Do Entry Level Jobs Still Exist?

I'd like to hear people's opinion on this one.

With the ever increasing amount of competition in the Finance industry, do you believe entry level jobs still exist outside of OCR?

I see it everyday on this forum. People with a few years experience looking to jump into "entry-level" analyst roles and hoping to leverage their experience to do so. It seems like every job posting in today's day and age either doesn't state the amount of experience requested or they state a range such as 0-2 years.

My experience has been unique as my school had very very little in OCR for analyst type roles (zero IBD). Couple that with some family related factors and I was thrown into looking for a job around July post graduation. I'm still here today.

I've had many good interviews, but the one common element of EVERY job I have been vying for, is that they were open to candidates with, on average, 2 years of experience. I feel I have lost out to these better candidates because they obviously have the experience behind them.

It seems to me that nowadays unless you're a superstar in school and have great OCR or a great network to back you (see: target school), you're going to be thrown into this situation.

At this point in time I feel that I need to just get a start in the industry in ANYTHING and then after 18 months, start looking again at the same jobs and hope that with a little experience, the firms will be more apt to hire me.

This brings me full circle to my question, do entry level jobs in this highly competitive finance world still exist?

Disclosure: I am fully aware of the fact that lots of people are securing offers right now out of college and these posts are prevalent on WSO as well. Just feel like obviously people who are successful speak out more than those who are sitting on BB, MM, and Boutique websites constantly refreshing the Careers page.

And this post is much less about the fact that I haven't secured a job, but that fact that I feel there are a lot of jobs that want a couple years of experience under their belt.

 

They do not exist, you are fucked.

I know the job market is rough, but you gotta just network your ass off and not solely rely on your school's alumni network. If you bust are ass and quit the complacent bullshit than you will find a job. Ask companies if they would accept you as an unpaid intern for a trial period, take a shittier operations role, study for the GMAT, ace it, and maybe do an MsF, or later MBA. Plenty of things you can be doing.

Oh, and also, work on those abs chunkster - employers like to hire chiseled stallions.

 

NO... just half way kidding. At quick glance I wouldn't make up an excuse for not interning while dealing with personal issues. No matter how severe. It sounds cold but its a reality. Show potential, show your hungry, able and willing to do whats needed for the benefit of the group. Just because someone interns somewhere doesn't mean that they have a leap on you. Qualifications for my intern include: your ability to make my cup of coffee exactly the way I like it. Show up on time even if I/We have nothing for you to do. Make photo copies without making a funny face as if your overqualified. Most importantly - make my coffee exactly as if I were making it myself (very fing important). So please stop acting defeated and start being more proactive and positive. In a full time employee I would rather hire an upbeat, open minded monkey with a GED than a self defeating graduate from a tier one school. MAN UP.

-Gorilla A. ------------------- “I've forgotten who I had lunch with earlier, and even more important, where.” ― Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho
 

I understand what both of you are saying and trust me, I completely agree. But I chose not to disclose my full story and what I am doing because I wanted to hear people's opinion on "Why hire an undergrad when we can hire someone who has been working for two years in Ops" etc. Not why I can't get a job myself.

Definitely not self defeated. Not looking for pity and am not looking for tips on why I haven't landed something. More so am interested in people's opinion on the thoughts about a lot of these positions being open to those who have a little experience and thus seem to go to those who do.

Blue horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
 

It's a tough job market out there. I know guys with 1-2 years of experience and stellar resumes who are looking for work after being passed over in their analyst programs. There is simply a ton of competition for any job on Wall Street right now. My advice to you, since you've graduated over 6 months ago, is to take a job and be happy that you're earning a paycheck.

 

Kinda substantiates what I've been saying all these years. Forcing everyone to go to college is not a good idea. If you're not at a target you really have an uphill battle. Network and try your best, just take anything you can get. I know a lot of kids who got into F500 jobs in the finance department, and some of them are able to apply online and actually get a response.

 

I was in a similar situation when I graduated. I cold-emailed boutique money managers asking if they needed an unpaid intern, one said yes. 6 months later I had 6 months of experience which is better than nothing, and I had taken a bunch of financial modeling courses in my college's extension program. That was enough to get a corp finance gig.

I totally understand that a lot of people can't afford to take an unpaid internship, but it sounds like you can, so do it.

 
airdibs:
I was in a similar situation when I graduated. I cold-emailed boutique money managers asking if they needed an unpaid intern, one said yes. 6 months later I had 6 months of experience which is better than nothing, and I had taken a bunch of financial modeling courses in my college's extension program. That was enough to get a corp finance gig.

