Advice & Perspective for those that struck out
Hey guys. Long term lurker here, but first time poster. I’m writing this to share my 2 cents about finding an internship/job in this industry, and shed some perspective on a process that is simply not as one-dimensional as posters on this site make it seem.
The backstory here is that when I was in college, I was motivated as anything to get a summer analyst role in banking, PE, or VC. I had tunnel vision and grinded my fat little ass off in networking and understanding the ins and outs of the industry. I had a plethora of opportunities to convert first round interviews to superdays, and superdays to offers, but at what I thought was the tail-end of the recruiting process, I found myself with nothing. I was often so nervous that I butchered my behaviorals, and I candidly did not know my technicals nearly as well as I should have. I experienced every annoying thing to happen to a hopeful intern in the recruiting process— I got strung along for weeks after ~10 interviews just to get ghosted by the firm, and I once didn’t know how to answer how to calculate enterprise value during a superday.
Though I butchered my shot with all the firms I applied to and had virtually nothing in the pipeline, I continued to grind my technicals and interview prep— just in the off chance that I could make it work. Out of the blue weeks later, I got an interview for a big-name GE firm I networked extremely lightly at (i.e emailed them an optional cover letter), and thanks to my reps from the firms I struck out at, I landed a SA role and converted it to a full time offer.
The purpose here is not to stroke myself off. Rather, it’s to underscore some things that get masked on this website, and can help some of those out there who were like me: extremely motivated to make it in this industry, perhaps kicking themselves for messing up (what they think) was their one and only shot, and now find themselves dejected, losing hope, and with no offers.
First— a wildly vast majority of the crap on this forum is utter trash and blatantly untrue. So let’s just get that out of the way. Don’t get yourself stressed out over what some Junior from IU Kelley is telling you online.
Second— Getting a job in IB/PE/VC revolves around luck. But luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. This means nothing will fall in your lap out of thin air, but if you remain hungry and warmed up, even if it seems all hope is lost, it is a matter of time until you get lucky. This doesn’t guarantee you an IB SA stint at a BB when you struck out at all the banks sophomore year, but it makes you a stronger, more earnest, and higher yield candidate for every subsequent opportunity.
Third— It only takes one “Yes.” At the end of my recruiting process, I received maybe 55 no’s. But after the 55th no, I received one yes. There is always a “yes” coming if you stay hungry, earnest, and sharp. It may take 2 no’s, it may take 100 no’s. But just because you are only hearing “no,” from firms does NOT mean you should give up. It just means you need to perfect what’s getting you dinged— and after so many no’s you 100% should have no doubt why you aren’t getting offers.
Fourth— The opportunities are always there. Yeah, maybe you missed your shot at GS or PJT this year, but there are more investment banks, PE firms, and VCs than you will ever believe. Trust me. Recruiting deadlines are the most ossified at large firms, but some of the best, most interesting, highest paying opportunities are from that family office or boutique PE firm that has no deadline on hiring. Stay hungry, stay sharp, stay earnest.
