Advice for Breaking into IB 3 months after Graduation?

Context: Went to a target school and received multiple interviews at pretty legit bulge bracket and large boutique banks, but I failed to secure an offer at each. This went on until I finally graduated this summer in 2018. Didn't want to be unemployed for too long (didn't want to be seen as "damaged goods") so I settled for a pretty decent job at a large Fintech firm. Main concern and reason I want to leave is because I'm not getting any legit training, so I feel like I am stagnating while my peers in IB or consulting are really growing and learning.

Questions: 1. Do banks require new hires to actually have previous modeling and IB experience in the past? 2. Should I list my 1-2 month experience in Ops on my resume? Didn't really accomplish anything here yet, but I also don't want the employer to think I've been unemployed for all this time. 3. When networking, should I mainly focus on reaching out to MDs, VPs, Associates, or Analysts? 4. Any other suggestions you guys might have that would make the early career transition more smoothly?

Thanks everyone!

1 Comments
 

Eius soluta molestias aspernatur laudantium iure minima ad totam. Ea voluptas quibusdam et ipsum id voluptas. Et dolorem omnis sit voluptatem. Laborum deleniti et dignissimos mollitia. Unde et reprehenderit et est.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”