Graduating with no experience, wtf do I do!?
So I'm about to graduate from a top 10 university with a degree in economics, but I wasn't able to land any spring weeks, internships prior, and don't have an internship or grad role lined up for after university.
I'm still very set on investment banking, but I really don't know what to do here. I'm aware I can go for a masters, or a corporate finance job for a few years and then apply as an analyst, but can I really not apply to be a first year analyst for grad roles starting 2024?
Has anyone been in a similar situation, all advice is appreciated?
And yes, I applied everywhere, not just the EBs and BBs.
Go do an internship year with 2 OC positions. During that year, apply for Oxford MFE, LBS MFA, LSE Mfin, HEC MFin etc.
Good luck!
Really want to avoid the masters route because of the costs and duration, but off cycles yep, thanks for the reminder. Appreciate the advice.
Sorry mate, tough luck. You did nothing at uni, now you face two options: go again and try get the job you’re “very set” on, or settle for less.
Find any job(s) available at any regulatory/financial institution regardless of operation(s) impact. Back, Mid office work. It will at least get you some experience and exposure to lateral later on.
Good luck.
Probably my most sensible and safe route going forward, just want to see if I can get in faster but thanks.
Try ACA route? Top 10 accountancy firm for 3 years and you can go in as an associate at an IB. Pretty common in UK
Wouldn't big4 route be the safer and best method given the state of the ecnoomy?
Absolutely wasn’t aware you could come in at an associate level. Do you know if there are certain roles within accounting which are best for that and if the ACA qualification is needed? Thanks.
I don’t know too much about it but big 4 deal advisory seems to have a lot and so does Transaction Services. Seen few people from Audit as well. As long as you are able to get ACA it is fine, lots of people do it and lots of MM firms like hiring from big 4 ACA
Had no idea you could come in at an associate level. Are there specific roles in accounting that make that transition more likely, and is the ACA qualification a big part in being able to come in as an associate instead of an analyst? Thanks.
I'm not the most knowledgeable about the process but look on LinkedIn and try set up some calls with people. Big 4 would put you in a very good position for mid-market firms. Some pretty much exclusively hire ACA people.
If you struggled to get interviews, I'd recommend posting your CV either here or on the r/FC Discord to get some comments. Given that you applied to many firms, your CV could be an issue that might not fix itself with a strong(er) profile.
I'm definitely gonna be doing this, thanks.
What, you have no experience WHATSOEVER!? No societies, student run funds, consulting, sports...... What did you do at uni???
No you can't apply for an Analyst role, and I'll tell you why. These positions are rare to start with, most come through the Summer Internship route, so there's only ever one or two seats available and they're always taken by someone laterling internally or another bank. You can't compete against them.
Best bet is to apply for off cycles and like anything adjacently related. Big4, credit rating agencies...
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