Can’t get a graduate job
Hi, I will be graduating from a mid tier university in July with probably a high 2:1 (65+) and have had no luck at all with graduate jobs. I have had a few video interviews but many of the companies I have applied for have simply rejected me or said that they are not hiring this year. I would preferably like to go into IB but I have no experience in the field as I was unable to get a placement due to the coronavirus and did not even realise I should have done a summer internship during my first year of university. However, I am still applying for IB roles alongside AM and any other finance related jobs. I know that since I have no real banking experience other than a week I did with my dad a few years ago I am not a great candidate. I have since started my own company and have filed company accounts taught myself accounting and programming alongside lBO’s as in the future I would like to get into private equity. These skill sets I have taught myself are all on my CV and CL but do not seem to be helping. I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me as I am probably going to have to do a masters if I am unable to get a graduate job but I don’t really want to do a masters. I also just joined this forum. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hey man, sorry to hear the bad luck with the grad jobs. Was in a similar-ish position not too long ago, here are a few thoughts from me:
-Pursue a Msc if you have the financing, which will give you an extra year to apply for summer internships. I imagine that the majority of target UK schools have given out the majority of their spaces but ofcourse by all means send in an application, you never know. Even if you do not get into a target, in your case, I would still value a semi-target/non target Msc as you have no internship experience and this gives you a chance to fill that aspect of your CV by pursuing SA. Apply to everything and anything the coming recuitment cycle (within reason ofc), your attitude should be to address your weakness on paper, which is your lack of work exp.
-Alternatively, you can simply graduate and also apply to off-cycles and some summer internships. Some banks do hire recent grads for their SA programmes which you should focus on. Some distinctively auto ding you if you are not a penultimate/final year so make sure you double check (can always make a post/ask on WSO if unsure). You can also graduate and use the free time much as you are now to build up your CV/CL and work on your skills while waiting for off-cycle opportunites to appear. Apply for them the second they are posted (means regularly keeping up to date with job posting pages)- this could be a way for you to get into Full time recruitment as the majority of off-cycle interns have a high conversion rate. OCs are also typically a couple months long, which gives you alot of time within the insitution to both network/build relations and also see which areas/groups you like.
-I would highly reccommed you not to apply for FT roles direcly with your profile. Reason being that FT is ridiculously competitive as you would most likely be competing with people who have many internships/FT experience who are looking to lateral- these people would look alot better to recuiters on paper. Not to mention that there are few spaces available as most of an Analyst class would be SA->FT converts.
It's an unfortuante situation to be in but not impossible, keep your head up. Keep working and something will give way for you, all the best mate. Feel free to PM :)
I really appreciate the feedback thank you very much I will definitely take it on board. Just reading that has made me feel a lot more positive about the situation and hopefully I can reply to this thread with a job offer in a year.
Impossible to land a grad job without experience. Apply for internships.
harvardcareermanagement dot com
I know the struggle. Had no experience myself when my classmates were getting FT offers. Had to cover the lost ground through internships, one after the other, even unpaid ones and at the same time working on my technicals / soft skills and industry knowledge. Was an uphill battle where I had to leverage everything I did for something better and seemed there was no end in sight, but I made it. Which means you can too. Focus on internships and be aggressive, don't think about it but remember that you'll need to have patience and keep trying. Requires lots of mental/psychological stamina.
Thank you very much for the support it is greatly appreciated. I will definitely start looking into internships and applying for as many as I can. Once again thank you for the support it has really help to boost my motivation.
Go for it and don't just apply to as many jobs as you can. Favour quality over quantity, network and talk to people. Consider looking on other adjacent industries (Big4, Valuation, corporates) too which will help you craft a story and have more things to talk about (e.g. "currently on role X but looking to transition to IB. Have transferable skills through assignments 1, 2 & 3" etc). At this point you first need to enter the job market in a role as close as possible to IB and take it from there.
Sorry to hear you're having a hard time. Just know that despite what it may seem like on WSO, most people struggle to find their 'dream' role straight after uni; your career is long and will take many twists and turns that you may not even recognise at this early stage so stay positive.
Firstly, have someone who is in your target industry (IB) go over your CV to make sure that it's in line with industry norms and standards. Similarly with your cover letter, make sure you have the correct format, presentation and are including appropriate information for each specific company.
To mimick what has been written above, experience is almost everything especially in the UK where networking your way into a role, or even an interview, is less common as the recruiting structure and processes is more rigid and mostly dictated by HR at least until the latter stages. Try and get some summer experience in a related industry if not IB itself. This can be within AM, ER, PE even TAS Big4. The reason for this is that banks don't offer ad-hoc experience in the same way that a boutique AM or PE firm might. So email and message as many small firms with your CV attached explaining what you are looking to achieve. Ultimately, the more experience you have the better positioned you will be to spin a story as to how you ended up recruiting for IB.
You mention your dad is in AM, is there any way he can find you a summer internship/experience at another firm to bolster your CV and have more to talk about.
Finally, make sure that you're doing your video interviews 'correctly'. Dress formally, smile, prepare answers but don't read off full sentence.
I really appreciate your reply and taking the time out of your day to help me. I will definitely take your ideas on board and I am looking at internships at some small firms right now. I will work on getting some strong experience on my CV before applying for roles again next year. Thank you.
First of all, sorry for the situation you are in. The UK can be a very competitive market for graduate placement. I wanted to work in London as a grad a long time ago and didn't make the cut. Had to start elsewhere and pivot back to London years later.
I was in a very comparable situation when I was your age and couldn't find any FT roles in England. Had no internships, no work experience and no connect who could've helped me.
Therefore I applied for roles outside of England and received a huge number of offers. Did my M.Sc. while I was working and then were offered amazing jobs that also allowed me to work and eventually settle in London. Like others have mentioned, work experience is important and this can make or break applications.
I wish you best of luck and success in your future applications.
Hi- do you mind listing the countries you applied for and how you went about doing so? Currently based in the UK but am having alot of trouble finding work abroad.
well, there wasn't a pandemic when I applied. so the overall situation isn't great. But friends who lost their jobs and even grads I know ARE getting placed. Just at a different pace than before. So this scenario is about putting in the work, phone calls, emails and efforts until you are placed. Every day you wake up, go through your to-do list and motivate yourself to achieve this goal. You can make it.
I applied in England initially and couldn't break into *any* industry. Then I shifted to Ireland, USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and later also Netherlands, Austria, Norway and Finland. (these are mostly places where you can survive with English alone, but I do speak multiple languages).
Eventually I had multiple offers in Ireland, Switzerland and Germany (through a job I responded to in NYC). The NYC job was full but they offered me a rotational fldp program for the EU and the US (I asked for a rotation in London and was also rejected, guessing even back then they had no space in London). Even a few months into the new job I re-applied for jobs in London and had very positive feedback. Decided to finish my fldp and stayed with the firm for almost 5 years. But eventually I moved back to London with more senior roles and stayed for many years (my current role is partially based in London but I am WFH due to the pandemic from another country).
If you don't have anything to offer over others, do something others won't do.
(i.e. other country, other language, other industry, other form of employment, other skills, etc)
Where’s your undergrad from?
University of Kent
I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure it's a non-target. I'm guessing a master's at LSE/Oxbridge/ICL/LBS might set you in the right direction.[\
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