9+ months of unemployment and feeling cursed…
Ignore the job title. I’m sorry if this might be another sad and depressing post but I’m at the crossroads of what to do with my life. After getting let go late year its never been the same. I’ve got like 3 offers that have all been rescinded due to hiring freezes. Every single interview I’ve been on I have made it to final rounds only to hear “We liked you but it was a very competitive finalist selection process”. My personal life is crashing down. I tried speaking to previous co-workers and friends when I was in banking but I’m getting ghosted. I can only imagine that I’m not the only one. I have LMM M&A and Corp Dev F500 experience. I attended a semi-target. Not super pedigreed but I have gained trust and respect from all my peers/cohorts for doing good work. I know I’m not owed anything in this world but damn this is brutal. At this point, I’m getting desperate and its starting to show. Sorry I’m just venting. My only hope is to cold-email a bunch of places. Just looking guidance or maybe closure. It would much appreciated. Anyone else in the same boat?
Bump
Try venture capital. It's going to be competitive af, but at least the industry is more sympathetic to interesting stories, and there are many roles available, with more pouring in by the week. A lot of spots like former bankers, and for a banker, it would be easier to get up to speed with the process than others. Like I said, it's super competitive but can try it and see if something comes through.
Appreciate your advice! I will look into VC. Like you mentioned definitely very competitive but all it takes is one yes.
You're not alone man, I'm in a similar situation and empathize with the struggle. I don't have a success story to share yet but hopefully we can post here when it all works out.
My advice - and what has been keeping me sane - is to try to stick to a regular schedule where you wake up at the same time each day, have a healthy breakfast, exercise, and then hit the apps / networking emails for a couple hours. Realistically you can't spend all day applying or networking, so try to work in "sprints" (i.e., focused, intense sessions where you're only working and not multi tasking). I do one of these sessions in the morning when I'm fresh, and one in the afternoon. It's easy to spend the whole day just browsing LinkedIn passively and not getting much done, so I would try to avoid I try to avoid that as much as possible (makes you feel like shit at the end of the day, you question how productive you were, negative thought spiral ensues, etc.).
You've probably heard this before as well, but spend as much time with friends and family as possible. It's important to continue to be social and be around people that make you feel good. That way, when you go in for an interview you can still give off energy and positivity because you've been socializing regularly.
Last thought: depending on your financial situation, you can also use this as a time to explore interests and become a more well rounded person. As much as it is stressful being out of the workforce, I'm also trying to enjoy the time off and use it as a period to upskill. I've been taking French classes, building back strength at the gym, and re reading the Lord of the Rings. Never had this much time on my hands when I was working and it's refreshing to be able to have complete control over my time and schedule.
Hang in there man. In 10 years, you'll look back on this and be thankful for the hard work and perseverance - I'm confident you'll be back on your feet in no time.
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement! I have closure to see that at least I’m not alone. I have faith you will get something too. Please reach back when you do. I believe in you man. Your comment really uplifted me. I’m gonna stay strong and spend more time with my family. God bless you!
I was going to give very similar advice. I was unemployed this winter and keeping a schedule made all the difference. Treating the job search like it’s your job helps a ton, but I agree you really can’t do 8+ hours straight each day. So getting a couple hours of applications, prep, and interviews done is enough. I also penciled in time to get outside which helped me think. Knock out 3 or 4 tasks as soon as you get up to get momentum.
Just want to say there were many nights where I felt like I had failed because I was let go from a job I fought so hard to get coming out of college. I had just graduated last spring, so getting cut very quickly was pretty demoralizing. This was honestly the most challenging situation I’ve faced as an adult. Completely wiped out any savings I had and I’m working paycheck to paycheck to pay off that debt now. Feel extremely lucky to have gotten one offer from 30+ processes. Extremely competitive lately with long drawn out processes.
No matter what, don’t stop searching for the next job. The market is so much worse than it was a year ago but you will find something eventually. Treat every new opportunity like a fresh chance to show your value. The market will improve eventually and we can shuffle around to where we need to be. Best of luck man you’ll get to the other side of this.
Thank you so much for your advice as well! Appreciate your encouragement it means a lot to me!
i've been unemployed for a long time. now work with the ceo's of goldman.
this is a great post and this dude is a hell of a human being. he gets it
As someone who was literally in this situation a few years ago, this is great advice that I followed. Here is link to the post I made a few years ago about how I navigated that timeframe: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/job-search/navigating-the-unemplo…
While it may feel bleak now, you will make it through this timeframe and be able to step forward in your life.
Applying for jobs, the results can be as capricious and arbitrary as applying to college or going on lost of dates. You can do great and still come up short for no discernible reason.
