24 year old Junior...how much of a factor is age in SA/FT recruiting?

Hey guys -- I'm a current junior at an HBCU (Morehouse-Hampton-Howard) and I took three years off before going to college. At the time, I was a big dummy & didn't know what I wanted to do after high school. Held a bunch of odd jobs until going back at 21 years old. I will graduate in the spring of 2014.

I'm 24 years old now.
If I get a SA offer next summer, I'll be 25 years old.
If I get a FT offer after graduation, I'll be 26 years old.

Will IBs hold that against me being 4 years older than most recruits? Or do they not care about age? Or should I just not mention it? I look youthful enough to pass for a college sophomore but, I'm sure questions will come up when they see a 1988 birth date.

 

Just don't bring it up. During interviews, they won't know anything about your age other than your college graduation date/how many years you spent in college. They'll just assume you are on the normal path.

 

It puts me at ease to see people in similar situations as myself. I'm 23 right now and finishing college. I was concerned about recruiting at 24-25 years old (were I to do a MSF) but it seems they don't discriminate. I look older than I am, and have been able to get interviews without much hassle. Of course, I haven't been hired...

Something you may want to note, however: you'll be sitting with a bunch of children upon graduation. At interviews, you'll usually see a tiny, 21-year old Asian girl from NYU crunching unnecessary orders of calculus to solve a brainteaser. You'll also find 22-year old Jimmy Struthers, who coasted through college with a 3.3 GPA and only got an interview because he knew someone. The crazy part is that there will be times when both these people get hired and you don't. That's coming from experience. There will be trying moments in finding work, but keep your current cool and maturity when they occur.

in it 2 win it
 
FSC:
It puts me at ease to see people in similar situations as myself. I'm 23 right now and finishing college. I was concerned about recruiting at 24-25 years old (were I to do a MSF) but it seems they don't discriminate. I look older than I am, and have been able to get interviews without much hassle. Of course, I haven't been hired...

Something you may want to note, however: you'll be sitting with a bunch of children upon graduation. At interviews, you'll usually see a tiny, 21-year old Asian girl from NYU crunching unnecessary orders of calculus to solve a brainteaser. You'll also find 22-year old Jimmy Struthers, who coasted through college with a 3.3 GPA and only got an interview because he knew someone. The crazy part is that there will be times when both these people get hired and you don't. That's coming from experience. There will be trying moments in finding work, but keep your current cool and maturity when they occur.

Spoken like a true G.

Op, I took a year off and became a pick-up artist, so I graduated a year late. It ain't nothing.

Baby you're the perfect shape, baby you're the perfect weight. Treat me like my birthday, I want it this way and I want it that way. It makes a man feel good baby.
 

Out of curiosity, what did you do during those 3 years off?

Baby you're the perfect shape, baby you're the perfect weight. Treat me like my birthday, I want it this way and I want it that way. It makes a man feel good baby.
 
Best Response
R0bin:
Out of curiosity, what did you do during those 3 years off?

Before I start, I'm warning you. It's not one of the glamorous stories you read on WSO. I wasn't in Equatorial Guinea saving babies or fighting terrorism in full body gear in 120 degree weather.

I was a slacker in high school. Graduated with a sub-2.0 GPA. Guidance counselor basically told me I wasn't "college material" and I believed her. I spent the next 3 years working in warehouses and part time in my brother's moving business. Drifting.

One day, I met this kid at the warehouse. He probably doesn't know it but, he saved my life. One of those Vegan Hipsters from Williamsburg types. Rebelling against his good upbringing. I was just approaching my 21st birthday & he was 27. After getting to know each other for a few months, he revealed to me that he had come from a somewhat well-off family. His grandfather had sold off their family farm years ago & pocketed a few million, creating trusts for all the grandchildren afterward. Both he & his twin sister received 150k at 18. His sister ended up graduating from a top 50 public school & became a psychologist. He dropped out of college, spent his trust on drugs & bullshit, was “cut off” & after floating around for a few years, ended up at the warehouse with me. One day, it just hit me. I was going to end up like that. Drifting. Dead end job. No foreseeable future. I got up, clocked out & walked out the store. Sent out college applications next day. Some really small no name school in Hicktown, USA took mercy on me & let me in. Got a 4.0 GPA my first year, then transferred to my current institution (Howard-Morehouse-Hampton). To my surprise, I received a scholarship (not full, covers 75%). Two years later, a 3.5 GPA and two years left to go; I'm wondering how to break into finance.

My story essentially boils down to being a huge screw up before, realizing my mistakes and working like hell to change it. If I had focused in high school, would I have been better off? Definitely. Would I have went to college immediately? Most likely. But hindsight is always 20/20.

I appreciate all of the feedback. Makes me feel a lot better about the "age" situation.

(sorry for writing so much)

 

I was in the same exact situation as you. Floated around from 18-21. Went back to school at 21. Graduated at 25. Non-target. I landed a job less than 2 months after graduation. I work at a BB. Middle Office, but it's a job. You just have to work a little bit harder to make up for the time you lost. They don't know your age.

http://DollarDrip.com Username: Knowledge Kick
 

Just to make you feel better. I took nine years off to vacation in the Mid-East, Europe, and Asia with the Army. At 29 I will be networking like a mad man before I get out this fall. It makes it a challenge in my mind, and winning is always fun. Having some grey matter helps as well. Best of luck.

 

Lots of athletes start school when they're 20 or 22 and a lot of them go into banking, so I'd say you won't have much to worry about. Not saying that you are an athlete (are you?), but just letting you know that you're not the only grandpa on campus. Plus, everyone likes a good story, which I'm sure you have since you started college later than most people.

 

Just work hard and it'll sort itself out.

I'm in a similiar situation.

Took 2 years off and worked various jobs (construction, lumbering, sales) and traveled. I had no direction in life after HS and needed to mature. I started studying economics but switched after a year to engineering. Will be graduating when I'm 26 with a B.sc. in mech engineering and a M.sc in Financial Mathematics.

Do I wish I had started right away? Yeah. But I was a VERY different person back then. When I think back at that time I don't even recognize myself.

I just got a great SA internship at a small hedgefund ($150M AUM). So it's working out alright. Just read as much as possible and make yourself the best candidate. Atleast you didn't go to school and graduated with a 'useless' degree like a lot of people who would have been better off waiting.

3 years is a lot in your 20s, but it won't matter down the line.

I'm in europe though so average ages are a tad higher.

 

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