy of mine)

  4. Be Patient and relax. I hope you aren't behind on your bills and have unemployment checks coming in.

  5. See if you can volunteer with an investment bank or HF/PE fund. But make sure that someone you trust works there. This will help fill the gap on your resume and hopefully introduce you to some new contacts. also it could give you access to resources you don't have (ie capiq, bloomberg, etc.)

  6. Educate yourself in your spare time: Read books on investing, restructuring, management books (interviewing/networking skills). Libraries and sites like Scribd.com have plenty of books on these things so you don't have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars on books.


I'm making it up as I go along.

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 
Cornelius:
Keep at it. Work on your resume. Here are a few things I suggest you keep on top of / do:
  1. Work Out / Exercise / take care of yourself - seen too many people come to interviews with my firm who looked like dog shit and were out of shape. Seriously, there's no way they can put you in front of clients or even have you in the office looking like that.

  2. Really leverage your network - it may take a year for you to find out about job opps, but it will be important in various regards.

  3. Don't get desperate and fall for stupid scams where some hole in the wall shitty 3 person boutique has you put together pitches/models and go through about 4-5 months of interviewing/iterations just to say, "We're waiting for the market to get better." (had this happen to a good buddy of mine)

  4. Be Patient and relax. I hope you aren't behind on your bills and have unemployment checks coming in.

  5. See if you can volunteer with an investment bank or HF/PE fund. But make sure that someone you trust works there. This will help fill the gap on your resume and hopefully introduce you to some new contacts. also it could give you access to resources you don't have (ie capiq, bloomberg, etc.)

  6. Educate yourself in your spare time: Read books on investing, restructuring, management books (interviewing/networking skills). Libraries and sites like Scribd.com have plenty of books on these things so you don't have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars on books.


I'm making it up as I go along.

Thanks for all the advice. I've been keeping myself sharp but its only been a week since I lost my job so I have to remember to focus.

I'm located in NY, not sure if you are, but if you or anyone else knows of any resources here that could help (forums/workshops) etc geared towards VC/PE/IB/HF, that would help a lot. I would love to get out and network because its only been a week and I'm already tired of just sitting at home all day.

 

I was in a similar position a month ago (~2 yrs exp at a bank, lost job, had to search around for a long time before I got something). Based on what I went through, I would say Cornelius is right on the money with his advice.

  • Definitely keep fit and use the time to keep up with the news. I had a number of interviews over the course of half a yr, I think I must have made a rookie mistake in 1-2 interviews by not keeping up-to-date with the news. It's very easy to get side-tracked and just tune out from the world when you're not in finance day in day out, so I recommend staying on top of the markets.

  • I also got screwed around with places that kept me 'on-call' because they were looking to bring in someone 'immediately'. Wasted a lot of time and got my hopes up a lot. While you want to make yourself available for work, you also want to be explicit about your availablilty and get them to be frank about theirs so you don't waste time just waiting around. I could have used some of that time to travel...

  • Definitely use your network. That's how I found out about my new job. Contact everyone. Alumni, friends, professors, family, everyone else's friends - let everyone know you're out there and looking. And recruiters of course - keep in touch with them.

  • And once you do get the interview, definitely do not take it for granted. BankOn's suggestion on practicing via videotape is good. Get some friends to do mocks with you and provide constructive advice.

  • Since you only recently lost your job, you don't have to worry about closing the gap yet. But for all the interviews, expect them to ask: 'What have you been doing with your time away from work'. Just job-searching and contacting alumni won't cut it. They want to see someone doing something constructive or interesting (e.g., volunteering, part-time or unpaid IB/HF/PE/etc., travel, learn a new sport, courses - like CFA et al...). I would recommend actually taking a few weeks off and travel for a bit. While you're on the road, you can still start emailing contacts and such, but you should take some time to relax first and come back to this job hunt refreshed.

Best of luck.

 
Kanon:
I was in a similar position a month ago (~2 yrs exp at a bank, lost job, had to search around for a long time before I got something). Based on what I went through, I would say Cornelius is right on the money with his advice.
  • Definitely keep fit and use the time to keep up with the news. I had a number of interviews over the course of half a yr, I think I must have made a rookie mistake in 1-2 interviews by not keeping up-to-date with the news. It's very easy to get side-tracked and just tune out from the world when you're not in finance day in day out, so I recommend staying on top of the markets.

  • I also got screwed around with places that kept me 'on-call' because they were looking to bring in someone 'immediately'. Wasted a lot of time and got my hopes up a lot. While you want to make yourself available for work, you also want to be explicit about your availablilty and get them to be frank about theirs so you don't waste time just waiting around. I could have used some of that time to travel...

  • Definitely use your network. That's how I found out about my new job. Contact everyone. Alumni, friends, professors, family, everyone else's friends - let everyone know you're out there and looking. And recruiters of course - keep in touch with them.

  • And once you do get the interview, definitely do not take it for granted. BankOn's suggestion on practicing via videotape is good. Get some friends to do mocks with you and provide constructive advice.

  • Since you only recently lost your job, you don't have to worry about closing the gap yet. But for all the interviews, expect them to ask: 'What have you been doing with your time away from work'. Just job-searching and contacting alumni won't cut it. They want to see someone doing something constructive or interesting (e.g., volunteering, part-time or unpaid IB/HF/PE/etc., travel, learn a new sport, courses - like CFA et al...). I would recommend actually taking a few weeks off and travel for a bit. While you're on the road, you can still start emailing contacts and such, but you should take some time to relax first and come back to this job hunt refreshed.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the advice and wishes. Being kept on call is definitely irritating. I've had firms keep me hanging for 2 months and then ding me. I'm hoping the VC I'm talking to now doesn't do the same.

If you don't mind telling me, what kind of position did you end up finding ? and did you have to move ?

 

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