I totally understand that a lot of people can't afford to take an unpaid internship, but it sounds like you can, so do it.

Yep, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Thanks for the insight.

Blue horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
 

I can feel where you are coming from. I was actually in a similar boat. Unpaid internships are definitely helpful. If the company doesn't offer an internship and has no position, try to offer one to them. I think it's infinitely easier to find a job with any kind of experience (even in unrelated fields or career changer) than with no experience.

 

Went to an undergrad with pretty much no OCR and now doing an MSF at a semi-target, so being on both sides of the table its very apparent how helpful OCR is. I never used it as a crutch and was always networking and pursuing other avenues and opportunities... but the high number of employers on campus and job postings helped me get a ton of practice and not stress out because I was never putting all of my eggs in one basket or felt like an interview was a do-or-die situation.

 
Best Response

Hey man, you can also indirectly move into the business. I'll give you my story and my REAL outcome.

I graduated from a non-target UC in California. I graduated with a 2.26 overall GPA with a double major in Art History and Economics. I did NOT intern in college, and quit frankly, I didn't do anything other than party. I am NOT making six figures, I do NOT work on Wall Street, and my job is NOT glamorous. So where did a non-target school and a 2.26 gpa land me? It landed me at one of the three largest mutual fund companies working for their UHNW investment advisory business. I am an assistant to a team that manages about $5 billion in client assets, making $70,000 at age 27. That is what a "normal" career outcome looks like. The guys who make $150k out of undergrad are the exception, not the rule. Only one of my fraternity brothers got a $100k job out of undergrad working as a trader at a boutique firm in California.

Now my goal is to earn the CFA, hopefully by the time I'm 30, and try to move into a research analyst role at my firm. I never wanted to work in finance when I was in college and honestly, I wound up in the industry out of dumb luck. I graduated in 2008, right when everything fell apart in the economy. I had no job prospects and felt like a total douche bag when one of my bros landed $100k a year job. I had a friend who worked at Apple and gave them a call. I worked at Apple for a year selling computers. After that I contacted a fraternity brother who worked for Chase who set me up with a job as a licensed personal banker. I got my Series 6 and 63 and started selling mutual funds and annuities. From there I applied to a small independently owned RIA. I worked there for two years and earned the Series 7 and 65. After the RIA, I contacted another fraternity brother who set me up with my current job. I moved into the private client/asset management division of a large mutual fund company.

Realistically, without a target school and a solid internship, you are not going to land a six figure job anytime soon (it could happen, but it's unlikely). However, if you're willing to develop your career overtime and move into less competitive fields like asset management, there is no reason why you can't make well over six figures by the time you are in your mid 30's. Some people get the awesome paycheck immediately while some of us develop careers over a number of years. Some people want to make a billion dollars and some of us will settle for a $200k by the time we're 45.

In the end, my buddy who is a trader makes about $120k but works at a small boutique where he puts in 12-14 hours a day. I work in a relaxed, stress free, 8-hour a day, asset management role making $70k. My income is no where near done growing and I have a lot of room to move up and grow. The difference is that it will probably take me ten years to get to where my buddy is as far as income goes. However, I live in Los Angeles, I have my own apartment, I make enough money to enjoy my life, go out, and I don't work enough hours to be stressed out.

There is no clear path to succeeding in the industry. My path has been long. I graduated in 2008 and am only making $70k at this point, but I now have a clear goal and objective to become a portfolio manager. Some guys work their tail off in undergrad and get the six figure job right out of the gate. Also, stop feeling sorry for yourself. I never wanted to work at Apple retail out of college making $12.50/hr, but in the end that gave me valuable SALES experience which is what ultimately kick started everything for me. I also leveraged my fraternity and constantly kept in contact with brothers and alumni. I'm not rich, but I'm happy and still progressing.

 

I think it is normal to feel defeated after a series of rejection. If high finance were easy to enter, I doubt that this website would even exist... It definitely doesn't help embracing futility even though you may think you've tried everything. Just be prepared for any opening position. Being aware is already a huge step in may cases (probably not so much in High Finance), but if you really dislike how competitive this industry is, maybe you should look into other business, accounting fields. Good luck with your job searching!

 

Have you considered joining the military? There are several(business related) jobs as an officer in the Armed Services that will give you a plethora of unique job experience that will catapult you ahead of your peers. The management and leadership skills you gain alone are pure gold to ANY company. Any company that hires a veteran will agree with me.

I am NOT a recruiter.

 

Thanks for the stories guys. Appreciate the responses. Actually have thought about military in the past but not currently. I'll let you know how it ends up working out for me.

Blue horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
 

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