At points in my career I couldn’t find a new spot for three years when looking to leave one bank, then I was able to find two new gigs within a few months of each other. I got into some top schools, yet was rejected by a bunch of crappier schools. Over the course of my career, banks people post here as elite have offered me roles and banks I’ve never heard of rejected me.
The most upsetting thing is the feeling that you don’t have agency over the process and your life. Just remember not to take anything personal. There is no vendetta against you, the fact really is luck plays a large role in your life unless you have an influential family.
I would also advise you to be careful with money for the time being. I’m sure you are, but no big trips or purchases. Live like you’re back in college, and learn to cook at home.
Keep exercising so you get that dopamine rush. And stay in a healthy sleep schedule. You start staying up late and waking up late and it f*cks up everything.
Finally, take what offer you can get. Let’s say all you get is a credit role. Just take it. Get that feeling of being employed and working again. And then when you interview, just bullsh*t and make it seem like it was more of a front office role. Or take a consulting gig. Or a Corp job. Get anything to get going again and keep applying. Waiting for perfect can be a double edged sword.
this is a good post.... and i normally take the other side of anything smoke frog says
Very grateful for your advice. I agree that its so much about luck nowadays and I have to take what I can get. At this point I have no time to be picky. I will have to reach out to old contacts I networked with. At least I’m not alone in this. Thank you so much man.
i want to extend my sympathies to you. i've been unemployed for a really long time before (1 year, 3 months). i know the despair you're feeling. it's a weirdly dehumanizing feeling with no fault of anyone's. i know. stay strong!
nothing you said communicated anything that could suggest that you're "owed anything in this world" so please don't feel that way or apologize! and i hope you'll be able to extend that same perspective to others in similar circumstances too.
with all that said...
would you ever consider taking on another role in a different career? i think practically speaking, maybe right now a bigger concern would be closing your employment gap, even though contextually it's obvious that you are in this situation due to larger forces out of your control.
you're clearly capable of nailing down offers so you still have valuable experience that could be transferred for a role with similar responsibilities. and if you're willing to entertain the thought, then i think it'd be a great opportunity for you to explore what life has to offer. the world can become your oyster for the time being. it'll give you the chance to maintain employment, have some amount of income inflow, and provide you with something to fall back on. in the mean time, you'll still have the opportunity to continue trying to find another recruiting!
and just as importantly, if not more so, you'll be able to meet new people, learn new things, and see yourself and maybe even the communities you're a part of, in a new light.
Eternally grateful for your advice as well. It gives me hope that you were able to make it out too. It’s so hard and have to accept that stuff like this can be out of my control. I’m happy to do a detour in my career just dont know where to start. I’m trying to find alternative roles that would suit my background well or just anything that I can make income. Thank you again!!
it's always my pleasure to uplift someone!! :) good luck out there, and do your best. for full disclaimer, i don't work in finance, just sticking around to help around. if you wanted, feel free to PM me and we can connect if you want me to see if there's anything available at my company!
Read Hannibal and Me: What History's Greatest Military Strategist Can Teach Us About Success and Failure
Thank you for the book suggestion. Gonna stop by my local Barnes & Noble. Much appreciated!
“Busy is good” that’s what I wrote on my whiteboard when I was long term unemployed almost 15 years ago, and it’s seared in my brain.
My advice for this type of moment “The Jungle” I wrote about here.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/off-topic/surviving-the-jungle
Thank you so much!! I was reading your “Surviving the jungle” post and it was so inspiring. I wish I read it sooner. I want to start to find SME or any small business owners I could help or offer my services. I’m not a CPA but would love some way to add value. I just want to keep busy and not stay confined in these four walls and go crazy. Perhaps I gotta exercise more and see my family or walk around the city for a bit.
hey man I’m in the same boat, DM me and let’s bounce off ideas
Can you use this time to get an MBA?
I thought about an MBA but it’s just too expensive. I just dont know if I want to forgo income for the next two years. But still something to think about or figuring out a way to gain more skills in the mean time. Appreciate your comment nonetheless!
Great advice above - I have been unemployed twice for 6+ month stretches. I’d follow the above (schedule, train, visit friends and family).
I stressed myself out so much while being unemployed as I felt like a failure. Didn’t help that my family made fun of me. Now I’m the richest member of my immediate family.
You will land a job - first period of unemployment I sent out 500+ applications to everywhere.
Second time wasn’t any easier. I had experience but was still young. Finally figured out how to tell my “story” and landed a job. Fast forward some years and now it’s not even an afterthought.
Set specific times each day to apply. Outside is those times, try to focus on other stuff. Compartmentalize your day. I basically wasted a year of my life stressing about finding a job 24/7. Don’t be like me
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